Lleyn Sheep

"The Ultimate Maternal Ewe"

Delivering outstanding performance, whether bred pure or crossed with any terminal sire

The ideal breed - thrives on any terrain - perfect for every farming system

Why Lleyn

Farmers soon find that the Lleyn ewe is an ideal sheep; quiet in nature, prolific with great maternal instincts, milky, and will not eat you out of house and home.
The Lleyn thrives on both lowland and upland grazing.
 Its versatility makes it suitable for many farming systems.

Lleyn Sales

Lleyn Sheep Society official sales are held throughout the
UK & Ireland. Each sale centre has sections for Lleyn ewes, Lleyn shearlings, Lleyn ewe/gimmer lambs and Lleyn Rams.

Click the link below for all sale dates and catalogues
when they become available

Frequently asked questions regarding Lleyn sheep

Find quick answers to the most asked questions regarding Lleyn sheep

Are Lleyn Sheep suitable for early lambing?

Yes, Lleyn ewes can lamb early in January & February as well in March, April & May. They are ideal for producing early lambs.

How prolific are Lleyn ewes?

Lleyn ewes are prolific with many flocks scanning at 180% to 200%. As with any breed, scanning results will vary with management practices and farm type.

How big are Lleyn ewes?

Most Lleyn ewes are between 65KG to 80KG with the average weight being around 70KG. 

Lleyn ewes are said to be 'The Ultimate Maternal Ewe'. What does this actually mean?

Lleyn ewes are thrifty and require low levels of concentrate . They lamb at close to 200%, lamb easily, are excellent mothers, and rear their lambs efficiently, so that twins can be ready in 14 weeks and grade at R3L and better (bred pure) and with Es and Us if you cross breed. 

Efficiency is a key attribute. How efficient are Lleyn ewes actually?

There is a well accepted efficiency measure (weight of lambs reared divided by the weight of the ewe). The Society's Ewe Efficiency Scheme LLEYN GOLD calculates this at 8 weeks, while some others use the ratio at 100 days. An individual ewe who rears more than her own weight at 100 days (weaning) is accepted by everyone in the industry as a very efficient ewe.  A ewe who rears over 0.6 of her own weight at 8 weeks is similarly efficient and is designated LLEYN GOLD.There are Lleyn flocks with a Flock Average LLEYN GOLD score over 0.6, an exceptional performance.

Why are Lleyn ewes so efficient?

A major reason is that Lleyn ewes milk well for longer and they are very efficient converters of grass to milk & meat.

What's the best suited terminal ram to put over Lleyn ewes?

Any breed of Terminal sire is suitable to be bred with Lleyn.
Whether it be Texel, Suffolk, Beltex, Hampshire or Charollais they will all breed quality prime lambs with many hitting top specifications.

Are Lleyn sheep high health status?

The Lleyn being a pure breed you can easily run a closed flock reducing the risk of buying disease into your flock. Bio-security is becoming an important issue for the sheep industry. Many members of the Lleyn Sheep Society have closed their flocks in an effort to improve the health status of the sheep they produce, and to maintain their disease-free position. Many flocks are also MV accredited.