Farm Animals

Donkey

The donkey's ancestors were wild asses from Africa and Asia. The African branch of the breed were found between the Mediterranean coast and the Sahara Desert to the south of the Red Sea. There were two separate species: the Nubian wild ass and the Somali wild ass.

The Asiatic branch of the breed came from a much larger area stretching from the Red Sea to Northern India and Tibet where the ass had to adapt to different climate, terrain and altitude.

Donkeys today come in all shapes, sizes, colours and coat texture. The most common coat colour is grey, followed by brown and then black, roan and broken coloured donkeys (a combination of brown-and-white or black-and-white markings) and the rarest colour is pure white.

The Donkey Sanctuary in Devon offers a wealth of information on keeping and caring for Donkeys. Top^

Pygmy goat

Pygmy goats are usually kept as pets or show animals and not for meat or milk production. The pygmy goat originated on the continent of Africa and is sometimes known as the African Pygmy goat. It was imported into this country at the end of the 19th Century as a zoo animal. As its name implies its smaller than dairy goats but produces a respectable amount of milk for its weight and food consumption.

They make excellent children's pets because they are easy to raise and handle they are affectionate, cute, loveable and playful. Owning a Pygmy Goat as a pet can also help reduce symptoms of stress, reduce blood pressure and increase your life span. A full-grown nanny or wether (castrated male) can be from 16 to 23 inches at the withers and usually weigh from 40 to 70 pounds. Pygmy goats are year round breeders so kids may be produced at any time of the year. A litter usually consists of 1-3 goats and the kids weigh from 2-4 pounds.

Find information on goat keeping at The British Goat Society web site. Top^

Sheep

At the Animal Ark we keep Woodland Whiteface sheep, Shetland Sheep and suffolk cross breed sheep.

Woodland Whiteface are classified as a rare breed and originated in the South Pennines of England. It is also known as Penistone after the Yorkshire town where sheep sales have been held since 1699. It is thought to be closely related to the Swaledale and the Lonk.

One of the larger of the English hill breeds, the White face has no wool on it's face and legs. Both sexes are horned and the horns in the males are heavily spiraled.

Shetland Sheep are a small, fine boned sheep belonging to the Northern Short-tailed group that has evolved in Shetland since the late 8th century. The high quality wool is noted for fineness of crimp and resilience, forming the basis of the world renowned Shetland woollen industry.

Rams are usually horned and ewes horn-less, and a characteristic feature of the Shetland is a short fluke-shaped tail. Ewes generally produce good strong lambs with little difficulty. Classified as a primitive breed, the Shetland thrives on poor ground ideally suited to the harsh hilly environment of the Shetland Islands. They produce very high quality lean meat with outstanding flavour and fine texture.

Suffolk Sheep were developed in England by crossing the Norfolk Horn, with Southdown sheep. The Southdown gave the breed its shape and build and its quiet temperament, while the Norfolk Horn gave taste and quality to the meat. The Suffolk breed was accepted as a pure breed back in the early 1800s and was recognised for its ease of lambing, adaptability and meat production.

The Suffolk has distinct markings with a black head and feet and is considered by many as one of the more attractive breeds of sheep. It has a large frame with a long, thickset body and smooth shoulders. The sheep is covered in white, fine wool that is short and dense. Lambs can be born with different colour variations, some quite dark, but this colouring is lost from the body as the animal matures.

The majority of Suffolk sheep are used for crossbreeding. The rams are used to produce lambs from other breeds while the ewes make exceptional mothers, often nursing twins or sometimes even triplets. The quality of pure Suffolk meat is high and they are can also be used for milking.

For more information on British sheep Visit The National Sheep Association web pages. Top^

Highland Cattle

The Highland breed of cattle has a long and distinguished ancestry, not only in its homeland of western Scotland, but also in many remote parts of the world. It is one of Britain's oldest, most distinctive and best known breeds and the Highland Cattle Herd Book, first published in 1885, lists pedigrees since that time. The genetics of the Highlander have remained unchanged over the centuries and it has a long, thick, flowing coat of rich hair and majestic sweeping horns.

In the British Isles herds are found from the furthest south to the extreme north on many different types of ground varying from the slopes of the Sussex Downs, the fenlands of East Anglia, to the windswept machars of the Outer Hebrides. The breed is exceptionally hardy with a natural and unique ability to cope well on poor grazing. They are remarkable for their longevity: many Highland cows continue to breed to ages in excess of eighteen years having borne fifteen calves. They make great mothers.

For more information on breeding Highland Cattle visit http://www.highlandcattlesociety.com/. Top^

Llama

The llama is a South American animal of the camelid family and has been used as a pack animal by the Incas and other natives of the Andes mountains for centuries. Llamas appear to have originated from the central plains of North America about 40 million years ago and migrated to South America and Asia about 3 million years ago. They are now farmed very successfully for their meat and pelts in many parts of the world.

The height of a full-grown, full-size llama is between 5.5 feet (1.6 meters) to 6 feet (1.8 m) tall at the top of the head. Llamas are very social animals and like to live with other llamas. Overall, the fiber produced by a llama is very soft and is naturally lanolin free. Llamas are intelligent and can learn simple tasks after a few repetitions. When using a pack, llamas can carry about 25%–30% of their body weight for several miles.

Llamas are very easy to keep and need very little food other than grass and hay. They are usually very good with people particularly the young and the elderly and will happily live with other animals such as horses, donkeys and sheep. They also make very good guards and will sound an alarm if a fox or other unwanted intruder appears. Infact amongst other examples they have been successful in guarding a storage facility in Chicago. It was reported in the Courier News, Chicago, April 2001,
"Rolf Wittich, president of Ameropan Oil Corporation, originally recruited the animals to trim grassy areas round a storage building. But he discovered they also scared off burglars. He says the premises haven't been burgled once since the llamas arrived, despite years of previous looting."

To find out more about these wonderful creatures visit the British Llama society web site. Top^

Pigs

Kune Kune

Kune Kune pigs are originally from New Zealand where the breed has been domesticated for centuries. With only a few feral populations living in Northland, there were only 160 pure specimens left in New Zealand in 1986. Since that time the world wide population of Kunes has increased dramatically, but the pig is still classified as a rare breed.

Like all pigs, kune kunes are omnivorous but can fatten and thrive on a diet of grass alone.
Although the exact origins of the breed remain unknown, the Kune Kune pigs (pronounced coonie coonie) are generally believed to have originated from the Old Poland pig from China which were brought over to New Zealand by early European explorers.

Physically, kune kunes are true to their name (meaning 'fat and round' in Maori). They come in many colours: black, ginger, tortoishell, black and white and various combinations. An unusual feature of the pigs are the two small dew laps, called piri piri that hang from the pig's lower jaw.

Kunes are generally bright, friendly, people-loving pigs, especially to those bearing food. The sows are generally more placid than the boars.

To find out more about the Kune Kune pig visit the British Kune Kune Society web site. Top^>