For several weeks now, the roof on the original chicken house has looked the worse for wear. As far as I can tell this is partly down to the passing years but I suspect it’s not helped by bored crows pecking at it while waiting to pinch any spare chicken food.
Finally I got organised to buy some more roofing felt as the remaining amount on the roll we had was really not going to be enough to complete the job. There were plenty of roofing tacks/nails left from a similar job on a storage shed from earlier this year so now there were no other excuses left for me to use.
Partially stripped and very tatty
Taking advantage of the cold but generally good weather it didn’t take long to get the job done. This is especially sobering when I consider how long it’s taken me to actually get around to it.
This is not necessarily to a truly professional standard but I think that it’s certainly good enough for those lazy chickens because they aren’t laying any eggs at the moment!
Finally finished before the daylight fades
Unfortunately the tidying up efforts were slowed considerably when I dropped the half full container of roofing tacks. It turned out to be a very fiddly job picking up the nails when they’re mixed in with the damp grass and crusty chicken muck!
Why should your carrots all look the same shape or colour? I grew purple carrots last year and they tasted just fine but I still prefer the orange ones for some reason… Whatever the colour they never grow as straight as you see them in the shops
Why should a parsnip be straight and pointy? This year is my first attempt with parsnips and I was quite impressed with this first one. Very tasty and really easy to grow once you can get the seeds to germinate!
Do all swedes have to be round and look the same? Another relative success story in my first year with growing them. Why would I be bothered what shape they are if I’m going to boil and mash them?
Having been given a very nice nest box some weeks ago, the local owl population have made quite a fuss lately because I hadn’t got around to putting it up. This was finally done last weekend and the results look quite good.
A suitable tree was picked out which wasn’t too close to the buildings and (with the aid of a ladder) I soon proved that you’re never too old to climb a tree!
I had hoped to put this up with absolutely no damage to the tree at all but this was not to be.
My original idea was to run some strong wire through a length of old garden hose around the tree trunk to hold it in place while also resting the nest box on a handy protrusion. Unfortunately once I’d done this it soon became clear that no sane owl would move into such a wobbly house and remedial measures were called for.
You can fix quite a lot of things with a hammer and a few nails!
A very desirable area for owlsShould I put up a FOR RENT sign?
Almost without my noticing, the time has just shot by with no blog updates for quite some time. The various demands of the day job and the associated travel have become more of a priority. On top of that, more time is needed to process the pork from our pigs into bacon and sausage then distribute the results to friends and family.
It’s already October and autumn is well underway – at least it is in our part of the world. The success from the relatively small collection of leaves last year has provided some lovely leaf mould so there are plans to increase these efforts this year.
Given the lack of updates recently, this seemed a good time to bring together a few pictures to illustrate the recent results of this years growing season.
The purple podded peas proved to be very productive but for some reason the dwarf beans didn’t do as well as last year. The leeks and carrots were slow to get established but the beetroot performed well as usual. The biggest surprise for me – apart from the crop from the existing strawberry plants – was the swede which I grew for the first time this year. It’s doing very well and proving to be very tasty!
There are hopes for more to come over the next few weeks particularly from the new raised beds. But it won’t be long before thoughts will have to turn to planning for next year!
After many weeks of procrastination eventually I decided to crack on with a couple of jobs in the woods. It was a nice weekend which helped but mostly I was starting to get bored with my own excuses for not making a start.
Tree felling
For some time now, one of the pine trees in the woods has been leaning at a precarious angle. However There didn’t seem to be any real risk of it falling on its own because it was propped against another tree.
Time to sort this out I think!
Finally the time had come to deal with it, partly for safety but also because I’ve had a plan forming which will use that part of the woods for pigs in the future.
It didn’t seem sensible to put in new fencing when I knew that eventually the tree would have to come down. Knowing my luck, it would probably have fallen on the new fencing just after it had been finished!
A nice tidy cut but still not falling
I had hoped that once the trunk was cut, the sheer weight of the tree would dislodge it from the supporting tree. Unfortunately that didn’t happen but using some spare rope and a little ingenuity I was able to dislodge it with only a couple of blisters to show for the effort.
And down it comes…
Now all I need is to get organised with chopping and splitting the wood into logs ready for storing in the wood shed.
Home-made Bench
Having recently had the electricity poles changed in our area, I made sure to keep the old one that was replaced on our land. Some of it has been kept for possible future use as gate posts but I set aside a bit to knock up a simple bench to put in the woods.
Ideal for viewing sunsets
It may not look very fancy but I’m pleasantly surprised and pleased with the results. Especially given the fact that despite having only just installed it in the woods, it looks like it has been there for some time.
The traumatic exercise of ear tagging has been dealt with this morning. Although if I’m honest it was only traumatic for me in the end as the pigs barely noticed it.
All the necessary paperwork in in place and the movement has been registered through the relevant website. I mustn’t forget to take a paper copy with me though.
The trailer has been readied and loaded with straw for the journey. I’ve not had enough practice with reversing it as usual but I’m sure it’ll be alright. I even managed a dry run with one of the pigs so we know that loading shouldn’t be a problem.
We’ve managed to arranged things so that we finished the last bag of pig food today as well so there’s none going to waste. We still have something to put in the bucket to help entice the pigs into the trailer if they won’t go in of their own accord.
There was just one last job this evening but now the final weigh-in has been completed and the results are in…
2legs
1.08 * 1.02 ^2 * 69.3 = 77.9kg
Lefty
1.06 * 1.04 ^2 * 69.3 = 79.5
Righty
1.07 * 1.0 ^2 * 69.3 = 74.2kg
The first pair of weaners differed in weight by 10kg or more but this time all 3 seem to be much more evenly matched. A little harder to photograph perhaps as they didn’t want to stop moving for their picture to be taken. They were either following me around too closely or chasing each other.
The larger one last time was around 80kg so they appear to be about right on schedule given the rough estimated weight. I had hoped to book them in a week later but the abattoir was too busy on that date so it’s lucky that they’re at a reasonable weight.
As a parting gift, here is a short video clip from a few weeks ago which shows how entertaining they can be… Despite the fact they sneak up behind you when you least expect it!
After some poor early results the new raised beds are looking a little more respectable these days. There has been a surprisingly low success rate with some of the seeds I’ve planted which has meant some extra later planting to fill in the gaps.
This is a little annoying but I enjoy sowing seeds so it’s been good to get some seeds in while there is still time left this year.
Varied results with leeks and beetroot
There were some small instances of problems with chickens, birds and other wildlife helping themselves but that wasn’t the biggest issue for me.
I still haven’t decided whether the seed company I used this year are to blame for dodgy seeds or if the problem is with the “dumpy” bags of compost I had delivered to fill these new raised beds.
My suspicions are that the bulk compost prices are a false economy and this is supported by the fact that a fair percentage of the seeds do germinate.
Courgettes and peas
After a promisingly organised start to the year I’ve realised that lolly sticks are just not up to the job of labelling where seeds have been sown. The writing gets dirty or fades too quickly so for a while I was left with small squash and courgette plants but no way for a beginner like me to tell them apart.
Luckily as the plants get bigger the difference becomes more obvious but I’ve learnt that lesson now. I recently bought some proper black plant labels which come with a white pen – just like the professionals! I’ve been very impressed with the prompt delivery from Harrod Horticulture but I’m not sure they are always the cheapest for everything.
First courgettes
It seems that peas do well here but the results would have been even more impressive if I had spaced the plants out a little more and provided some better support while they were growing. This variety has purple pods which I really like as it helps with finding and picking them when the time is right.
Purple podded peas
The pod may be purple but don’t worry inside the peas are green just like normal…
A pod full of peas
Sweetcorn
And last but not least, the sweetcorn is looking quite good at the moment. If I’m honest though this is the only plant which is this advanced!
There are 3 raised beds in a corner of the garden which were already in place when we moved to the house. This year I’ve just put a few squash or courgette plants in there and left them to their own devices other than the occasion weeding or watering.
This morning I happened to check that area and found what I initially took to be a dead hedgehog caught in the protective netting which was intended to keep the sneaky chickens off the beds.
Hedgehog caught in netting
Luckily on closer examination I found that the hedgehog was still alive so I set about untangling the netting which quickly proved to be almost impossible. Eventually some careful snipping with scissors was needed but in the end the hedgehog was free to wander off again.
Heading off to a cool, dark place
There’s no such thing as a dull moment in this place…
It’s that time of year again when the friendly neighbouring farmer comes along to cut the hay meadows. Unlike last year when everything happened while I was out for the day, this year he arrived while I was pottering around the place so I was able to take some pictures.
In our area it seems that hay making has been going on for some time so I had thought ours would be some of the last to get cut. This is not a bad thing with these wildflower hay meadows as it’s good to let the plants set seed before cutting.
I have also noticed that there are still a number of fields dotted around locally which have not been cut yet so we can hold our heads up high. It may not be a competition but there is a part of me that’s glad we’re not the last to get cut!
view from ground level before cuttingView from higher up during cuttingAll finished!
Now would seem a good time for me to make some plans for the future maintenance or even improvements to these fields. In the future we may need to consider taking on this work ourselves so it would be very helpful to know a little more on the subject.
I realise that there haven’t been as many blog posts about the 3 weaners this year when compared to the 2 Tamworths we raised last year.
This is no reflection on the current trio who I have to say are equally as entertaining as the original two. However it’s more a reflection on the lack of time in each day for everything that could be done.
It seems a shame to wake them!
Now seems a suitable time to add a brief update on their progress and also outline the plan for the next phase.
The 22 week weigh-in
According to my estimate the pigs have reached 22 weeks now and should be ready to take off to slaughter around the second week of August.
I’ve not forgotten the handy calculation for pig weight from metric measurements that I used before but I’ve included it below for my own reference::
Heart Girth ² x Length x 69.3 = weight (in Kgs)
I’ve used the best figures I could come up (they don’t stand still for long!) and as luck would have it two of them were pretty much the same size which helps a little. Unfortunately the measurements are only very rough because it’s a little harder to do that accurately when there are 3 pigs and the 2 that aren’t being measured are trying to eat your wellies or your trousers!
As with the first set of weaners we haven’t given the pigs “pet” names but for convenience they are identified by the colouring on their back legs as mentioned in an earlier post.
Two Legs / Lefty
Heart Girth (measuring around the body just behind the front legs) = 0.94 m
Length (measured from between the ears to the base of the tail) = 0.99 m
Approximate weight is: (0.94 ² x 0.98 x 69.3) = 60.6 kg
Righty
Heart Girth = 0.92 m
Length = 1.00 m
Approximate weight is: (0.92 ² x 1.00 x 69.3) = 58.6 kg
Conclusion
My understanding is that they should be between 60-70Kg live weight by around 6 months old because they are a slower growing rare breed and particularly considering that they are outdoor reared pigs.
Based on these figures everything seems to be going according to plan so far and they look to be on course for the target weight by the due date if all goes well.
There are a few more steps to negotiate before we can crank up the sausage making machine again so now is the time to do the planning. It’s better to make the plans now rather than when we return home after collecting 3 pigs worth of pork from the butchers!
No doubt there will be some outdoor reared, free-range, rare breed pork available for sale at very reasonable prices in due course!
