Ancient Native Breed Hebridean Sheep

Hebridean Ewes

rare selling Lamb and rare
 

Over 1000 years ago, Vikings introduced sheep to the Highlands of Scotland. These sheep were small and hardy with either two or four horns, short tails and able to withstand very harsh weather conditions. They were very independent requiring little care and interference from humans. Hebridean sheep are also related to other North European breeds such as the Shetland, North Ronaldsay, Manx Loaghtan and Icelandic.

Lamb Producer selling Lamb Rare Breed and Fleece

Towards the end of the eighteenth century this small and hardy sheep were thriving. Sadly, the agricultural revolution, the introduction of new breeds and the clearance of many sheep farms from the area took its toll. The sheep were replaced by what were considered "improved" breeds and by the early twentieth century, these sheep, which had been in the region for almost a thousand years, had been almost wiped out.

By the end of the nineteenth century, flocks of Hebridean Sheep, which were uniformly black in colour, were reintroduced to the parklands of large country estates both in Scotland and in England. The development of these parkland flocks is greatly responsible for saving the breed as they would otherwise not have survived into the mid-twentieth century.

Hebridean Lambs

Lamb Producer selling Lamb Rare Breed and Fleece
 

Black horned domestic animals have been favoured by many shepherds, not just for aesthetic reasons but because their feet are harder, grow more slowly and are more resistant to rot. Hebridean sheep are well known for their hardiness in all weathers (although ours hide in their shelter when its raining!) and are resistant to both fly strike and foot rot. The ewes tend to lamb easily, requiring little assistance, produce abundant milk and have excellent mothering instincts.

In 1973 the Rare Breeds Survival Trust identified Hebridean sheep as a breed in danger of extinction. Only a few parkland flocks remained and there were no sheep discovered in their homelands of the west of Scotland. Today the Hebridean is a success story having been taken off the Rare Breed Watch List. While The RBST will keep an eye on the development of this wonderful breed, their focus is now on the Boreray Breed, which descend from the same Islands and bear a similar history.

Click to read more about Boreray Sheep

 

Happy, Stress free life...

Our lambs are reared on our smallholding in Essex.  The welfare of our animals is our main priority. We run a small flock so that we can provide the best possible care for each and every animal.

We have an incredibly close working relationship with our breeding ewes, all of whom have names and very individual characters including Beatie who is the boss, Tilly who will do anything for a sprout! and Alice who thinks she is a dog and wags her tail when you scratch her head!... By getting to know each and every one of them, we can spot any changes in behaviour and provide a high level of care and attention. We work hard to ensure a happy, stress free life for both them and their lambs. 

And yes, they are completely spoilt rotten! x 

 

 Molly

Lamb Producer selling Lamb Rare Breed and Fleece

Molly is a fantastic Mum, she always has twin girls and several of her daughters are in her flock, she's so attentive and protective x

 Beatie (The Boss)

Beatie has always been the boss, from the minute she arrived with her 4 sisters when they were 3 mths old.

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She's now nearly 16 and retired. While the ram is here she resides in our Retirement Village along with Tilly, also from the original flock, in a safely fenced off area alongside the normal grazing field with a new shelter, restaurant, and grazing / hay area. They receive a special seniors diet too. .

 

Auntie Jess

Jess is the daughter of Alice - one of my favourite, if a little greedy.. ewes. Fab Mum, real character and definitely passed that instinct and hunger to her little girl

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Jess had 3 lambs before getting mastitis, which despite immediate treatment, sadly damaged one side of her udder so she could no longer suckle her lambs. She eagerly accepted the role of Auntie 3 years ago, which means she stays with the lambs when the lambs are weaned and all the Mums come home from summer grazing for their summer holiday.

Jess is the most fantastic Auntie! x

Last year, within 2 days, just 2 days!, she had the whole flock connected to her. When you call them now, the lambs all instinctively flock to Jess first and she brings them down, very proudly with a touch of strutting in her step, and into the pen for their meals. This also allows us to catch and treat any lamb quickly and without stress, whenever they need attention.

and me, Hi x

My name is Andi and I've wanted to be a shepherdess since I was 5.

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We stayed on a Farm B&B in Cornwall when I was five and I would be up at dawn, wearing wellies and a nightdress and sneak out to the yard where the farmer would give me warm milk bottles and set me to feeding all the lambs. I was hooked.... and dreamed of it for many years. Kept dreaming about it throughout my 12 years in the rat race in a very high pressure job. Then an opportunity came our way so we lept! We both changed our jobs. We sold our house and bought a smallholding. Completed all the fencing and shelters and then bought our first 5 Hebridean ewe lambs, aged 6 months old. Beatie, Tilly, Milly Molly and Lilly. Their daughters run the current flock. I work from home as a web designer and my office window overlooks the main lambing shelter, so I can be designing a web page one second and delivering a lamb the next. I'm fully aware, every day, of how lucky I am but its taken a mountain of work and years of battling with planning departments to get here but I am very lucky. My girls are my passion, they are spoilt rotten and they are fantastic mums!

 

Rare and Native Breed Fleeces NOW Available - 
also a selection of yarn and wool products.

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Millfields Rare Breeds breed Hebridean and Boreray rare breed sheep Boray Sheep and Bantam chickens, producing rare breed lamb,
wool, yarn, wool products, fleeces, free range eggs and hatching eggs, Christmas Gifts, Birthday Presents.

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