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| February 2014
MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD 
A Thunderclap is louder than a Tweet
The 2014 RBST Watchlist will be launched on our website on the 3rd February 2014. We want to make sure that more people than ever hear about the UK's rarest breeds and the problems they are facing and what can be done to help protect them from extinction.
RBST have signed up to Thunderclap, a crowd speaking platform that allows people to sign up and share the same message on the same day at the same time! Meaning that more people than ever will hear about RBST, the UK's rare breeds and what can be done to save them.
To help, please sign up to the Thunderclap by following this link. Make sure you sign upbefore midday on the 3rd February to ensure you can join in and spread the news about rare breeds.
 Meet our Field Officer Richard Broad and his Animals
I live on a smallholding in Pembrokeshire in West Wales, and being a farmers’ son have always been interested in livestock and especially rare breeds. I suppose my first major encounter with rare breed sheep was at an Ash Farm Open day in the mid 1980’s and the rare breed tent at the Royal Cornwall.
At home we kept various breed of sheep and I always claimed the odd ones, so ended up with a flock of six black ewes and a black ram. We used to have a Sheep dealer come and collect our fat lambs and he mentioned that my black sheep could have some Jacob or Black Welsh Mountain in them. The Sheep dealer brought over a Jacob ram one day and so I started with Jacobs. My first registered ewes were purchased in 1980, and I still have some descendants for one of these original ewes in my flock today. So at present I am lambing my Jacobs (seven ewes this year) for the 34th year of my registered flock.
My Manx Loaghtan flock is a more recent addition for me. When I started as a RBST Field Officer I thought I better get a rare breed sheep. I told my wife I would buy a couple of ewe lambs to start with, so when I went to the first Shrewsbury Show and Sale, I brought five Manx Shearling ewes!! This march will be the fourth year I have lambed the flock, and I have had an unbelievable number of girls born to them. I have had 28 lambs born to date of which 22 have been ewe la
My third flock at home is of the feathered variety. During my time with the RBST I have spent a lot of time with Peter Hayford, and have learnt huge amounts about poultry from him. He gave me some White Dorking eggs and since then I have kept a small flock of them. The range and number of chicken breeds and colours is amazing and just with the Dorking there is five colours. Also two colours have rose combs only including the white, two colours have single combs and one colour can have either comb type! However all Dorkings have five toes!
  
Jacob ewe and lamb Manx Loaghtan flock Dorking Hens
Richard is the RBST's Field Officer for the South of England and Wales. If you need any help or advice about rare breeds of livestock you have or breeds you are looking for, please contact him on 07772007399 or email richard@rbst.org.uk If you are based in the North of England, Scotland or Northern Ireland then contact Ruth Dalton on07880584551 or email ruth@rbst.org.uk
Upcoming SalesThe Border Leicester sale took place on 13th January 2014, read the summary of the sale here. If you are interested in the Border Leicester sheep, find out more about the breed by reading the fact sheet here.
Border Leicester Sheep
Featured Breed
Portland Sheep
 
This breed of sheep is listed in Category 4 'At Risk' between 900 and 1500 registered breeding ewes in the UK, to learn more about this breed follow this link.
Don't forget Give As You Live in 2014
 
So many of you signed up and shopped with Give As You Live (GAYL) to raise money for RBST in 2013 and we want to make sure that continues in 2014. GAYL is fantastic as it offers you the chance to raise money for RBST at NO extra cost. Simply sign up here and start shopping. |
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