At the moment we have over 650 ewes in our flock and this number is increasing year on year. They rear over 1,000 lambs which means that we sometimes have 2,000 sheep on the farm.

 

Our ewes are really important to us. Most of them have been bred on this farm for several generations and are well adapted to our land and system. We try and minimise the number of new sheep that we buy in to keep away diseases and ailments that we have worked hard to breed out of our flock.

 

We start lambing in March and are moving towards lambing everything outdoors which is more natural for our sheep.  Lambs grow really quickly and most will be finished and ready for market in under one year.     

 

The sheep are usually found grazing our very low input grassland on the top of Bignor Hill or on our special herbal leys grown specifically for flowers and insects.   

 

We also keep a small herd of Sussex cattle which can often be seen grazing around Bignor Roman Villa. They are a lovely docile local breed and are renowned for producing excellent quality beef. We also use the cattle for helping to manage conservation areas on the farm where their selective grazing and trampling helps the wildflowers to flourish.