New Members

Becoming a Member of the Society has two parts.

In the first instance you need to become a Member, the cost of which is £20.  Please read our Membership Guide for further information.  Please then complete the Application Form and either scan and email (with payment made online) or post with a cheque.  

You can at the same time register your Flock with the Society, this is a one off cost of £30  Please read our Guide for further information.  Please complete the Application Form and again, you can scan and Email the form back or post with a cheque.  Registering your Flock can be done at the same time as becoming a Member or at a later stage, but must be done before you can register any sheep.

We would prefer if new Members would complete and return the Standing Order Mandate with their application, this saves adminstration time for the Society when subs are due for renewal.  

Online Payment Information can be viewed here.

Llanwenog Sheep Breed Points

We have produced a visual guide as to what the Breed Points are and what you should be looking/aiming for when purchasing/breeding your sheep.  Should you require any assistance/guidance on these points then please contact your Area Representative or the Society's Secretary who will be pleased to assist. 

Starting out with Sheep

If you have never kept sheep before then it can be quite daunting.  We have tried to set out below some guidelines of what you need to do and somewhere you can refer back to.  However, please do not hesitate to contact your Area Representatives, https://www.llanwenog-sheep.co.uk/index.php/en/the-society/contacts if you have any queries or wish to clarify anything further.  

Whether you keep a few paddock grazers or a commercial flock you need to be registered with DEFRA. Before moving livestock to your holding you need a County Parish Holding (CPH) number for the land where the livestock will be kept. If you don’t already have a CHP number then you will need to phone the Rural Payment Agency on 0845 603 777 and ask to be allocated an Agricultural Holding Reference Number (Holding Number) for your land. You do not have to own the land.

Flock Number

Next you need to register with your local DEFRA Animal Health Office, phone 0118 959 6695 (DEFRA – Animal Health) and ask to be allocated a Flock Number. You will need the Holding Number to get this. This is the UK flock number that will go on the ear tags of any sheep that you breed. They will also provide a helpful booklet on sheep husbandry. Having a Flock Number means that you are now a “Registered Keeper of Sheep” and will need to be aware of current legislation and requirements (please note that these can differ between England and Wales).  These include:

Welfare legislation and codes of practice
Animal Identification requirements
Animal Movement requirements
Animal Transport requirements
Record keeping requirements
Disposal of dead animals

Codes Of Practice

All the welfare codes of practice and sheep identification rules that you need can be found at www.defra.gov.uk . Go to the home page, click on Food and Farming and click on sheep and goats on the left hand side of the page.

EID

Electronic Identification or EID – Animal identification requirements have all changed again and from 1st Jan 2010 all sheep will need to carry double ID tags, one of which must be electronic and must be yellow. The UK number and individual ID are recorded on the chip and also printed on the tag. The secondary tag can be any colour except yellow, black or red and must also show the UK number and individual ID but can also contain management information, e.g. flock number and/or a year. All stock destined for breeding must be identified in this way and any animal that is kept longer than one year of age. One year is taken as 30th June of the year following birth (so in fact more like 15 months). It will not be necessary to buy the equipment that reads the electronic tags.

Record Keeping Requirements

The paper work that you are going to need to keep includes Animal Movement Licensees (AML) You will also need to contact your local Trading Standard Office (this is a part of your County Council) (or EID Cymru if in Wales) and ask for some Animal Movement License, (AML1) forms.  A form has to be completed every time animal’s move on to or off your holding. You need to send a copy of the AML to Trading Standards or Scottish Animal Movement Unit (SAMU) in Scotland or EID Cymru in Wales and keep a copy for your records. Movements between land parcels with the same Holding (CPH) number, within 5 miles of the main holding, and the ownership/keeper-ship of the animals remains the same, need not be recorded or reported. Movements between different CPH numbers where the ownership/keeper-ship remains the same can be batch recorded (e.g. 20 sheep, UK123456 moved from A to B), these movements to be recorded on an AML1 and in the holding register. Movements between different CPH numbers where ownership/keeper-ship changes will require individual animal’s numbers to be recorded on the AML1 and in the holding register.

Holding Register

You will be issued with a new style Holding Register when you become a sheep keeper. This is a running record of all animals, births and deaths and records all sheep movements onto and off a holding. It is required for disease control purposes.

Medicine Book

You must record any medicines you administer to your stock, when, what dosage and the source of the medicines. This is useful because it also helps you to keep track of the dates on your worming and anti fly strike treatments also it helps you to comply with the withdrawals of medicines requirements when sending stock for slaughter. Don’t worry if you don’t use a computer, DEFRA will send you the relevant documents on tagging, movements and your holding register book when you register as a keeper of sheep.

Transport Rules

If you are going to transport your sheep and depending on how far, you may also require a Certificate of Competence for Transporting Livestock. Go to The NPTC website to find out. Younger people who took their driving test later than January 1997 will also need to take a trailer-towing test; this one is a DVL requirement.

Animal Disposal

In event of a death, you will need to locate your nearest incinerator or fell monger. It is no longer legal to bury a sheep or even a lamb. Your vet should be able to tell you where to go, If you are not already registered, you should do so with a local Veterinary Practice and keep a note of their out-of-hours/emergency number.

If you have never kept sheep before, then you should seek out some training on basic welfare tasks and the shepherd’s calendar. Try your local Agricultural College or Smallholders Association or Small Shepherds Club or most flock owners will be happy to help. Your Regional Council Member may also be able to help you.