New Angora Goat arrivals to the Harrison Spinks farm
9th March 2017
The Farm
Three exciting new arrivals joined the Harrison Spinks Farm in February. We welcomed the three new Angora goats named Bea, Daphne and Beverly, to the already 600-strong flock of sheep and alpacas we have residing on the farm. The goats, two of which are four years old and the other just two years old, are settling well into their new home.
Despite their lustrous woolly coats, our new additions aren’t directly related to sheep – although are often mistaken for them and look strikingly similar to our Wendsleydale Sheep.
Angora goats are traditionally known for producing the lustrous fibre known as mohair, which we use in some of our most luxurious beds. Mohair is a soft, springy and hard-wearing fibre with excellent dyeing properties that can be spun into yarn for use in garments and luxury textiles. It should not be confused with angora wool however, which is produced from the coat of a rabbit.
We always look forward to welcoming new additions to the Harrison Spinks Farm, the most recent aside from the goats, being our flock of rare-breed Wendsleydales, who were brought in to prolong the breed’s life and provide a sumptuous new mattress filling.
March is a very busy time for new arrivals to the farm – as it’s lambing season. This year we are expecting around 200 lambs, which are due to be born towards the end of March. Up to a week before the lambs are due all the Ewes are bought into the lambing barns where they are closely monitored by Harrison Spinks’ Farmers, Gary and Liam. Sadly, some of the lambs are occasionally orphaned, like little Hugo. However these lambs are taken in by the caring Jo and are given extra special care.