The Willowshill Flock
Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from The Willowshill Flock, .
09/11/2022
Ohh we love breakfast time. Food and red bums! With one and a half to go....
05/11/2022
In my quest to find more value in my wool I have come up with a few things... However my new and most favourite hobby has to be needle felting .. to be able to sculpt with wool is so much fun... And in hoping to continue to learn so that I can princess and use my own wool.
03/11/2022
TUPDATE
Occasionally the busy working man requires a meal alone without his many ladies! Gregory has been a busy lad over the last couple of weeks with six out of his eight ladies marked and just two left to woo! Fingers crossed for a good season.
02/11/2022
Easter is eagerly awaiting Gregory's return after a switch from a red crayon to a green one. Maybe she will be a little more wooed by him in this colour. So far she's playing hard to get!
01/11/2022
Time to coax this page back into life! Life has been insanely busy with the day job becoming much more full on. As a result this page has been lacking a little. So as a quick catch up here is what we have been up to!
We had a big learning curve with sending the first batch of lambs to the abattoir. Tears were shed and we discovered that trying to judge size without scales is a skill that I have not yet developed. However it was a massive step forward in what I want to do and how I want to live, producing my own food and knowing exactly where my food has come from. I now know just how much I need to feed and what I am aiming for in my next batch of lambs.
Tupping time is here! The nights are getting longer and the dark is rolling in earlier, this can only mean one thing, it's time for Greg to get his groove on… having had a bit of a sour temper in the last few weeks its safe to say he is a reformed character now that he has his little gang of girls back with him.
Everyone got a tidy up, a good check for any fly eggs or nasty little wrigglers because yes, at the end of october the blowfly are still striking. Luckily everyone was clear and withany mucky backsides trimmed and repellant applied we are hoping for a peaceful end to a ridiculously long fly season. Everyone has been wormed and has had a full MOT so we are looking forward to a good winter with happy sheep!
So many plans and exciting times ahead with lambs 2023 pending!
Told her she would be on the list for a new postcode and she decided to do her model walk for you all. I give your Willowshill Ava. 🤣🤣 Dorset horn x Jacob ewe lamb.
29/07/2022
Avril looking adorable this morning. The Shetland Jacob cross is both pretty and hardy. Certainly one I will be continuing with. This little lady however is on the lookout for a new postcode.
26/07/2022
These two are in for a little tlc.... As you can see they are far from thrilled about the idea. Avril (the smaller Shetland cross) will be looking for a new home soon so we want her back in tip top condition after a brush with our maggoty freinds. Flystrike has been a nightmare this year. Even with twice daily checks and constant trimming. The white dust on these two is actually talcum powder as.wonfar it's actually been the most successful thing at keeping the flies off!
I have been so inactive on this page, apologies for that! Work and life have been manic, the sheep have been doing their best to test my patience.as for the weather. Don't get me started. From warm to wet to heatwave back to warm and damp. The flies are having a party and maggots are a huge part of everything at the moment.
Trying to keep ontop of checking everyone is a nightmare when the lambs are feral. Everyone was checked on Thursday night welhen we weaned more of the lambs.... By last night I had three lambs with early strike. Luckily I've caught it early enough. It really is scary how fast these flies can cause damage. You can go from nothing to death's door so quickly in this weather.
It won't be long before we have lamb boxes in the pipelines and some of the ewes and ewe lambs available for pastures new! Watch this space.
In the meantime enjoy the drama that comes with haltering some of these babies for the first time.
28/05/2022
It's that time of year .... Cant wait to have some fleeces to play with
08/04/2022
It's been a varied week for us. We welcomed Ariel and Arora into the world on Monday. And after a bit of a slow start they are both coming on brilliantly. Sadly we lost Alfie. We aren't sure what happened. No obvious cause we just found him when we did morning feeds. Sometimes these things happen. But to say I'm gutted is an understatement. He was really something special. That's all of.our lambing done for the time being. There may be a couple more in the summer if our Jacob girls succeeded on their Romp with the Dorset....
Kerry went out today with Albus and Alice! Brisk start but they are very happy bouncy babies.
Tiny Alan had the zoomies last night! He loves his playtimes. Despite being the same size as his newborn half sister he's actually flying along
31/03/2022
Easter and Avril are doing well. We are a little unsure on how well Avril can see. Her behaviour is a little bit off however she's suckling well and bouncing around. She's a happy healthy little lady so we will be keeping a close eye on how she's doing. She will be staying with us so if she does need a bit of extra help she can be pampered like a princess.
Play time for Arlo Annie and ava this evening. The cooler air had them leaping around
Arlo and Annie. My first set of twins. Nelly is simply the best mumma and adores her little double trouble gang. I was so thrilled when they were born safely.
New beds for Alan, Astrid and Astra tonight. Happy sheep's. Plus our briquette press arrived so we can start making use of all of the pony p**p that we have.
Willowshill Avril. She's a bit tall for her tiny mumma so we had a bit of a shaky start with the nursing.... Looks like she's got it now!
Ava. Ohh where do I start. I'm so in love with this little lady. My first spotty lamb and so sassy and confident.... She will most probably be staying with us as part of our fleece project but nothing is set in stone yet.
This evening we have the arrival of this little beauty. Easter was amazing and is being a brilliant mumma. Almost too brilliant as she panics when she can't see her baby completely so getting her latched on is a bit of a challenge.... But she is a first time mumma so we can forgive her for loving her baby so much. Here's a speed clean time lapse of the cutie herself
Alfie .. a day after Albie was born, Alfie arrived... His mother Cleo is Bonnie's twin sister. And it was bang my head against a wall time as she had the exact same attitude towards her baby as Bonnie.... So another halter. Lots more arguments and the sisters attended their parenting class together. Cleo took a little longer to accept that parenting is not a choice. Bust she is now also out in the paddock and little Alfie is also doing brilliantly... Infact little would be a lie. He's a giant just like his half brother.
27/03/2022
Not sure where penny is going.... But she's put her lipstick on perfectly 🤣
Happy mother's day everyone! Jolene has decided to have her babies on mother's day. Two gorgeous bouncing baby girls. First time mumma and completely brilliant.
27/03/2022
Albie. Now a couple of weeks old he didn't have the best start. As my first lamb In this programme he was out of Bonnie... First time lamber... Drama queen. Loved him but couldnt bare to be near him. Feed him... How dar you suggest such a thing! It took a good week of top ups with bottles. Bonnie tied in a halter and pure determination on Albies part. But the little dude had more grit that his mother and he's now out in the paddock and growing like a w**d. Bonnie feeds him begrudgingly.... But she's not convinced motherhood is her calling 🤣🤣
Some Tiny Alan spam. He's such an awesome and determined little guy. Premature and smaller than my boot it's been very touch and go. But he's certainly doing his best to grow and catch up with his brothers and sisters... We are all besotted with his tiny little self.
First time time outside for Albus and Alice with mumma Kerry.
Slightly older babies. Ava (spotty) Annie and Arlo. With mummas Penny and Nelly. Can't wait to get these guys out this weekend!
I'm so behind with creating this page and updating it.... There will be a lot of lamb spam in the next few days whilst I catch up but for now enjoy this mornings new arrivals. Kerry is a brilliant mumma. And we have another gorgeous set of twins
23/03/2022
Videos (show all)
