Karen Henderson has had a tough last couple of years. But four sheep hailing from the Swiss Alps have offered her a chance to chalk up a Teesdale first. Reporter Alex Metcalfe went to find out more.
VALAIS blacknose sheep are funny creatures. Bred for the harsh weather of a 12,000ft Swiss Alp, their distinctive coats can make you chuckle on first sight.
But their good meat, reproductive turnover and thick coats mean their potential profits are no laughing matter for some.
The breed’s numbers are on the up in the UK and Newbiggin’s Karen Henderson boasts four of Teesdale’s first Valais stock.
When I meet her at Brockersgill Farm, she tells me it hasn’t been the easiest of spells for her.
She almost lost her life to a chronic case of sepsis last year and was given a 50 per cent chance of survival at her lowest ebb.
She has recovered since then – returning to horse riding with her good friend Sarah Tubbs and adopting her blacknoses just as she’d planned before adversity struck.
Ms Henderson says: “We got them just before Christmas – I first saw them three years ago on a Countryfile programme and they just looked amazing.
“They are known as the cutest sheep in the world – I knew if I was ever to have sheep I wanted a rare breed to keep the blood lines going.
“People may poo-poo it but I’ve never followed the crowd.”
Native to the Valais canton from which the breed takes its name, the sheep was first recognised a unique in its own right in 1962.
The hardy breed provides good meat as well as wool for felting and carpets.
Its reproduction power of 1.6 lambs per year also means the breed can prove profitable should anyone take the plunge.
Ms Henderson isn’t the first Briton to have her head turned by a Blacknose Valais.
Scotland’s Raymond Irvine and Jenni McAllister were among the first to import the breed to the UK and helped form the Blacknose Valais Sheep Society UK on the back of their venture.
Closer to home is Tim Dunne, in Appleby, who was the first to take on the breed in Westmorland in 2015 and Carl Walters, of Penrith, who supplied Ms Henderson.
There are 13,700 animals on the Valais Society’s books to date – and its numbers are growing.
However, Ms Henderson hasn’t profit in mind for her burgeoning flock.
Ms Henderson says: “They grow quite big and they’re in demand.
“From a commercial point of view, you get quite a lot more from a Valais but I’m not breeding mine for money.
“There are about 400 in this country at the moment but numbers are rising pretty quickly – there are quite a few breeders now.
“Mine are in lamb now and will lamb at the end of March or the beginning of April – they’re an extremely friendly breed.”
Ms Henderson’s quartet of gimmer hoggs arrived on the farm after her brush with sepsis.
She tells me a lot of thought went into the maintenance required for the breed once her illness struck.
“It’s an ongoing project,” she adds.
“It couldn’t be an animal which I’d have to spend ten hours a day looking after.
“I will probably take them to a few shows – not to show them but to exhibit the breed and take the lambs along.”
The breed are known for not shying away from contact with humans and, as a result, many residents of the Upper Valais canton have started keeping them as pets due to their famed placid natures.
Restrictions on importing Blacknose Valais are fairly stringent and the Swiss keep a tight grip on exports of the breed.
“Americans are trying to get them but they have buy up exported embryos as well as actual sheep,” says Ms Henderson.
“People can get embryos but I would rather do it from the good breeders in this country.”
Ms Henderson is full of praise for the wealth of British breeders taking on the Blacknose Valais.
She admits she’s kept her miniature flock hidden from dale neighbours since their arrival.
But she’s now keen to keep her flock out in the open for the passing public to admire.
“Every morning when I go out and feed them I cannot help but smile,” she adds.
“I am in the privileged position of being retired – I know people who have flocks of Valais as part of their livelihoods.
“It’s important to keep the Swiss bloodlines strong.
“I cannot wait for them to lamb – it’s going to be so exciting and it’s still very much a learning curve.”
