If you’re staying with us at Chimney Gill Cottage over Easter time, you will be in for a treat. Easter signifies the start of a busy lambing time at Chimney Gill Farm; a time the current owners, G & T, are more than happy to share with guests and visitors. During lambing time, you will see all the Wetherell family, their friends together with their long-standing team of shepherd(s) and shepherdesses(s) uniting and working together to ensure that everything runs smoothly and that they have a more successful and a more efficient lambing time than the last.
Chimney Gills Cottage Farm has Shepherds and Shepherdesses who have been with the family farm for the last 16 -20 years and are truly committed to the lambing season. Please don’t be surprised to see the odd prank from the working staff out of your window. The Shepherds and Shepherdesses are committed and love their work.
The farm is a large one and is predominantly a sheep farm, however, the families’ young farmer Scott does have his own pedigree Limousine beast herd. The farming stock is spread out over 450 acres in and around the locality of Chimney Gill, however, the farms stock of sheep is so large that some need to be accommodated some six miles away, at Skeleton.
This year Chimney Gill will have approximately 1,200 lambing ewes, with at least 150 of these producing triplets. Ewes producing triplets usually have the ability only to nourish two healthy robust lambs and so the third of the 150 will need to be adopted or will result in pet lambs.
Pet Lambs at Chimney Gill are a dream for visitors and all are encouraged to help. Our only ask is: – If you or your family wish to engage with the feeding or want to be hands on with the pet lambs then we would ask that you would be properly dressed and are conscious with regards to health and safety (kiddy winks need to wash their hands and so on)!
Lambing time entails early starts – long days and continual observations of expectant mothers. If you hear a quad (motorbike) this will be one of the farm shepherds checking the flock for problems. Checks are made every four hours by the family shepherd, however, the cottage windows are so greatly double glazed you will be at peace in a relaxed country retreat.