Lincoln

The Lincoln is a large, dual-purpose longwool sheep native to eastern England. Mature rams often weigh well over 250 pounds, and that places the breed among the heaviest sheep in the world. Its defining trait is the fleece: long, lustrous wool that falls in distinct ringlets or locks, with a staple longer than any other breed produces.

Raisers keep the Lincoln for wool, meat, and crossbreeding. Hand spinners and fiber artists value the fleece for its sheen and length, and the heavy frame gives a good carcass yield. Abroad, Lincolns have been used for generations to add size and fleece weight to other longwool and crossbred flocks.

Sheep raising in the Philippines runs mostly on hair breeds built for hot, humid lowland weather, so the Lincoln stays a rare, imported curiosity here, kept by a handful of exhibition and hobby-farm raisers rather than by commercial operations. Temperament is where the breed earns its keep locally: it is gentle and slow to react, so even a first-time raiser can manage it without much trouble. The sheep settle quickly around people instead of bolting at every approach.

Who it suits

The Lincoln suits raisers who have the space and feed to support a large sheep and who want a heavy, high-value fleece. Its calm nature makes the breed manageable for backyard keepers and fiber hobbyists, though the size and the grooming a long fleece demands mean it is not the animal for anyone wanting a low-input, easy-care flock, and even less so under Philippine heat and humidity, where a dense wool coat needs closer attention than it would in a temperate climate.

The Lincoln takes its name from Lincolnshire, a county in eastern England where long-fleeced sheep had grazed the fertile lowland pastures for centuries. These early longwools were big, heavy-boned animals valued for wool as much as for mutton.

During the agricultural improvements of the 1700s, breeders reworked the old Lincolnshire sheep into a more uniform type. Crossing with Robert Bakewell's improved Leicester stock tightened the conformation and lifted meat quality while keeping the long, heavy fleece intact.

By the 1800s the Lincoln had become an established breed and one of the most influential longwools of its era. Breeders exported it widely, to Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States among other places, where it added frame size and wool weight to local flocks and helped found new crossbred types.

The Lincoln stayed mostly within temperate wool-producing countries and never took hold in tropical Southeast Asia. The Philippines has no established Lincoln population; the breed is a comparatively rare one even in its country of origin today, watched by conservation groups, and it survives mainly through fiber producers and pedigree breeders committed to the longwool tradition.

The Lincoln carries a broad, rectangular body on short, sturdy legs. The head is bold, with a wide muzzle, and both rams and ewes are usually polled, meaning without horns. A forelock of wool typically falls over the forehead. The overall look is of a heavy, low-set animal built to carry a large fleece, quite unlike the sleek, short-coated hair sheep that most Filipino raisers are used to seeing.

Coat and colors

The fleece is what sets the breed apart. Wool grows in long, wavy locks with a strong sheen and can yield an annual fleece weight of around 12 to 20 pounds, a volume no local hair sheep comes close to. White is the standard color, but colored Lincolns, ranging from silver grey to near black, are bred for hand spinners after naturally pigmented fiber. The face and legs stay clean of wool, with the heavy fleece concentrated over the body, so grooming and shearing attention go mostly to the back and sides.

Lincolns carry an even, good-natured disposition. They move slowly and without hurry, and they settle around people quickly, so routine handling, shearing, and health checks go smoothly. The breed does not spook or panic the way some hill breeds do.

Within a flock, Lincolns graze quietly together and stay sociable. Around handlers they are patient and easy to lead with feed, a trait that matters in backyard setups where the raiser works the flock alone. Toward dogs and other animals on the farm they stay placid, though, like every sheep, they depend on the flock for security and do best in groups rather than kept singly. Rams grow large and call for normal caution during breeding season, but taken as a whole, the breed ranks among the more manageable large sheep a Filipino smallholder could take on.

Grooming

• Shear at least once a year; in the Philippines, some raisers shear twice given the heat and humidity, since a long-standing fleece invites matting and skin trouble faster here than in a temperate climate.
• Check the fleece often for matting, stuck plant matter, and dampness, especially over the back and rear.
• Skirt and store fleeces with care when selling to hand spinners, since the wool is the breed's main value.
• Trim hooves on a regular schedule to head off overgrowth and foot problems, more so during the rainy season when ground stays wet.

Exercise

• Give the flock ample grazing room; Lincolns are heavy and need space to move and feed.
• Rotate pasture to keep forage quality up and cut parasite buildup, an ongoing task during the wet season.
• Allow daily access to open ground instead of close confinement, with shade available during the hottest part of the day.

Environment

Lincolns do best on lowland farms with good grass and reasonably dry footing, conditions that take extra planning in the Philippines, where the wet season and typhoons can turn pasture to mud for weeks at a stretch. The dense fleece gives some protection in cold, wet weather back in temperate climates, but in tropical heat it traps moisture against the skin, so raisers need well-drained ground, dry shelter, and good airflow to keep fleece and skin healthy. Fencing must be stock-proof, since this is a large, strong animal.

Being a large grazing breed, the Lincoln draws most of its nutrition from forage. Good pasture during the growing months and quality hay through any lean season form the base of the diet. Local raisers commonly rely on napier grass, para grass, and other tropical forages instead of the temperate pasture grasses used in the breed's native England. Because the animals are big and carry heavy fleeces, they need enough energy and protein to hold condition without turning overfat. Concentrate feed works best kept for periods of higher demand rather than fed as routine.

Treats and supplements

Provide a sheep-specific mineral supplement and clean water at all times. Selenium and other trace elements may need topping up where local soils run short, which is common across parts of the Philippines. Introduce any grain or lush new pasture gradually to avoid digestive upset and bloat, particularly after a sudden flush of rain-fed grass.

The Lincoln is a sturdy, long-lived sheep with a typical lifespan of 10 to 12 years. Most health concerns trace back to the heavy fleece and large frame rather than to any inherited weakness. Regular shearing, parasite management, and foot care keep most Lincolns in good condition, and under Philippine conditions these routines need to happen more often than in a cooler, drier country.

Preventive care

• Shear annually, or more often locally, and skirt the fleece to keep the wool clean.
• Trim hooves on a regular schedule and check feet early for footrot.
• Keep up a deworming and grazing-rotation plan guided by fecal monitoring.
• Vaccinate against clostridial diseases as advised by a local veterinarian.
• Provide the right minerals and avoid excess copper.

Lincolns reach breeding maturity at around 7 to 12 months, though ewes are commonly bred for the first time closer to 18 months, to let the large frame finish developing. Mating is seasonal back in temperate countries, typically in autumn, so lambs arrive in spring. Gestation runs roughly 145 to 150 days.

Litter size is usually one or two lambs; twins are common in ewes kept in good condition, while triplets happen less often. Lincoln lambs are large at birth, so ewes should be in good condition and watched closely at lambing time. Ewes generally mother well and produce enough milk, and lambs grow fast on the dam and good pasture. Because the breed runs large, careful selection and body-condition management keep both lambing ease and growth rates on track. In the Philippines, where day length stays fairly even year round, the strong autumn breeding pattern typical of England tends to soften, and raisers often plan lambing around the dry season instead, to avoid the worst of typhoon season for newborn lambs.