Rare Breed Pigs to Help Dorset's Endangered Species

24 October 2014

UK - A herd of rare breed pigs is helping to create the perfect habitat for endangered species in Dorset.

For the first time, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has recruited six Mangalitsa pigs to restore its Arne nature reserve to natural heathland through grazing.

It is hoped the site will then become an ideal home for species such as the Dartford warbler, nightjar, smooth snake, sand lizard and stonechats.

"It is an experimental project that we hope will produce fantastic results for nature at our Arne reserve," said Mark Singleton, RSPB Dorset reserves operations manager.

Last year, the RSPB's State of Nature report found that 60 per cent of UK species have declined over the past five decades. Mr Singleton said the rare breed pig project is "one of many that the RSPB is carrying out to tackle this problem and try to reverse these declines."

Read on ...

Chicken breeder spitting feathers after thieves steal rare birds

A chicken breeder in Lincolnshire is asking for help to find thieves who've stolen 50 of her rare birds. Les Good's premises near Louth have been repeatedly targeted.

The chicks are partly cared for by two disabled people who also live there. Now they're saying enough is enough.

Watch video:  http://www.itv.com/news/calendar/update/2012-08-22/chicken-breeder-spitting-feathers-after-thieves-steal-rare-birds/

Rare panda cow born on farm near Campion

Reporter-Herald/Tom Hacker

Chris Jessen holds Ben, a newborn miniature panda calf, on Friday as its mother, Bella, alowline Angus cow, stands by in her stall on Jessen’s farm east of Campion.

Publish Date: 1/1/2011

It is safe to say that Ben is the last miniature panda cow born anywhere in 2010.

In fact, he has few peers, being a calf and one of only 24 of the scarce breed in the world.

At just after 8 a.m. Friday, on a farm east of Campion, Ben entered the world after mother Bella, a lowline Angus cow, spent a zero-degree night in labor in her stall.

Two hours later, still wet and shivering, the tiny calf snuggled against his diminutive mother.

“We’ll get him bundled up pretty soon,” said Chris Jessen, who has miniature donkeys, other miniature cattle breeds and even a wallaby — a miniature kangaroo — on his hobby farm.

“We’ve got a regular petting zoo, here,” wife Pam Jessen said.

It could have been even more so, with the Jessens having explored the idea of raising reindeer, and even camels, on their acreage.

Ben’s namesake is Chris Jessen’s brother, also born on New Year’s Eve.

“He was the first person I called this morning,” he said.

The miniature panda cow is the result of 44 years of genetic manipulation by Richard Gradwohl, a farmer in Covington, Wash., about 20 miles southeast of Seattle.

A white belt encircling the animal’s midsection, and the white face with black ovals around the eyes, give the cow an appearance that is very much panda-like.

“We had a Chinese delegation visit our farm, and they were fascinated,” Gradwohl said in a telephone interview Friday. “They want them in China, so we’re going to be exporting.”

He describes the breed that he has trademarked as an eight-breed composite, drawing on previous strains of miniature cattle that he also developed.

“There are 26 breeds of miniature cattle in the world, and we developed 18 of them,” said Gradwohl who has seven of the existing 24 panda cows on his Happy Mountain Farm.

Miniature panda calves sell for as much as $30,000 from Gradwohl’s online clearinghouse for mini-cow aficionados. While Chris Jessen said he’ll likely sell Ben, his price has not been set.

As a small entourage cleared the gate leading to the stall where Ben and Bella were recovering from their ordeal, Molly and Bacco, the two miniature donkeys, greeted them.

“They get a little nippy,” Jessen said. “They like to tug at you.”

Right on cue, one of the donkeys grabbed a sleeve and gave it a gentle pull.

Bella and Ben stood together while the sire, a miniature panda bull named Donovan, watched from an adjacent stall.

“They’re so small that they don’t fit in a calf blanket, so we had to get him a lamb blanket,” Jessen said, preparing to outfit Ben for another frigid day and night.

The mini-cattle are bred solely as pets and can be welcomed into owners’ homes without causing any mayhem.

“Once he feeds, I’ll start working with him,” he said. “Cows are very social animals. They like people. He’ll come into the house eventually.”

In fact, by Friday afternoon, Ben was snug in the Jessens’ laundry room, still drying out.

“He’s good,” Pam Jessen said. “He’s going to be just fine.”

http://www.reporterherald.com/news_story.asp?ID=30617

Sheep Or Pig? Curly Coat Causes Confusion

12:35pm UK, Saturday April 17, 2010
Kirsty Donald, Sky News Online

The arrival of three curly coated creatures has caused confusion among visitors to a zoo.

The woolly animals may look like sheep but believe it or not they are actually a rare breed of pig.

Buddy, a male, and two females, Porsche and Margot, were brought to Tropical Wings Zoo in Essex as part of an education and breeding programme.

The pigs in blankets - officially known as Mangalitzas - originate from Austria and Hungary.

They have a small genetic link to the native Lincolnshire curly coat, which died out in Britain in 1972, an expert at the zoo said.

"Buddy has blond hair which is almost white, so people really do believe he is a sheep," said Denise Cox, education co-ordinator at the zoo.

"Everybody who walks past them stops because they want to know if they are pigs or sheep.

"We've got them here as part of a breeding programme to make sure this fascinating breed does not become extinct."

And the project could be working already, with hopes that the zoo could be experiencing the pitter-patter of tiny trotters before too long.

Ms Cox said Porsche is showing the early signs of being pregnant although it is still too early to confirm whether she is expecting.

Another sheep-pig hogged the limelight last month when actress Emma Thompson took a curly-haired companion to the premiere of the latest Nanny McPhee film.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Strange-News/Sheep-Pigs-Mangalitzas-Cause-Confusion-At-Tropical-Wings-Zoo-In-Essex/Article/201004315607324

Rare 'dalmatian looking pony' fighting for life after premature birth

A rare polka dot pony, which appears to have the body of a horse and fur of a Dalmatian, is fighting for life after being born prematurely.

By Andrew Hough
Published: 8:00AM BST 15 May 2010

The speckled foal, nicknamed 'Rolly' after it's unique way of rolling over onto its hooves, is only the second British spotted pony to have arrived at Wembury Point, near Plymouth.

Born on Thursday to a chocolate mare and a father just as spotty as he, the foal has found himself at the centre of attention for more than just his unusual fur after being born prematurely.

Tiny Rolly is receiving round the clock care from National Trust head ranger Simon Garner and his team, which have nursed the foal through the night.

"We don't know how prematurely he was born, but his back legs were still in the foetal position," he said.

"We are giving him hourly feeds by hand because he was born so prematurely his mother hasn't produced any milk yet.

"The mother is still hanging around in the background which is a good sign because we want to keep the mother-foal bond. "

He added: "We have nicknamed him Rolly because he keeps trying to roll over from his back onto his feet.

"He is only the second one to be born here so he is really rare."

His mother is a Dartmoor pony but his father is a British Spotted pony and they come in a range of colours, including 'blanket' where the animal has a plain coat with a white spotted blanket over its back.

There is also "snowflake" where the pony has white spots on a dark coat, but Rolly is a 'leopard spot' because he has black spots on a white coat.

There are around 170 spotted ponies born each year and they were once wild in the UK.

The spotty coat was a natural camouflage as they roamed the forests of ancient Britain.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/7723632/Rare-dalmatian-looking-pony-fighting-for-life.html

Portland sheep on BBC's Countryfile

12:00pm Wednesday 3rd February 2010
By Martin Lea

THE famous rare breed of Portland sheep will be the focus of a BBC television programme after an island farmer took delivery of some lambs.

Su Illsley, who has the only flock on the island at Southwell, was visited by Countryfile presenter Adam Henson who took along some animals as well as a camera crew.

As well as making some interesting television, the idea of the flock is to bolster the stock to keep Portland sheep on the island for years to come.

The breed is currently listed as ‘at risk’ by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust.

The programme’s Mr Henson is director of Cotswold Farm Park which pioneers rare breed conservation.

It was started by his father Joe Henson in the late 1960s when many of the UK’s traditional breeds were faced with imminent extinction.

Mr Henson spent two days on Portland and as well as spending time with Mrs Illsley he visited various locations on the island, ate mutton sandwiches supplied by Steve Gould of Wyke Regis and interviewed breed historian Norman Jones, who lives near Lyme Regis.

Mrs Illsley said: “It was great. It was interesting to talk to Adam – he really knows his stuff.

“This will all help to put Portland back on the map. We could do with some good news.”

Mrs Illsley and her husband Jon have knowledge of animal husbandry but they regard running the farm as just a hobby. As well as their 20 breeding ewes they have goats, chickens, and ducks.

They took on Fancys Farm last year to ensure the future of the Portland sheep on the island and it has always been their intention to boost numbers.

Mrs Illsley said: “There used to be 3,000 Portland sheep on the island centuries ago.

“Now there’s only 1,500 of them in the whole country.

“They’re not commercially viable because they take so long to grow. They have to be at least 18 months old before they’re big enough for slaughter. It’s more of a connoisseur’s meat. Apparently Portland mutton was the only meat King George III would eat when he was here.”

* The Portland sheep will feature on Countryfile on BBC1 at 6pm on Sunday, February 14.

http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/4887263.Portland_sheep_on_BBC_s_Countryfile/
(Submitted by Mark North)

Ewe must be joking! Sheep in the vineyard?

Tue Oct 27, 2009

By Leslie Gevirtz

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Some vineyards in New Zealand and California are milking sheep for all they're worth.

"Well, they are mini-sheep really. Their proper name is Babydoll sheep," New Zealand vintner Peter Yealands explained in a telephone interview.

"They're a very rare breed, but an old one."

Yealands had to jump through a number of bureaucratic hoops just to get 10 of the Babydolls from Australia to his vineyards in New Zealand's Marlborough region. Wool is his country's leading export, so why import more sheep?

But Babydolls aren't just any sheep, and Yealands was looking for an environmentally friendly way of keeping his 1,000 hectares (2,470 acres) of vines properly maintained during the growing season.

"It's common practice to have normal size sheep - Merino is what we use - to come to the vineyards during the winter when the vines are dormant," he said.

The results are a well-fed flock for the shepherd and a clean vineyard for the vintner. But once the weather warms and the vines begin to bud, the Merinos are banished.

"Let's just say they find grape leaves quite tasty," the 61-year-old vintner explained.

He also tried guinea pigs to solve the problem.

"They were really good at eating the grass and the weeds," Yealands said. "Unfortunately, they attracted hawks. And the hawks annihilated them."

He had heard about California vineyards using Babydoll sheep, which grow no higher than 24 inches.

Sarah Cahn Bennett, the winemaker for Navarro Vineyards and Winery in Mendocino, California, has had a small flock of Babydolls for the past four years.

She started them off in a vineyard that had been planted in the 1980s when the custom was to grow the vines 55-inches tall. The standard now is to grow them no higher than 35 inches.

"The Babydolls work great," she said of the breed, which was originally raised in Southdown, England. "They not only get rid of the weeds and grass between the rows, but they also eat the suckers at the bottom of the vines and we'd have to get rid of those anyway," she added referring to green shoots that come up on the plants in the spring.

Bennett, who holds a graduate degree in viniculture, laughed as she remembered that she now also has a certificate in sheep sheering.

"Generally, you have to sheer them once a year," she said as the flock ambled through rows of vines bearing Pinot Noir and Gewurtztraminer grapes.

She had just put up another 20-acre vineyard designed with the Babydolls in mind.

Yealands, who is experimenting this year with a flock of six rams and four ewes and has more on order from an Australian breeder, hopes that he will match Bennett's success with the Babydolls and in the process "reduce our operational costs by more than NZ$1.5 million (670,000 pound) annually."

Although the Babydolls don't produce much milk Bennett sells the wool they produce to off-set some of their expense, which makes them a bit of a .... baaahgain.

(Editing by Patricia Reaney)

http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE59Q1G520091027?rpc=401&sp=true