Last year there just wasn’t enough hours in the day to spend any real time on the vegetable growing side of things. With a day job as well as the livestock and other land management tasks taking up all of my time, it was a tough but ultimately the best decision. In the end I …
The miserable weather seems to have gone away (for the moment) so I could start on some of the pending jobs that have been put off due to the wet ground. First up was a move for the cattle into an adjacent field which, although not perfect by any means, is definitely better for them …
Continue reading ‘A sunny day means lots of moving around’ »
Living up a hill in the North Pennines at 1000ft above sea level, I had assumed that water wouldn’t be too much of a problem for us. Why should we worry about that when we are all taught in school that gravity means water will naturally flow downhill. We are another 200ft above the main …
Whenever I collect another batch of pork from the butchers there is always a real sense of pride along with all the other obvious feelings. Pride partly because we have produced something ourselves but more importantly we are proud to have reared animals with the respect it they deserve and given them the best life …
Despite all the preparations, forethought and planning leading up to Esther farrowing there was still a surprise in the works for us. The theory was that we would move Esther into a stone outbuilding nearer the house a few days before her due date so that we can keep an eye on her more easily. …
Continue reading ‘Farrowing does not always go according to plan’ »
It’s been a troubling time since the last expected farrowing – mainly because I still can’t quite explain why I misjudged events so completely. Admittedly it is true that Sissy already had quite a reputation for carrying a few extra pounds compared to her sister (Esther). Added to that is the constant juggling of time …
After an extended period with no egg production from our chickens, last week we finally got some more eggs out of them. Despite our regular supply of layers pellets and plenty of corn for the long, cold winters nights they had obviously decided to close the egg production down until the days start getting longer. …
Continue reading ‘The chickens are laying again… at last!’ »
After the anticipation of an impending farrowing and my failure to spot some key telltale signs, I eventually had to admit that Sissy was not actually in-pig as I had originally hoped. It would seem that she was just taking advantage of a lapse in concentration, my own (incorrect) assumptions and the chance for a …
It seems like no time since the last farrowing but after some thought I realise that was actually back in August 2018. I probably should have been more aware of that because we still have 4 meat pigs from that litter and they’re doing really well Preparations for the farrowing shed were going well earlier …
Continue reading ‘And so we’re preparing for farrowing again…’ »
We’re now plunging headlong into autumn and the bull has been to visit recently so I thought I’d post a quick cattle-based update with some great pictures I’ve managed to take. Before long they’ll be starting on the winter feed – hay and silage – so it’s nice to have some pictures of them while …