Badger-Faced Welsh

The origins of these sheep, known as Torddu, are as old as sheep farming in Wales and mentioned in the Doomsday Book.

The fleece ranges in colour from white to light brown, and they must have a black band running from the underside of the jaw, along the belly and down the underside of the tail; the markings may be reversed resulting in white-bellied sheep, known as Torwen. The Torddu should have the black 'badger stripes' on the face and tan stripes on black legs.

They are a compact, medium breed, horned rams weighing up to 90kg and polled ewes weighing approx. 60kg. They are productive, having a higher incidence of twins than many other breeds. The ewes are milky and attentive mothers, the lambs are soon up on their feet and feeding. Lambs fatten easily on grass and produce a decent carcass with sweet and tasty meat.

This breed is not kept at Temple Newsam at present.

www.nationalsheep.org.uk

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