THERE is no hibernating at Smithills Open Farm this winter.

The dedicated staff members have been hard at work making sure that the beloved pigs, sheep, horses, deer, llamas, and alpacas are well fed, watered and looked after during the coldest season.

The farm's boss, Carl Grimshaw, says he and his team, including Jennifer White and Harriet Winstanley, love nothing more than watching the surprised reactions from the animals as they take their first few steps onto the snow-covered field.

He said: "It's so funny watching some of them go out onto a white field after it has been snowing overnight — you can see it in their faces as they think, 'oh my goodness, what is this?' Then they'll start kicking around the snow playfully.

"It's really nice to see them messing about together and having fun."

Some of the animals stay outside all year round and some are brought inside for the winter — but making sure they have the right amount of food and water is very important.

Mr Grimshaw said: "When it's snowing like it has been the animals can't get to the grass on the field like usual, so we have to take them food so they don't go hungry.

"We up the food intake because many of the animals might not be able to get to the grass if it has been snowing or if it's icy. They don't have anything different but when it's freezing and the water ices up we have to take them more so they can drink.

"We have to watch out for certain kinds of illnesses, such as pneumonia, of course, but that is regular practice anyway even when it's summer because they can get poorly at any time.

"We bring in as many of the animals we can indoors, apart from the sheep and deer, but they'd rather be out than inside anyway. We bring the llamas and alpacas out to play during the day then bring them in at night. Most of the animals are quite hardy though and the cold weather doesn't faze them."