Here we look at three important aspects of fleece and fibre: consistency/style, colour and animal health. Consistency varies considerably between different breeds, within the breed and across the animal. We…
Lambs double in size in the last month in the ewe, which is a real challenge to the ewe to keep up with this as well as the additional…
Soil Photo from Emaze.com We know that the correct minerals and trace elements are essential for good health of sheep, goats and alpacas – but how do we know…
Image courtesy of the BBC A difficult year? We all also know that each year brings its own challenges, particularly the weather – too hot, too cold, too wet, too…
Image courtesy of Raw Story Sheep are proverbial amongst the farming community for having a strong death-wish! Indeed it is even said that no Blue-faced Leicester should be sold without an…
The lambs grow wool quite quickly and it is the finest and softest they will produce (even from Nathalie!). So here they are last week: The larger, darker ones with…
In my (Sue’s) experience, the biggest single factor in health of sheep is the correct balance of minerals, which permits their immune systems to function optimally. Thus for example, most…
Though not everyone keeps sheep for meat, those who do will be aware that there are by-products from the abattoir which in most cases do not come back to the…
Mules and Half Breds are the most common type of sheep in the country and make up a large majority of our commercial flocks. They are good mothers and can…
The thought of flystrike can send a chill through any shepherd; though no illness or disease in sheep is pleasant, this is one of the worst. After a mild, very…
A small flock of Portland sheep. Image courtesy of BWMB. When breeding any animal it is important to aim for correct and healthy offspring, but when breeding pedigree stock…
An example of a well turned out Ryeland sheep. Image courtesy of Hawthorns Ryelands. Those local to us may have seen an article in the Western Morning News at the…
Images courtesy of Wool Carpets Naturally Reflecting on a “bad” winter … what do we mean? The UK winter which is nearing its end has been miserably wet though not very…
For those of us that tupped in October lambing is not only on the horizon, but also approaching at a rate of knots. Now is the time to make…
A pedigree flock of Devon & Cornwall Longwools. Picture courtesy of BWMB. This has been quite a hard winter for sheep farmers: not only has it been very wet indeed,…
Full of the joys of a New Year, I was pleased to see that the thinking people were busy. In January, both the Oxford Farming Conference (big guns, big…