Benn Tor Valais, Aotearoa NZ

16/06/2024

It's been a wet and windy weekend, which means the girls have crimped up nicely 😁

08/06/2024

Very pleased to receive this in the post! Thanks Woodpeckersigns, it's amazing and thanks to DirtFarm for the company recommendation 🤩

08/05/2024

Cute as a button and friendly, currently seeking greener pastures. Registered F2 ewe lamb (Aug 2023), can be viewed on Grassroots. Contact me for further details.

06/05/2024

Back in the beginning I 'only' wanted two (or three) pet sheep. After seeking advice from seasoned sheep training pro Bex Tasker at Positively Together, my aim was to acquire a couple of ex-Ag Day lambs, (of whichever breed was available), who would be friendly enough to start my sheep clicker-training journey with...

Around this time, I saw Kaiparoro Valais NZ advertise an F3 VBN wether for sale. Knowing how awesome Bex' VBN sheep were (and very little else about the breed!) I made contact with Karen Buckthought. The rest as they say is history. Thanks to both Bex and Karen for the support and their part in my journey 🥰

I give you Isaac! Friendly enough to use as a pillow! Sadly no pics of this, you'll just have to trust me on that one.

06/05/2024

We love our Pilgrim Geese here at BTV! Not only do they keep the yard's grass tidy; they act as Gate Guards and tidy up any multi-nuts the sheep leave behind, which means pests and vermin aren't encouraged onto the property.

06/05/2024

Capital Fibre Fest is on this weekend! If you want to learn about wool, this is a great place to start.

Capital Fibre Fest - for all things wool, yarn & fibre related Saturday 1 July 2023 10am - 3 pm Whiri

03/05/2024

Oh dear, the path of true love never did run smooth. I think they've fallen out 🤭

02/05/2024

I was delighted to catch up with these two fellas recently. They are off living their best life not far from the stud. Seeing how bonded they are to their new small human was truly heart warming.

We are expecting lambs again this season. Get in touch if you would like to provide a good home for one of my super friendly (even without nuts!) paddock puppies. Breed-up ewes will also be available, potentially with lambs at foot.

23/04/2024

Carrot and Celery joined us from Ravenswood Stud. They are English Leicester Longwool lambs (August 2023) and were chosen as foundation ewes for breeding up VBN. However, they are rather lovely and with only 6 studs left in Aotearoa, I am in the process of becoming a registered stud for ELL alongside the VBN.

23/04/2024

It's been an exciting start to 2024, here in sunny Ōtaki. Our lovely sheeple are now a mixture of breed-up and purebred Valais Blacknose Sheep...plus a few extra non-VBN lovelies.

11/04/2024

Evelyn's getting stuck into the new lick...and she's not sharing. Thanks to the wonderful team at Living Rural Pāuatahanui for delivering our order yesterday.

15/03/2024

Great pictures from BoPeep Valais Blacknose. Would be incredible to go back to Switzerland one day and see this.

10/03/2024

Flo's been getting super friendly with the Crystalyx 🫣

10/03/2024

Something to aspire to 😍😍😍. Some of the best rams in Switzerland.

23/02/2024

Breakfast seems to meet Izzy's approval

23/02/2024

Lambs in the kānuka

22/02/2024

Our new additions are settling in well and learning how things go down in Te Horo.

17/02/2024

Drop off and pick up complete 🥰

16/02/2024

Chin scratches for the road...

14/02/2024

I had the most marvellous day out yesterday, attending the Remarkable Valais Sale at PGG Wrightson Livestock - Manawatu in Feilding.

I didn't have my trailer as I was 'only going to watch'. I pick this gorgeous pair up on Saturday...can't wait!

22/01/2024

Our new logo had it's first outing at the Levin Show 🤩

19/01/2024

Show life is so tiring. 'Toothpick' getting 40 winks at the Horowhenua AP & I Show.

19/01/2024

Post salon snacks

19/01/2024

Exciting news! We have a new boy on the block!

Heartland Evermore is our first ram and a very lovely fellow he is too. We collected him from Valais Blacknose New Zealand during the Christmas break.

Thanks so much to Christine Reed for breeding such a nice looking chap with super personality to boot 😍

19/01/2024

The boys aren't quite sure what to make of their new paddock mates.

18/01/2024

Come down to the Levin & Horowhenua Vets stand at the Royal Levin Show this weekend and meet the Benn Tor Valais sheep (or three of them at least!)

The best country fun for all the family! The next Levin AP & I Show will be held 20th & 21st Jan 2024

13/01/2024

Did you know....?

Valais Blacknose Sheep in New Zealand

* Valais Blacknose embryos were first brought into New Zealand from the United Kingdom in early 2017. The first lambs were born here in August 2017 and their genetics originated from Switzerland.
* New genetics continue to be sourced from the United Kingdom to expand on those available within New Zealand.
* In 2018, the New Zealand Valais Blacknose Sheep Society newly registered under the New Zealand Sheep Breeders Association was formed. The Society developed a Valais Breed Standard based on the Swiss and United Kingdom standards.
* There are now (as of January 2024) approximately 1100 purebred Valais Blacknose Sheep registered with the New Zealand Sheep Breeders Association across over 200 registered flocks.

13/01/2024

This is Seraphin, F2 (75% VBN, foundation ELL). Seraphin *loves* sheep nuts. This means it isn't hard to convince her to comply when it comes to footbath time.

I wish I'd filmed this session, as she walked straight in with her front feet and I gently lifted her back feet in - one at a time. She stood there, all four feet fully submerged for a full 5 minutes.