Harvesting in the case of wool means shearing. Pure new wool comes from live sheep and sheep are not killed in the shearing process! This blog item focusses on how…
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…
Images courtesy of The Saatchi Gallery At the Mill we have been thinking about art – for reasons which will become very clear in the near future! So we have…
Length is less relevant to the processor than to the breeder! After all, the breeder will be expecting to show animals in full fleece in all their glory, while the…
Wool from different sheep varies considerably – above are Wendsleydale,Shetland and Blue-faced Leicester – there are no prizes for guessing which is which! The point here is to illustrate difference…
Most of us know wool comes from sheep, and perhaps we think it is always white and all the same: this series of articles may make you think again! The…
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…
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 Southdown sheep has been established in the UK for over two hundred years, but has been in its current ‘improved’ state since the 1800’s with the breed society being…
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…