Numbers:
120 Ewes and 3 Rams.
Breeds:
The Ewes are mostly Suffolk cross Mules.
The Rams are Suffolk, Texel and Charolais.
What they eat:
The sheep diet mainly consists of naturally grown grass. The sheep graze the meadows most of the year only coming indoors in the late winter ready for lambing in the spring. Whilst indoors the sheep are fed hay, (which is grown on the farm) they are also fed some pelleted sheep food which is purchased from a local company. We give them the pelleted sheep food to make sure the ewes get the correct nutrition in pregnancy so that the lambs are healthy when they are born and the ewes are fit to produce that all important milk for their lambs.
The Sheep Year
Mating
Also known as tupping. This occurs in the late Autumn. The rams that have been kept separate from the ewes for the rest of the year are introduced to the ewes. One ram can serve (mate) around 40 ewes in a season.
Housing
The housing is a purpose build sheep shed. The sheep get housed in the winter, this is to rest the pasture land and also so that we can look after sheep more individually in their pregnancy and at lambing. Whilst indoors we can also control the sheep's diet to maintain their body condition.
Lambing
In the spring the sheep begin lambing. At lambing time we supervise the sheep 24 hours a day, to help the ewes if they have any difficulties giving birth and also look after ewes and lambs post lambing. The housing is divided up into small pens to make the handling of the sheep easier. Once the ewe has lambed each individual ewe and her lambs are taken to the maternity shed where they have a pen all on their own, to let the mothers and new born lambs bond. After a day the mothers and lambs are put back into the main sheep shed where they grow stronger and a couple of days later they are turned out into the meadows.
Grazing
In the Summer and Autumn the sheep graze the fields. In the early summer the sheep are shorn. This is to remove their thick winter coats. Throughout the year the sheep are checked daily. Periodically the sheep are bought into a handling pen where they are treated for any parasites or other problems with feet etc.
Fattening
As the lambs get bigger they are weighed and when they have the correct cover of fatness and reached the required weight they are sold to the customer through our farm shop as a pack of lamb and also through the local livestock market. In the late summer the lambs are weaned from their mothers. At this time the ewes milk has dried up and by weaning them the ewes can rest and regain some body condition.
The lambs continue to grow and in the winter the lambs are fed some hay and pelleted food to keep then growing when the grass begins to run out and the days get colder. The lambs are all sold by the following lambing