Marsh Farm Information
Chickens
- The male is called a cockerel.
- The female is called a hen.
- The young are called chicks.
The hens at Marsh Farm are free range and roam freely in their paddock. They lay their eggs in the hen house. They are fed layers mash in a feed hopper and they also peck at the soil, worms and grass. The hens can drink water from a drinker. At night the hens are shut into the hen house to keep them safe from predators such as foxes. The free-range hens at Marsh Farm are a breed called Warren hens and we have about 100. Each hen lays between 280-300 eggs each year, which is approximately one egg a day.
Sheep
- The male is called a ram.
- The female is called a ewe.
- The young are called lambs.
The lambs grow inside their mother for 147 days. The mother will usually give birth to one, two or three lambs but the average is two. At Marsh Farm the main flock lambs in the spring between February and April, however we do also have a small flock of ewes that are able to lamb out of season. This is a special breed called Dorsets and by keeping these we can have lambs in October. As the summer approaches the shepherd cuts off the sheep's coat of wool, which is called a fleece. This happens at shearing time, May and June. There are 350 ewes at Marsh Farm, producing about 500 lambs. The breeds of sheep are - Romney, Jacob, Poll Dorset and Southdown.
Cattle
- The male is called a bull.
- The female is called a cow.
- The young are called calves.
In order to give us milk the cow must have a calf. With dairy cows the calves are taken away from their mothers and fed on powdered milk so that we can have the cow's milk. The cows that give us milk are called dairy cows. On average a cow gives us 23 litres of milk every day. Most of our cows at Marsh Farm are Friesian; they have black and white markings. The calves are Blonde D' Aquitaine cross Friesian.
Pigs
- The male is called a boar.
- The female is called a sow.
- The young are called piglets.
The piglets grow inside their mothers for three months, three weeks and three days and then they are born. The mother usually gives birth to an average of ten piglets. The name for the sows giving birth is called farrowing. The piggery is divided into three parts. The Dry Sow house where the boars and pregnant sows live, the Farrowing House where the sows give birth and stay with their piglets for 4 weeks, and the Weaner Pens where the young piglets live in groups (between 4-11 weeks old). The breeds of pig at Marsh Farm are:- Saddleback, Landrace, Large White and Welsh.
Recommended websites of interest:-
