Organic Sheep

Our sheep are mainly Texels, we use Charalais and Berechon rams to give ewes an easy lambing and produce a lean lamb, lambs are born in April and are reared on grass and their mothers milk.

The ewe flock is a joint venture between Jo, Kate and Kirstin, the work and the profit is shared between us.

Lambs are slaughtered at a local abattoir a couple of miles away and butchered on the farm in our butchery. Find out more about our organic lamb products here.

Swillington Sheep - A Message from Kate

Jo gave Kirstin and I the opportunity to start our own flock of sheep last year.  We raised the funds by asking some very kind people who already support the farm to loan us £100 each with a plan of paying them back within 18 months, either in cash or in meat.  I raised enough to buy 21 rather splendid Texel ewes.  They arrived last October, shortly followed by our new rams, Bernie and Charlie, who soon set about wooing the ladies. 

Sheep farming can be challenging at times and last year’s harsh winter was certainly a baptism of fire for a first year shepherd! But checking for snow-buried sheep and carrying out hay through snow and mud to some appreciative sheep proved worth it with 96 lambs being born when spring finally arrived. Lambing is a great time on the farm and for me, the reason why I find farming so rewarding; to care for the ewes whilst they grow fat (they can and do get stuck upside down in the later stages of pregnancy!), be there keeping a close eye on them during lambing and helping the lambs get a good start in life is immensely rewarding.

We’ve all enjoyed a good summer, with lambs frolicking about the fields and us in the barn shearing the sheep, which can be fun and games at the best of times and darn right exhausting at the worst!  Since then the lambs have grown nicely and we’ve sent about 12 to the abattoir and are producing some great tasting lamb.

So, as we start the second year of my great sheep adventure, I am pleased to say that, apart from the occasional escapee or sheep stuck in the henhouse, the girls are doing really well.  We’ve just started to sort through the lambs to decide who to keep to expand the flock and we’re hoping to use some of our profits to start a smaller rare-breed flock. 

If you’d like to know more about Swillington Sheep Supporters or are interested in buying some great lamb please contact me.

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