The Balwen Welsh Mountain sheep is a breed of domestic sheep which is raised mainly for meat production. It originates from the Tywi valley in Wales, and is one of a number of varieties of Welsh Mountain sheep.
The breed is mainly bred for sheep farming in Wales. Native area of this breed was hit badly by the very severe British winter of 1946-1947.
And total population of this breed were nearly wiped out, only one ram was amongst the survivors.
All modern Balwen sheep are therefore presumably descended from this one ram, although it is possible that some of the ewes may have been in lamb to rams that did not survive the winter.
Currently the Balwen Welsh Mountain sheep is listed as ‘Vulnerable‘ by the British Rare Breeds Survival Trust.
The Balwen Welsh Mountain Breed Society was formed in 1985, and the numbers are gradually increasing further. Read some more information about this breed below.
Balwen Welsh Mountain Sheep Charactaristics
Balwen Welsh Mountain sheep is a small to medium sized breed. It has a distinctive color pattern of a black body with white extremities. Base color of it’s body is black, fading to brown in sunlight and greying with age.
These animals have a white blaze on the face and white covering the last half or more of the tail. Four white feet which are referred to as socks.
Their tail is normally left undocked. The rams have horns and the ewes are naturally polled.
Average live body weight of the mature Balwen Welsh Mountain sheep is between 38 and 43 kg. Photo and info from Wikipedia.
Uses
The Balwen Welsh Mountain sheep is a meat sheep breed. It is raised mainly for meat production.
Special Notes
The Balwen Welsh Mountain sheep is a small, but very hardy breed of domestic sheep. These animals are very easy to manage and they have very few health problems associated with many of the larger sheep breeds.
They are becoming popular among smallholders and farmers alike, mainly because of it’s attractive markings, hardiness, ease of care and excellent meat quality.
The ewes have very few lambing problems and they are excellent mothers. They have plenty of milk for feeding their lambs. Most of the ewes have single lambs at their first lambing. But after that, many may have reared twin and some have even reared triplets.
Wool of the Balwen Welsh Mountain sheep is graded as soft/medium with a medium length staple of 5-7.5 cm and a diameter of 32.3 micrometers. Their wool is easy to spin.
Currently the breed is mainly raised for meat production in it’s native area. However, review full breed profile of this sheep breed in the following chart.
| Breed Name | Balwen Welsh Mountain |
| Other Name | None |
| Breed Purpose | Meat |
| Special Notes | Very hardy and strong, very easy to manage, less health problems, excellent meat quality, ewes are excellent mothers and have less lambing problems, excellent milkers, wool of these animals is easy to spin |
| Breed Size | Small to medium |
| Weight | Vary from 38 to 43 Kg |
| Horns | Rams have horns, but ewes are polled |
| Climate Tolerance | Native climates |
| Color | Black |
| Rarity | Common |
| Country/Place of Origin | Wales |
