RSPCA Friends of West Hatch Newsletter | Issue 16 RSPCA-Newsletter-SummerAutumn-2019-online | Page 9

what Woolly
wonders!
By Julia Hill,
Friends Group Secretary
I have been an animal lover all my life but I
never in a month of Sundays ever imagined
we would be the owners of pet sheep.
one occasion he stated that the lamb was
‘displaying a typical backyard problem’. He
was under the impression we kept him and his
friends in the back garden.
We are fortunate enough to have three acres
of fields around our house and there is a lot
of grass to keep under control. Prior to our
ownership of this land a friend kept Soay
sheep here. We steadily got involved in the
lives of these animals, feeding, rounding up,
applying medical treatments and assisting
with lambing.
We later adopted two Suffolk Cross rams
from the Bristol University Veterinary School
at Langford and given their size
(big animals) they were incredibly gentle.
Our friend eventually moved back to
Cornwall leaving just our two rams to
eat their way through all this grass, it was
just too much for them. We subsequently
adopted four orphan lambs which we bottle
fed and they are now fit, healthy three year
old lumps of wool on legs. I cannot believe
how incredibly strong they are, nor fail to be
amazed at their voracious appetites.
They eat our grass, I spin their wool and
they will never be eaten. Visiting the vet on
So many people consider ‘the good life’ as an
option but sadly the reality is that you need a
lot of space to keep these types of animals in
order to ensure they have enough to sustain
them and meet their welfare needs. We have
a total of seven sheep and this, according to
our vet, is the optimum for the space we have.
Our sheep give us a lot of pleasure, make us
laugh, infuriate us and can be expensive if
medical problems arise, but I would not part
with them and look forward to many more
years of their woolly company.
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