‘World’s cutest sheep’ in Canty
When North Canterbury farmer Melissa Cowan discovered the valais blacknose sheep on the internet, she thought it was the most endearing animal she had ever seen.
With a black face, ears and feet, a shaggy fringe and beautiful white fluffy fleece, the breed had become known as ‘‘the cutest sheep in the world’’.
They looked like cuddly toys. Plus they had a friendly temperament. Cowan had fallen in love.
It wasn’t long before she had talked her husband Hayden Cowan into importing valais blacknose embryos into New Zealand to start a flock.
Hayden Cowan saw a business venture and enlisted his father in a partnership.
They imported some valais embryos and the rest is history. Earlier this month saw their first crop of 18 healthy lambs born.
‘‘We were lucky in that the foundation work for importing the embryos was already done for us,’’ Hayden Cowan said.
‘‘We are about six months behind the first lot of people to bring the valais breed into New Zealand. They had been working away for about five years to get the borders open between the UK and New Zealand. It only happened in the last 12 months. Hayden Cowan
‘‘Because we couldn’t import directly from Switzerland, we got the embryos from a breeder in the UK. We bought 30 embryos and put them into coopworth-cross ewes. We chose the best ewes with the quietest natures. From the 30 embryos, we got 18 live lambs – an average strike.’’
The embryos weren’t cheap, at $2000 each. The Cowans’ plan is to sell the valais genetics into the United States. They are working with the Ministry of Primary Industries to allow them to export embryos.
At this stage, semen can be exported into the US but not embryos or live sheep. They hope to have the green light by Christmas.
‘‘We’ve contacted someone in America who is keen to work on a partnership,’’ Hayden Cowan said.
‘‘We’ve contacted someone in America who is keen to work on a partnership.’’