For an awful year, thankfully at Home Farm it seems to have gone quite quickly and we are already set up and waiting for our new lambs for the 2021 season.

Always making improvements both with the quality of our wool and the health and welfare of our sheep are what keeps us very busy at the farm.  Our lambs, born March 2020 are the best we have ever seen on our farm and although I always do say this, they really are!  

Our barn is full with pregnant ewes - 80 of them - and we hope to have a successful lambing season again this year - with the first of the lambs due tomorrow! 
The barn is warm and cosy, the ewes are looking very round and happily munching away on the fine hay and good food we provide.  Their beds are changed every day and the water is always cold and fresh.  Individual lambing pens are waiting for them and their new lambs as soon as they want!  Not a bad life.

I'm hoping the weather improves a little, then we can turn the new lambs out quicker.  We always keep some good pasture for the new lambs and never turn them out onto pasture where lambs have grazed the previous year.  This cuts down any disease and also gives them a lovely fresh field to graze.  

Hope to have time to make a new blog during lambing but I always update instagram if you would like to follow us  #homefarmwensleydales

pic below - some of our rams after working in 2020

Here we are in November and I cannot believe where the year has gone!

Here at Home Farm Wensleydales our feet haven't touched the ground since lambing, it has been an exceptionally busy year and we would like to thank all of our customers for their ongoing support.  

Following a very successful lambing in March we have joined a Premium Flock Health Scheme and are currently undergoing blood screening tests to rule out MV (nasty disease) in our flock.  Last week our blood tests came back clear so we are absolutely delighted and now move on to the next stage.

A few of the whites on blood testing day.  The big lad in the middle (without a fringe) is our Wensleydale x Bluefaced Leicester wether - He is 3 and weighs 150 kg!!

Our tups are in.  Happy boys.  Small groups this year, having used a couple of Teaser rams first we hope to lamb a little quicker than normal and will post as soon when the party tent is busy.  

We sheared our lambs in August and I am delighted to say that we 'sold out' of lambs fleece within 3 weeks.  Amazing and thank you.

We are now sorting our longer locks - some beautiful fleeces coming up for sale.  The weather last year gave us amazing quality fleece but the heat took a couple of inches away from the extreme lengths.  Our fleeces are averaging 7-9 inches and, of course, we are delighted with the quality.  If you would like an entire fleece, please message me and I will get sorting!

Our wool is as popular as ever, especially the naturally coloured 4 ply.  This is pure Wensleydale - absolutely stunning.  It takes a long time to collect enough raw fleece from my flock of blacks and, of course I am always delighted with the quality and colours that these sheep produce.  

Products are not quite up to date on my website but we are working on this.  
Some gorgeous dyed lambs locks and some natural coloured Lincoln Longwool will be up for sale very soon along with exciting new crochet patterns and a few more knitting ideas.   

I'm off to Compton Verney craft fair for the rest of the weekend and hope to see many of you there.  
Best wishes as always - jx

Lambing 2019 - March and April.  Best time of the year for a woolly farm

2/3rds of this year has already passed and I can't believe it!  We seem to have moved from lambing, to shearing, to hay making and woolly shows so quickly!

Its been such bizarre weather for us here in the UK, and our farm has suffered for the lack of grass but we couldn't let our livestock suffer, so - of course - we have been buying food for them!  I didn't want to use the hay and haylage that we have stored for winter. 

This photo shows the extreme temperature and the lack of grass for my sheep. 

I understand today is the first day of Autumn - and so I guess our grass won't recover this year but we shall make the most of whatever happens now.

 .. But despite this dry and hot summer - our lambs are fabulous!  We sheared last week and their fleeces are beautiful.  Some I will have spun into lambswool and some I will sell for spinning and crafts.  The black is such a deep lustrous colour.

Our Kelpie Stan had his second birthday and now we feel it is a good time to push him a little harder on the farm and start work.  He's fit, intelligent and a good instinct - I am sure he will do well as our farm dog even though Wensleydales will only move for a dog if they are in the mood to!

Planning tupping groups for the end of September is our next important job.  Being so very rare, it is important that we get our bloodlines varied as well as making sure we continue to breed good healthy stock.  And talking of tupping - we have had two of our Lincoln Longwool ram lambs castrated so that they now have a lifelong job here as teasers (used to bring the ewes into season - before the real guys get to work).   

And the rest of the year now for me will be many wool shows around the UK.  Our 'Shows' page lists where we are and if you are nearby then it would be great to say Hi.  Do come along and see us.
jx 

Summer at Home Farm Wensleydales and weaning our lambs

This year at Home Farm, despite the dreadful weather conditions that faced us from November until Easter, we had a tremendous lambing season.  We are delighted to have increased our slaughter free flock.

Lambing started at the beginning of March and ended mid April (with the arrival of a surprise lamb –  a result of an over-energetic ram who can clearly jump the high fences!!) and this is followed 4 months later with weaning.

I personally find the job of weaning our lambs very emotional.  This crucial time must be managed carefully to avoid stress to both the ewe and her lambs, although the lambs seem to find it more stressful than the ewes!  Minimising the stress and easing the process are very important factors on our farm both for the welfare of the animal and the quality of our wool.

Without our intervention, weaning would occur naturally at approximately 6 months of age.  We aim to wean at 18 - 20 weeks when the ewes milk has naturally decreased and there is less risk of her developing mastitis.

We take the ewes to a different area of the farm for a few days to allow her milk to dry up completely.  This only takes 3 or 4 days and the lambs are left in their familiar surroundings with all of the other lambs who have been with them since birth.

Once the ewes milk has dried up we return them to their groups and they are not separated again until winter when the lambs are fed a special diet to help them strong through these long colder months.

Keeping Longwool Wensleydale Sheep at Home Farm Wensleydales is an entirely different process to keeping sheep for meat.  There are many factors that will affect the quality of the wool that we produce and stress during weaning is one of the highest.  We cannot have any weakness in the staple or wool break in our premium fibre. 

When we have successfully weaned our ewes and lambs we can look forward to a healthy flock growing luxury fibre for our wool and fleece customers.