🐷 Castlemains Farm Weekly Blog – Week 2: Rare Breeds, Foals & New Friendship

Welcome back to the Castlemains Farm Weekly Blog – your weekly peek into life behind the gates, where rare breeds, working dogs, and farm animals all thrive side-by-side. Here’s what’s been happening around the farm this week:

🐖 Meet Our New Rare Breed Pigs

We’re very excited to welcome two new arrivals to the farm – a pair of British Lop pigs, one of the UK’s rarest native pig breeds. With only around 600 breeding sows remaining, this gentle giant is listed as a priority breed by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust.

British Lops are known for their large, floppy ears, laid-back nature, and impressive productivity. Once a popular commercial pig, they’ve become much less common – which is why farms like ours are stepping in to help. We’re planning to begin a small-scale breeding programme here at Castlemains to help secure the future of this lovely, calm breed.

🌟 A Foal for Star!

We’re thrilled to share some very special news – Star has had her foal!Both mum and baby are doing brilliantly, and we’re giving them plenty of time and space to bond quietly in the field. Star is showing all the signs of being a wonderful, gentle mother, and her little one is already up and exploring with wobbly legs and a big personality.

We’ll share more details (and photos!) soon – but for now, we’re soaking up the joy of new life on the farm and letting this magical pair enjoy their first few days together in peace.

🐑🐐 New Fields, New Friends

Some of our animals have moved into fresh fields this week – and they’re sharing space with goats, sheep, and cows!

Mixed grazing brings lots of benefits:

• Improved pasture health (each species grazes differently)

• Fewer parasites thanks to varied diets

• Calmer, more adaptable animals – especially younger horses and ponies learning to live peacefully alongside others

We’ve already seen some lovely moments of calm grazing, curious nose-sniffing, and quiet confidence-building. It’s doing wonders for the overall harmony of the herd.

Sheepdog Training in Progress

It’s not just the pigs and ponies getting attention – our young dogs are continuing their introductory sheepdog training this week.

Early exposure to livestock is key, and our dogs are showing great natural instinct and enthusiasm. Through gentle, structured sessions, they’re learning:

• How to move around sheep calmly

• Respond to voice and whistle commands

• Develop the patience and control essential in a working farm dog

It’s a slow and steady process, but the rewards are huge – and it’s a joy to watch the dogs grow into their future roles.

📸 Around the Yard

The animals have been full of personality this week! From piggy sunbathing to goats peeking through the fence, there’s been no shortage of moments worth capturing.Keep an eye on our socials for this week’s highlight photos – and if you’ve visited, don’t forget to tag us in your own snaps!

That’s all for Week 2 at Castlemains Farm. Thank you for following along with our adventures – we’ll be back next week with more updates from the field, barn and beyond!

Until then,The Castlemains Team 🐖🐴🐐🐕🐑💚