The Abbess flock of Wiltshire Horn Sheep
Our flock was founded in 1995 with just 6 sheep
from Writtle Agricultural College which is on our
doorstep. Our very first Ram lamb was bought at the
Rare Breeds Show and Sale at Stoneleigh the
following year. He was the Wiltshire Horn Breed
Champion called Maddoxford Bauldric 3rd and a very
handsome chap! So in 1996 we were set to begin
breeding and after an exiting and nervous first
lambing we decided to extend our flock further and
really get into the adventure of keeping sheep.
When Writtle decided to cull its Wiltie flock in
favour of commercial Suffolks (a poor choice
possibly considering the future of wool) we managed
to add another 10 ewes of various ages to swell
numbers.
Combined with further purchases from established
flocks and the breed show and sale we reached around
30 ewes and having bred up are now the proud owners
of 50 breeding ewes and 4 Ram lines allowing us to
supply ewes with an unrelated Ram to anyone buying
our stock.
The Wiltshire is one of only two British Native
Breeds that moult their fleece leading to lower
shepherding costs. We strive to breed top quality
animals to promote the breed for the future.
We find the sheep hardy, strong in leg and foot and
general health. They are fairly low maintenance but
do require obvious attention and we find them most
rewarding to keep. Wilties provide excellent meat
and we also supply beautiful flavoursome lamb,
Hoggit (over Wintered Lamb), and Mutton which much
maligned over the years is now growing in
popularity. With the onset of hotter Summers and the
trend in BarBQing becoming more and more prevalent
we also do excellent Lamb Sausages, Burgers and
Kebabs so why not place a meat order. Have a look at
our price list and check out our Newsletter each
month. At present our meat is only delivered locally
or you are welcome to collect. We hope to remedy
this over the next 12 months and meat packs will be
available next year.
Please contact us for stock availability or any
advice. |
For further information, check out
the Wiltshire Horn
web site at
www.wiltshirehorn.org.uk |
The Abbess herds of Large Black and Tamworth
pigs
Both of our pig Herds came about
by a twist of fate. We already had the Sheep and had
wanted to start with pigs for a number of years
after doing courses at our local Agricultural
College and getting the bug. Andy had always said if
he won the Raffle at The Rare Breeds Show and Sale
that would be the start of things and low and behold
in 1997 we won a Large Black weaner. So off we went
down to Martin Snell, donator of the prize and long
established breeder, picked up the Large Black and
then , as she needed a companion, collected a
Tamworth gilt from Nick Hunkin another well known
chap in the Pig world. The Large Black was a Bess
line but we called her Raffles as she had been the
prize and the Tamworth although a Lucky Lass became
Kismet as it was fate or destiny that bought her to
us. After many adventures and mistakes throughout the
first years we now keep 2 Lucky Lass sows and 2
Matilda sows along with a Stock boar of each breed.
Golden Ranger our Tamworth and Attempt our Large
Black both often have ladies visiting!! Due to our
inexperience we never got the Bess Sow into pig but
she did live a long happy life here as our first
aquisition.
We find this is the perfect amount of livestock for
a small farm like ours. It provides us with
wonderful meat for ourselves and local sales and
pedigree weaners too. Please contact us for stock
for sale and check out our meat list too though we
only deliver locally at present or you are welcome
to collect. As with our lamb we hope to be producing
meat boxes for delivery further afield next year. |
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