Cotswolds
Cotswolds are a large polled, long wooled breed with ewes weighing about 200 pounds and rams up to 300 pounds. The are consistent, hardy, and very disease resistant variety that thrives well on course feeds and forage.
Adults Cotswolds produce 13 to 15 pounds of wool per year. Their locks can be over 12 inches long.
Lambing percentages average over 150%. Ewes lamb easily and have a tremendous mothering instinct, usually “talking” to their lambs before they are on the ground.
Cotswolds have existed for centuries on the range of hills in Gloucester, England, a south midland county near Wales that bear its name. The Cotswold is believed to be one of the oldest breeds of sheep. Romans introduced sheep into the area in 43 AD. It is from these sheep that the Cotswold is believed to have evolved.
Their name is derived from the word “cote” (a sheep fold or low shed) and “wold” (an open, rolling upland or naked hill). When the Romans left England in 410 AD, the local farmer continued to raise the sheep which adapted well to the area. With the help of the limestone hills and selective breeding, they developed strong bones and large bodies.
Cotswolds were imported into the United States in the 1830’s. Their large frames and prolific wool production made them popular during that time. During the 20th century their numbers declined and by the 1970’s they were considered a rare breed. During the last decade Cotswold popularity has increased with emphasis both on standard white Cotswolds and natural colored flocks.
The Flock Book of the Cotswold Breeders Association:
….. as ornaments to the grounds of a gentleman of wealth and taste, this variety of sheep is unrivaled. They have no taste for roving, never escape from their enclosure, are quiet and harmless among the shrubbery and trees, gentle and even affectionate and grateful among children. Their great square forms and fleeces of snowy whiteness are suggestive of comfort and good cheer, and their broad countenances beam with a quiet contentment and freedom from anxiety, which a wise man might well envy.
The Cultivator May 1853
www.cotswoldbreedersassociation.org/