by elizabeth | Apr 22, 2015 |

Shepherd's Watch Farm Blog: April 2015

Spring has sprung, and lots of new additions are being made to the farm. Read up about what’s happening in the Shepherd Watch monthly blog posts.

Spring is here and lambing is at last over. The Southdowns started lambing in early January, and then our new breed of sheep, the Devon Closewools, lambed late in March. Their lambs are gorgeous and you can see them from the cottage garden. There seems to be lambs everywhere at the moment!

Spring calving is almost over too, just one Irish Moiled cow left to calve, then a gap until Sapphire and Lady Grace, the two Northern Dairy Shorthorns calve. These two cows are a very rare breed (Category 1, Critical, on the RBST Watch List). They belong to the Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST) because they are so rare, and we are looking after them for RBST.

The fox continued to pay us unwanted visits throughout last year and so we have had to reorganise our hen-keeping to try and outwit the fox. The hens, along with the cockerel, are in their electric fenced run just outside the cottage garden.

Another new addition to our menagerie are three turkeys. These too are a rare breed, Bourbon Red, which were hatched in an incubator. They then spent their first few weeks in the house under a heat lamp, but when they outgrew their box and decided to roost on the piano it was time to rehouse them in the stable! It’s the first time we have ever reared turkeys and they are amazing creatures.

We were blessed with many swallows nesting all around the yards and stables again last year, and we are looking forward to their return. The barn owl has been spotted frequently in the bottom woodland, and the young owls have been particularly vocal some nights.

Over the winter we put up two owl boxes, although we are told it could be years before they are populated. And in all the fields round about you will sport hares, large and small.

Meens Farm at All Saints South Elmham, near Halesworth, is a family-fun, working farm, and home to an exciting array of rare breed sheep and cattle. Read more about the animals at the farm here.

Stay on the farm! 

Shepherds Watch is a beautiful, sleeps 6 cottage within the 600 acre grounds. Ideal for any age group, come and meet the animals and enjoy life on the farm! Book your retreat here.