Fallowfields Farm

June Update

Our first Cotswold White and Light Sussex chickens are growing fast and have been let out into the orchard. Twenty-four more Costwold White chicks have been delivered to the farm along with 26 ducklings.

We have also received 36 more quail since the first bevy was released into our soft-fruit orchard. In addition, our first Aylesbury ducklings and geese have been let out onto the farm, where they can be seen waddling and lazing around the pond. Gavin the Goose and Daffyd the Duck are both doing well.

Over the course of the past month we have also received delivery of two more pigs. These are British Saddlebacks, a new breed to Fallowfields. The British Saddleback was introduced in 1967, having been bred as an amalgamation of the Essex and Wessex Saddlebacks. The Essex is from East Anglia, while the Wessex originated in the New Forest area. It is reported that where these two breeds were found alongside each other, the Essex was considered to be a higher class of pig, with the Wessex being seen as a more humble, ‘farmer’s’ pig. Both pigs were black with the distinctive, pale ‘saddle’ that we see in the British Saddleback today.

Previous Updates: May 2008