With such a large and demanding female population at Barleylands Farm Park, it’s a good job we have an impressive group of males to (ahem!) entertain them. (Just to clarify, we are of course referring to our ANIMAL population.)
As you can imagine, there is a lot of competition and rivalry around the farmyard and our eligible bachelors devote a lot of time and attention to their very important role. ‘Am I looking my best?…Has she noticed me yet?…Is he going to beat me to it?…’ and so on. There is an enormous amount of pressure on these fine fellows and they rise to the challenge magnificently!
Meet Billy the Pygmy goat …aka ‘BadBoy’. Billy may be small in size, but he’s certainly not small in attitude and he considers himself to be quite the ladies’ man. We’re not entirely sure that the ladies are in any way bowled over by his confidence; he seems to succeed through stealth and determination rather than charm. 
Pygmy goats do not like to be tethered. Perhaps the ladies sense this fear of commitment?
Silva and Steve are half-brother Bagots. Now these two really do know how to turn on the charm. It’s no surprise that they are the ladies’ favourites and Steve is the proud father of ALL the Bagot kids in the Farm Park! (Come on Silva, up your game…) These handsome hunks have won beauty contests online and why on earth wouldn’t they? After all, they ARE descended from the ancient Bagots of Blithfield Hall and their ancestors roamed around Bagots Park as far back as the 14th century. Now that’s quality, right there…
And last, but by no means least, of our eligible bachelor goats is young Dougie. A Golden Guernsey, who hails from Hadleigh Farm, Dougie is a true Essex boy and he has the blonde locks to prove it. Although he is popular with the ladies, he is still very young and has a lot more growing to do. In spite of his youth, he has already fathered offspring but we think the Barleylands ladies would like him to gain a little more maturity and experience. Well, what is a young buck supposed to do?!
And it’s not just the goats who are hot and bothered…
Meet Handsome Humphrey the Hampshire. This mature and gentle giant has an air of accomplishment about him, an attitude of ‘Been there, done that…’. Having proved himself distinctively, Humphrey has no need to try to impress ANYONE. These Hampshires are practically royalty, don’t you know. In fact, they tried to introduce them to the United States in 1860 and it would have been a huge success if only Civil War hadn’t erupted. Humphrey will be joining us on Sunday!
Sir Humphrey is doing his best to inject some of his steadiness and dignity into Ant, the youngest of the group. Ant is a sweet and docile chap, eager to please and – dare we say it – a little bit of a geek. The first of the lambs to be born this year, Ant shows more interest in following the feed bucket than in chatting up the ladies. But let’s give the little man time. After all, there’s no rush when your team is completely outnumbered by fine females.
And finally we have Dashing Dusky, a Wiltshire Horn with, thankfully, a truly impressive set of horns. This new boy on the block stormed straight in and he fairly has the ladies swooning, much to the dismay of the rest of the lads. Not only does he LOOK the part, but he’s young and he’s fit and he has that certain edge that only comes with being hand-reared. Sometimes, life just isn’t fair….but give it time. Wiltshire Horns are the only sheep to naturally shed their wool. And it can happen at the MOST embarrassing moments….
