Our organic sheep

Sheepdrove's flock has undergone significant changes in recent years with the introduction of South Shetland and Shetland-cross flocks. Ewes are lambed in early April and we breed them with a mixture of Texel, Shetland, Pol Dorset, Suffolk, and Hampshire Down rams.

Our foundation stock originated from the Shetland Islands where geographical position, breeding and monitoring systems ensure a demonstrable 'high health status', together with an inbuilt ability to survive even the harshest conditions. All our replacement ewes are now homebred. (More about Shetlands... )

The choice of rams produces a lamb with a good dense fleece to withstand the elements, and also enables us to provide a supply of finished lambs 52 weeks of the year.

To ensure the clean grazing system is working, we test dung samples monthly using our own microscope. We count the number of work eggs to identify the worm burden in the faeces. If there is a breakdown we are allowed to individually worm the affected ewe or lamb.

Our shepherd looks after the 800 ewes with over 1000 lambs at foot, assisted by border collies. Like all sheep farmers, we are constantly assessing the health of our sheep, particularly for lameness and scald. We use a benign foot-bathing treatment of zinc sulphate which hardens the ewes’ and lambs’ feet preventing lameness. To prevent fly-strike we hand 'crutch' the ewes and lambs; this is shearing the fleece off the backsides of the sheep to prevent dirty and wet wool where the bluebottle flies can lay their eggs which turn into maggots, tunnelling into them and killing the sheep.

So with great care and attention, these hardy sheep thrive in a low-stress environment with the very best animal welfare standards.

Buy our delicious lamb and seasonally-available mutton at our online shop or call our sales team today on 01488 674747.