Large Animals

Here you can find information on all our large animals. Click HERE to read about our small animals or HERE to read about our poultry.


Breed - Pygmy Goat Summer Summer came to the farm in January of 2009 from Graves Park Rare Breeds Centre in Sheffield where she was born in October 2008. She is a Pygmy goat, a very small domestic breed of goat that is originally from Africa. Goats are very sociable animals and they have a definite pecking order. Summer has been at the farm longer than most of the other female goats here and when she is in the goat field with our other goats, she can be very bossy! Summer is playful, mischievous and friendly, and she is very popular with our visitors. She also likes having her photo taken and has appeared in some of our recent publicity.	*Breed - Jersey Cow* Clover & Buttercup Clover and Buttercup have been at the farm since March 2010; they were born in March at a farm in Matlock, Derbyshire. Jersey cows are the second most popular breed of cows world wide and originate from Jersey in the Channel Islands. They are one of the smaller breeds of dairy cattle; dairy cows carry all their weight on their bellies and have very lean backs. They are also known for being very curious and gentle and this is definitely true of Buttercup and Clover. They are very cheeky and like to try and nibble at people when they aren’t looking.	Breed - Shire Horse X Dales Pony Blaze 'Shire' Rare Breeds Fact Sheet 'Dales' Rare Breeds Fact Sheet Blaze came to live on the farm in 1999 after young volunteers raised money to buy a much wanted riding horse. He is too old to work now but is still a favourite with everyone. Blaze is very fiery at times but never when he is eating! He loves his food, especially apples and carrots. He has accepted his new friends Tommy and Oscar well but will chase them away if there's anything to eat! Blaze suffers from COPD which is horsey asthma so we have to soak his hay before he eats it to damp down any dust and prevent him from inhaling it.

Breed - Soay Sheep Rare Breeds Status - At Risk Basil, Samphire, Bogbean and others 'Soay' Rare Breeds Fact Sheet We have a quickly growing flock of Soay sheep. Basil is the only entire male sheep (tup) at Heeley City Farm. Basil is the sire of all the Soay lambs you will see in our fields, which now (to our delight), includes some fantastic piebald lambs. Basil is a very good dad but can get a little overprotective of his ladies and babies which is why he is sometimes seperated. Some people think that Soays don’t look like sheep and mistake them for a breed of goat; they are a very primitive breed and are thought to be the link between wild and domestic breeds of sheep. They have very large curly horns on their heads and they shed their fleece naturally every year, although it is plucked to help it along by farm workers.	*Breed - Bagot Goat* Rare Breeds Status - Vulnerable Helena, Petal, Capricorn, Alexandra and Spencer 'Bagot' Rare Breeds Fact Sheet We have three adult bagot goats; Helena, Petal and Capricorn (pictured) as well as two kids, Alexandra and Spencer. By nature, bagot goats are very timid as their breeding is close to wild goats. Capricorn, Alexandra and Spencer were all born on the farm and are a lot tamer than their mums, Helena and Petal who came from another farm in Derbyshire. Bagot goats are a very old native breed of goat that is in danger of dying out and we hope that our breeding programme will continue to be successful so we can help to save this native breed.	Breed - Golden Guernsey Goat Rare Breeds Status - Minority Olive, Holly, Lilly and Willow 'Golden Guernsey' Rare Breeds Fact Sheet We have four Golden Guernsey Goats on the farm; Willow (pictured) who is our youngest came from Lincoln. We also have three sisters: Lilly, Holly and Olive who came from Penrith in Wales. Golden Guernsey Goats are famous for their extremely prolific milk production - sometimes they produce milk before they have even had a baby, as well as their beautiful golden coats. Olive is the smallest of her three sisters and has a long glossy coat. She caused a commotion at the farm before she had even arrived in her stable. As we got her out of the trailer after the long trip from Wales, Olive broke out of her collar and escaped. After frantically searching for hours, farm staff were contacted to say she was hiding in someone's garden on Olive Grove Road, which is how she gained her name. There are only two rare breeds of goat which we have both of at the farm.

Breed - Tamworth Pig Rare Breeds Status - At Risk Tammy 'Tamworth' Rare Breeds Fact Sheet Tammy the Tamworth came along with Loppy and Itsy back in September 2010. Tamworths are noted for their ginger colour and are indeed the only native British pig which has red skin. They also have very long noses which give them a slightly comical look. Tammy likes nothing better then using her long nose to root out grubs and bits of food which the other pigs miss.	Breed - Large Black Pig Rare Breeds Status - Vulnerable Lucky and Tabatha 'Large Black' Rare Breeds Fact Sheet We have two Large Black pigs, Lucky (pictured) and Tabatha. At the farm Large Blacks were the first rare breed pig we ever had. Lucky is actually one of the very last surviving members of his bloodline (and from our original pigs almost 30 years ago) which makes him very special for our breeding programme. We brought Tabatha from a farm in Derbyshire at the beginning of 2011 as a mate for Lucky. They will be introduced at the end of the year and we hope we will be successful in helping to ensure the survival of this rare breed of pigs.	Breed - British Lop Pig Rare Breeds Status - Vulnerable Loppy 'British Lop' Rare Breeds Fact Sheet We have two Large Black pigs, Lucky (pictured) and Tabatha. At the farm Large Blacks were the first rare breed pig we ever had. Lucky is actually one of the very last surviving members of his bloodline (and from our original pigs almost 30 years ago) which makes him very special for our breeding programme. We brought Tabatha from a farm in Derbyshire at the beginning of 2011 as a mate for Lucky. They will be introduced at the end of the year and we hope we will be successful in helping to ensure the survival of this rare breed of pigs.

Breed - Mangalitza Pig Curly Sue and Itsy Curly Sue (pictured) has been with us since 2010, and the slightly younger Itsy arrived early in 2011. Mangalitzas are famed for their long Curly Locks which is how Sue got her name. However they do moult in summer so visit in winter to see them in their full glory. Mangalitzas grow a little bit more slowly than the other breeds of pig that we have on the farm. They are directly descended from wild boar and were originally bred in Hungary. Mangalitsas are an active breed of pig so don't be surprised if Itsy and Curly jump up on the wall to say hello. Curly Sue has a slightly wonky snout which is probably a genetic defect but this doesn’t hurt her or stop her from eating or talking and we think it makes her more lovable!	Breed - Welsh Badger Faced Sheep Greyface, Whitenose and Others Greyface and Whitenose (pictured) have been at the farm since early 2010. This breed gets their name because the markings on their faces make them look a bit like a badger. There are two types of Badger Faced Sheep, ours is the Torrdu, pronounced Tortho, variety. They are white with a black stripe that runs from their chin, under their belly to the tips of their tales. Both the girls were very timid when they first came to the farm but now them and their lambs are very tame and have one of the loudest voices in the yard!	Breed - Anglo Nubian Goat Honeysuckle Honeysuckle came to live on the farm in September 2010. Anglo Nubians are famous for their floppy ears and elegant, Roman noses. They are also one of the largest British goat breeds. Honeysuckle is very curious and will come up to the fence straight away to get a closer look at visitors to the goat field.