Devon Closewool sheep -this rare breed could be your starter flock

Helen Babbs finds out about these sturdy, weather-proof sheep

- Helen Babbs

People often think of rare breed sheep as small, primitive types - lightweight, horned and quite flighty. But the rare Devon Closewool sheep isn't any of these. Large and sturdy, with a dense fleece and no horns, the Closewools take life calmly, making them ideal sheep for a starter flock. “We got our first Devon Closewool as a single pet lamb for our younger daughter in 2014,” says Lyn Rennie, from Highampton in Devon. “But ‘Fluffy’ the ewe had so much character while still being really easy to handle, we rapidly fell in love with the breed, and exchanged our previous Blueface Leicesters for twenty Closewools a couple of years later.” Twelve years on, their Hunscott flock has grown to 200 breeding ewes and ewe lambs, plus six rams, and led the family to take on a full-scale farm tenancy in 2021.

CALM & CHUNKY

As a breed, Devon Closewools are a chunky, medium-size sheep with a short, thick neck and sturdy body. “They’ve definitely got a ‘leg in each corner’,” Lyn notes, “and at about 80kg for the ewes, it does hurt when they step on your foot!” Both ewes and rams are naturally polled. Their face, ears and legs are wool-free, with thick white hair, while their creamy-white fleece covers the entire body. “It’s a very dense fleece, as the name implies, so it keeps them nicely warm and dry even in winter rain and snow.” Fleece weight is usually around 3kg from each ewe. “At present, ours just goes to the Marketing Board,” says Lyn, “but other flocks have theirs spun into speciality rare-breed yarns.”