Meet orphan lamb Badger and Misty, the sheep dog🐑🐕💕 Here’s a heart warming (and somewhat unlikely) story for you all on a damp Friday. @hannah_grows had to help lamb down a Herdwick ewe (first lamb had his head out and legs back) @herstmonceuxcastle_garden and after getting a call I headed over with a small team from @hockhamfarm to help as the ewe had taken fright and ditched her lamb. Together we managed to catch her and help deliver her second. We penned the ewe with her two lambs and after making sure they had sucked and bonded, she was released with the rest of the flock. We thought all was well until a member of staff spotted she had rejected one of her lambs the next day. Hungry and with little hope of persuading the ewe to take her lamb, it was decided the little fella would become a bottle lamb. He was taken in by local sheep farmer Meg Lucas and she named him Badger. What came next no one could of predicted. Badger and her sheep dog Misty have developed a close bond and as you can see in the photos Badger has come to see Misty as his mum, though despite his attempts to feed from her gets his milk from a bottle 🍼 📷 credit: Meg Lucas #farming #badgerandmisty #farmlife #bottlelamb #sheepdog #petlamb #herdwick #lambing2023 #farmlifestory #futuremotionpicture #indiefarmer #unlikelystory #lambspam #lamb #dog #dogsofinstagram

We’ve officially started lambing and the sun is shining at last ☀️ with most of our heavy clay pastures still pretty waterlogged, we’re hoping they begin to dry out as lambing picks up pace from middle of this week (our official start date). #lambing2023 #lambing #twins #sussex #farmlife #farminguk #indiefarmer

A hay carpet for our six ‘ecosystem engineer’ Sussex cows who have been outwintering @herstmonceuxcastle_garden #sussex #cows #hay #ecosystems #engineers #woodpasture #restoration #supplementaryfood #indiefarmer

Happy Valentines to this mega babe and number one person in my life @hannah_grows ❤️ Look forward to enjoying a drink or two this evening once our little person is asleep🥂✨

With about five weeks to go until our Sussex cows are due to give birth, we decided to start supplementary feeding our six girls @herstmonceuxcastle_garden with hay. They really seem to like their diet of brambles and ivy but where possible we try to give them some access to pasture or hay just in case they aren’t getting everything they need from the woods. In any case they seemed very pleased to see me rock up with a bale of hay to unroll in the woods 🌳🌳 #woodpasture #restoration #regenerativefarming #indiefarmer #haybale

Belated Happy New Year All! Here’s a few pictures and videos from our little woodland grazing project @herstmonceuxcastle_garden who kindly invited us to out winter six of our Sussex cows in their wood pasture / parkland. The aim of the project is to help restore the wood pasture by reducing the amount of brambles (which they seem to love eating) and disturbing the soil with their hooves in the hope of encouraging more grassland to return. To better target our ‘eco engineers’ efforts we’ve created smaller electric fenced paddocks this year and move them every week or so, closely monitoring their body condition / mood and available forage. Would love to hear from other farmers who done similar projects as we’re still finding out feet? In other news, after recovering from various family bugs, I hope to start sharing more about our plans for the year ahead both on the farm and at various farmers markets, where we’ll be selling our Aberdeen Angus x Sussex beef alongside the award winning @pevenseycheese 👨🏻‍🌾🐂🧀 #sussexcows #ecosystemrestoration #woodland #herstmonceuxcastle #trees #sussex #farminglife #knowwhereyourfoodcomesfrom #pevenseycheese #indiefarmer

Swipe left ⬅️ to see interior design masterclass ✨ Not only do our lambs produce delicious meat for us and our customers, we also collect their skins from the local abattoir, salt them and send them to the oldest established tannery in the UK (based in Devon). They then process them into beautiful sheepskin rugs and send them back to us. • We normally send between 10 and 20 skins off per year and sell them at Xmas markets on a first come first serve basis. • Most of this years stock sold this weekend but we still have four white ones available at £80 each. • They make great presents and I can send them next day delivery via courier or you can collect them from the farm by appointment. DM me to reserve one or if you have any queries. • #sheepskinrugs #sheep #sussex #farmtofork #xmaspresents #design #interiors #farmhouse #modernrustic #indiefarmer

Enjoying the autumnal colours on the farm this afternoon 🍁 • • • • #autumn #farmlife #sky #hopgarden #field #sussex #modernbarnfarm #ninfield #indiefarmer

• AD-Affiliate • This is the large raised chicken coop from @nestera.uk - we’ve had it for just over a week and our five chickens love it 🐓❤️ • It was easy to build (it took me and my father-in-law Peter about 90 mins from start to finish) and is made from 100% recycled plastic • One of the features I love about it is how easy it is to clean compared to my old wooden coop. The roof and nest box lid are both removable providing plenty of access for cleaning. I also love the removable droppings trays which are an optional extra but well worth it in my opinion. Being plastic also means there is nowhere for red mite to hide which can be a problem in wooden coops. • Being raised up the chickens love sheltering underneath the coop, providing them protection from the weather. I also really like the fact it has wheels making it easy to move (even on your own) • Lastly I’ve also got an automatic door opener (which I’ve fitted to the coop in their new bird flu compliant indoor area) and will be doing a video to demonstrate it working soon. • Fancy getting a coop yourself and saving 5%? Use the code ‘INDIEFARMER’ on Nestera.co.uk - you’ll also find the link to their awesome website in my bio above 👆 #nesterauk #chickensofinstagram #chickencoop #goodlife #chickens #growyourownfood #slowliving #chickenhouse #plasticcoop #recycledplastic #knowwhereyourfoodcomesfrom #allotmentuk #videoreels #sustainability #thegoodlife #backyardflock #smallholding #ruralliving #selfsufficient #indiefarmer #adaffiliate

• AD-Affiliate • This is the new large raised chicken coop that the amazing people from @nestera.uk have sent me to try. Our five chickens are over the moon 🐓🌙 • As you can see it comes flat packed in boxes and was super easy to assemble - it took us (my father-in-law Peter, me and our little dog Alba) about 90 mins from start to finish. • We’re thrilled with it and LOVE that it ticks so many of our sustainability boxes (100% recycled plastic) and it’s mobile (which means we can easily move it round our front paddock / orchard - which is great for the soil). It also feels really solid and built to last (25 year warranty). Being plastic means it’s easy to clean too! • I’ll be doing a full tour of all the coops features (including an automatic door opener) next week so stayed tuned. • Fancy getting one yourself and saving 5%? Use the code ‘INDIEFARMER’ on Nestera.co.uk - you’ll also find the link to their awesome website in my bio above 👆 #nesterauk #chickensofinstagram #chickencoop #goodlife #chickens #growyourownfood #slowliving #chickenhouse #plasticcoop #recycledplastic #knowwhereyourfoodcomesfrom #allotmentuk #videoreels #sustainability #thegoodlife #backyardflock #smallholding #ruralliving #selfsufficient #indiefarmer #adaffiliate

Being livestock farmers there’s no such thing as a typical 24 hours, and it can often feel like there's not enough hours in a day.  At the moment, we are busy bringing in hay bales from our fields to stack them in our barns ready for winter.  With lots of powerlines crossing our farm, it’s important we stay on top of health and safety, as electrical accidents involving farm equipment are all too common with potentially grave consequences. I’ve partnered with @SPEnergyNetworks to help raise awareness of the simple steps we can all take to stay safe when working on farmland. In the above video, I've highlighted some of the things we should all be doing on our farms to make sure everyone is safe.   For more info and handy tips to help you stay safe on the farm, take a look at the link I’ve shared on stories. #SPEnergyNetworks #FarmLife #AD

Rest in Peace, Your Majesty 🤍