Larger-than-usual lambs delivered at Norfolk’s Gawdy Hall

The average weight of a newborn lamb is four to five kilograms, but Gawdy Hall’s shepherdess Hannah Murrell has been helping to bring 10kg lambs into the world.

The 16th-century estate reintroduced rare breed sheep in 2023, and the flock are reared entirely outside on grass and herbal leys in its parkland and around the estate on its arable land, with grazing of over winter cover crops.

The introduction of cover cropping and livestock is part of the estate’s change to a more regenerative way of farming to improve soil health, the owners confirmed.

The flock includes Llanwenog sheep and Norfolk Horn ewes, both on the Rare Breeds Survival Trust’s amber list, Lleyn ewes and associated pedigree rams.

Biggest ever lambing season

The size of a newborn lamb varies depending on its breed, but they typically weigh between two and a half and five kilograms. Some larger breeds may have newborn lambs weighing over six kilograms.

Gawdy Hall’s shepherdess Hannah Murrell, who has been busy helping to bring over 250 lambs into the world in the last few weeks, has seen the arrival of half a dozen bumper-size lambs weighing close to 10kg.

Estate manager Mark Mayhew said: “This year has been our biggest ever lambing season following a restructure, and we were very surprised when quite a few very large lambs were born.

“You hope for healthy lambs around the three to five kilograms, so when you see a healthy enormous one being born alive and well which is nearly double that size, it’s amazing, if not eye-watering, for the ewe.

“The large lambs haven’t just been from our bigger frame Lleyn’s, we’re seeing a proportion from our rare breeds too. It’s all a reflection of the hard work put in by Hannah ahead of tupping, and over the winter with the grazing of over winter cover crops.

“Everyone loves them. We’ve had lots of people walking past our fields and taking pictures and asking us about our giant lambs. When you see them next to the other ordinary-sized lambs, you can really tell the difference.

“We’re really grateful that people walking their dogs nearby keep them on leads when they’re near our sheep.”

Mr Mayhew added that lambing next year will see the Gawdy Hall flock numbers step up again as the estate is set to have over 400 breeding ewes.

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