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Legend has it that this breed swum ashore from one of the wrecked ships of the Spanish Armada. The sheep were found isolated on the island of Portland, now joined to the mainland by Chesil Beech. Portland sheep are a small breed that begin life coloured a foxy brown which fades as they mature but can still be seen on their faces and legs. The meat is prized for its flavour and the wool is fine and good for spinning. (For a very comprehensive history take this link to the Portland Sheep Website) If thinking of starting your own flock, have a look at our Portland Sheep For Sale. We began with three ewes, one of which was meant to have been in lamb but as there was some doubt about this the owner gave us a fourth. Their first task was to eat as much of our grass as they could but as four sheep hardly make a dent on 15 acres we then bought a ram and let nature take its course. The photo is of the first year's lambs, the only ones that can be registered as Bush Park Portlands and as you can see there were only three. |
The ewe that was meant to have been in lamb wasn't and didn't conceive even with the ram about. She kept us fooled for a long time but was actually just over weight, probably the reason she didn't have a lamb. In the second year we had another three lambs, Parsley, Bartholemew and Padraig (pronounced Porig) whose bleet you can hear above. On 28th June we were surprsed to find another born to one of last years lambs! By counting back we discovered the date coincided with the rams first success at smashing his way through a gate! This lamb was soon folowed by another conceived at the same time. They have been named Penny & Bun for various reasons. We're now into 2007 with 33 sheep and one Ram, Parkinson, who is available for exchange as he is related to some of the ewes. |
