44 OX HOUSE FARM FEB / MAR 2022 • farmers-mart . co . uk
WATCH OUT FOR WILLIAM AND HIS 4000 SHEEP
Chris Berry talks with father and son Daniel & William Mullin of Ox House Farm
WILLIAM Mullin has an ambition . He wants to run a flock of 4000 breeding ewes . There are admittedly a few hurdles to overcome along the way in order to get there , not least of which is to have a farm or at least more than his father has at present but at just 14 years of age and with the bit firmly between his teeth you wouldn ’ t bet against his ambition becoming reality .
William already has 450 breeding ewes , his dad Daniel owns 10 acres and rents another 100 acres and is working with his son to help him achieve his goal .
“ William has taken the flock from 150 to 450 in just a couple of years ,” says Daniel . “ It ’ s us , we work together and hopefully this will set him up for when he leaves school .”
As pedigree human stock goes , William couldn ’ t have come from finer to have the fire in his belly for sheep farming . Daniel ’ s wife , William ’ s mum , is Jamie , daughter of esteemed sheep breeder and showman Clive Mitchell .
“ Our ground at Ox House Farm in Marsden is very rough land ,” says Daniel . “ I had Texels on my dad Noel ’ s land when I was a lad . He had managed to buy a smallholding . I ’ d bought two off a sheep dealer when I was 11 . I grew the flock but they just didn ’ t do . Then I had Derbyshire Gritstones and Lonks when I was in my teens . It was Jamie who told me I had to concentrate on just one breed . William says his interest in sheep started really early on . “ I ’ ve liked sheep ever since I could walk , but I ’ ve been into them more properly over the past three years . I want to get it bigger for when I leave school .
“ We have someone who lives near us who lambs 3000 ewes and I ’ ve always said I want to lamb more than him . He asked me when I would stop adding to my numbers and I said when I get to 4000 , but when I get to that number I still might not stop .
The flock is currently made up of Lonks , Herdwicks , Mules , Swaledales and Bluefaced Leicesters . While Daniel says the 450 are William ’ s , William is keen to say whose sheep are whose even though they are in it together .
“ The Lonks are dad ’ s . The Swaledales are shared , but the Bluefaced Leicesters , Herdwicks and Mules are all mine . I ’ ve about 100 Herdwicks and 10 Bluefaced Leicesters . We breed the Herdwick Mule , Lonk Mule and North of England Mule .
“ Dad said to me , one summer at the Great Yorkshire Show , that I could decide which breed I wanted . I went through every alleyway in both the sheep buildings and
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