One of our Ayrshire cows with her calf
The farm manages an extensive range of livestock including cattle,sheep, pigs and poultry.
We also have several hives of bees on our site.
Ayrshire Cattle hail from south west Scotland and have red and white markings. We have been keeping pedigree Ayrshire cattle at Oathall for over thirty years. They are able to convert grass into milk efficiently and are long lived giving birth to their calves easily. Our Ayrshires are milked in an abreast type parlour twice daily at 7am and 4.15pm.
A ewe with her lambs in a pen
Sheep – we have a flock of forty ewes which is now predominantly North Country mules crossed with either a Texel or a Suffolk ram. Previously we kept small flock of pedigree Suffolk ewes for showing however rearing them has become prohibitively expensive in recent years. Around 70 lambs are born on the farm each year, with most being sold as meat through the Oathall Farm Shop. Lambing takes place in the last three weeks of the spring term.
Large White Pigs are distinguished by their erect ears, long bodies and covering of fine white hair. As their name suggests they are pretty big too! The Large White owes its origins to the Old Yorkshire Breed. Our pigs spend part of their lives in outdoor paddocks eg in our orchard, we keep between six and eight sows or gilts together with a Large White boar. Our pigs have won many prizes over the years. Most of our pigs are sold through our Farm shop as either fresh pork or sausages.
Visitors to the farm might be interested in our big pig factsheet!
Inspecting the onsite production
Poultry has long been a feature on Oathall farm, we keep small breeding groups of Bantams in houses, a Speckled Cockerel, Welsummer Bantam Cockerels and we have a small flock of commercial hybrid layers, who each produce around 300 eggs each year. We have previously kept broiler chickens, turkeys and laying birds in deep litter housing.
Bees are kept in several hives on the site; they are looked after by our local Bee Club.
