As part of a weekly diary, Gressenhall Farm see the arrival of two ewes and one cheeky horse jumps the fence to get fresh grass.
We do hope you enjoyed the glorious Bank Holiday weekend; our calves have been enjoying the new spring grass down on the river bank, blossom has arrived on our fruit trees and wildflowers have started to emerge amongst the grassland.
Over the weekend, Trojan, one of our Suffolk Punch horses, decided to be cheeky and get to the grass on the other side of his field fence!
The farm team have been busy preparing for the arrival of many new little ones, a clear sign that Spring has arrived.
Over the last week the first of the Norfolk Black turkey eggs were laid, soon the hatchlings will be upon us. These birds are large in size, where a male bird can reach up to 25lbs. They are a popular local choice for many people come Christmas time.
This week we were also delighted to welcome the arrival of two ewe Lincoln Longwool lambs. Both mum and her new little ones are doing well as they enjoy exploring their new surroundings.
Eight ewe Norfolk Horn’s are also expecting, so not before long, Gressenhall fields will be full of hopping and energetic Spring lambs. This is certainly one of our favourite times of the year!
The Lincoln Longwool is a hardy breed, extremely docile in nature. They produce an excellent heavyweight fleece which is very popular with hand spinners.
The wool trade is a very important part of Norfolk history and economy, where it provided wealth for many generations. Wool was used as a trading commodity as well as in the production of woollen garments. Due to the decline in the importance of wool, numbers of this breed fell and today the breed remains rare.
As well as the Lincoln Longwool and Norfolk Horn, we also have resident Suffolk and South Down sheep.
We use these sheep as an educational tool to show our visitors the difference in these rare breeds as well as their evolution.
Did you know, the sheep breed Suffolk evolved from the crossing of Norfolk Horn and South Down during the late 1700’s.
We hope you are enjoying the sunshine and exploring your local surroundings. We look forward to sharing more Gressenhall Farm news with you next week.
•Gressenhall Farm have teamed up with the Eastern Daily Press to bring you a weekly diary of what is going on behind the scenes at the farm
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