Glynelwyn Livestock
Our Pigs
We currently keep Rare Breed Berkshire Pigs in the names of our sow, Bracken, along with Oliver the boar. At one time we also bred and kept Gloucestershire Old Spots and Middle Whites,
but decided to concentrate on the Berkshires who are a rare breed,
in order to help maintain those that are in danger of extinction.Latterly, because of increasingly wet Winters we have downsized to just one soe and one boar, with piglets/weaners at various times of the year.
Berkshires
The
breed originated in the Thames Valley areas circa 1790. Although primarily black in colour, the Berkshire carcass dresses out completely white, and has a high proportion of lean meat to fat. The
flesh is fine in texture and has a distinct flavour.
Please Note
Pedigree Breeders are dedicated to saving our native and rare breed
British pigs.
Pedigree Pork is from rare breeds. There aren't enough to supply supermarkets.
Supermarket Pork is from hybrid or crossbred pigs. They don't help save our rare breeds
Our Sheep
Our current flocks are based on mainly Rare Breeds with an
emphasis on Longwools,which includes the british Gotland.
Here's a little about each breed:-
Bluefaced Leicester
Bluefaced Leicester sheep should have a broad muzzle, good mouth
and a tendency towards a roman nose, bright alert eyes and long
erect ears. The colour of the head skin should be dark blue showing
through white hair. There should be a good length of neck laid into
broad shoulders with a good spring of rib and a long strong back
with no weakness behind the shoulder. The hindquarters should be
broad and deep, the legs well positioned and strong boned. It is
important that the wool be tightly purled, fine and open cleanly to
the skin.
Corriedale
Corriedales originated in New Zealand but stock was introduced
into the UK in the late 20th Century. They have a particularly fine
crimped fleece which together with the variety of colours, makes
them very popular with handspinners, felters and knitters.
Gotland
Fine-boned and of medium size. Hornless black head sometimes with
white markings and free from wool. Bold eyes, alert medium sized
ears. Small neat muzzle with even jaw and teeth set squarely on the
pad. Slender neck and shoulders set smoothly into a level back with
generous length, good depth and reasonable breadth of body. Slender
black legs well spaced and upright. Short hair tipped tail. Dense,
long, lustrous grey fleece, in shades of dark to light silver grey
as shown in the picture on the home page. Clearly defined even curl
and staple, soft to the touch. Calm, friendly disposition.
Greyface Dartmoor
Descended from the local breeds, which grazed the low ground in
and around Dartmoor, they are a slow maturing breed taking some 3
years to reach maturity. They are not classed as a Hill breed.
Improvements were carried out during the 19 century using the local
Longwools and the Leicester Longwool.
Leicester Longwool
The
head is bold and strong on a short thick neck. The crown is well
covered with wool, and the face covered in white (black) hair. The
ears are blue (on white sheep), fine and fairly long with occasional
spots. The muzzle should be strong with even jaws, and nostril dark
in colour. The body is deep and of considerable length with full
flanks. The back is broad and level, the ribs being well sprung. The
legs are of medium length with good bone, well set up on the
pasterns on dark feet. The legs are covered in white (black) hair,
the back legs usually being covered in wool.
Lincoln Longwool
Historically, the Lincoln Longwool is one of our most important
native breeds of sheep. A large dual-purpose breed developed to
carry a heavy fleece of strong, lustrous, lanolin-rich wool combined
with a substantial mutton carcass providing both meat and tallow.
Lincolnshire was already famous for its sheep in the Middle Ages
when the wool trade was crucial to Britain’s economy and Lincoln was
one of the seven ‘staple’ (official exporting) towns of England.
Teeswater
The
Teeswaters originate from the north east of England in the area of
the River Tees. In this area the Teeswaters were used for crossing
purposes on to the smaller hill sheep to produce a cross bred sheep
suitable for fat lamb production on the more fertile land further
down the dale.
Wensleydale
A very large longwool sheep, described by the British Meat and
Livestock Commission as “probably the heaviest of all our indigenous
breeds”. It is a visually striking sheep with considerable presence.
It has bold and alert carriage which is accentuated by its broad,
level back on wide quarters and strong thighs. It has a distinctive
deep blue head and ears, which should be clean except for a well
developed forelock of wool, usually referred to as the “topping”.
Both sexes are polled.
Our Goats
Anglo-Nubian
We specialise in Anglo-Nubian goats which, although less prolific in
their milk production than some of the other breeds, produce a
higher butterfat milk and which is therefore EXTRA delicious - Well
that's our opinion, anyway. The goats are milked twice a day and
produce more than enough milk to not only supply the house, but also
gets turned into soft and hard cheese as well as yoghurt. Any excess
milk goes to the weaner pigs and the whey (having been separated
from the curds when cheese making) also goes to the pigs as a
special treat.
Our herd of pedigree goats are CAE negative
Angora
We
have our latest addition of 3 Angora wethers, and their fleeces are to
compliment the yarn produced from our longwool breeds of sheep.
Our Poultry and Waterfowl
We run a fairly wide variety of hens for egg laying. From this
lot we get "all the colours, in all the sizes"!
Up until last year, we also had a guinea fowl, who did a fabulous job of watching
over the flock and anouncing any suspect 'visitors'. He has been
sadly missed, and we have updated our coup and walk in run for added protection now that he is no longer acting as our fox alert!
We also have a few egg laying ducks.
Our Poultry and Waterfowl are DEFRA registered.
