August 2006 More new arrivals
August has passed by so quickly, as usual a whirlwind of experiences good and bad. However before an update I think I should clarify some of the points I made about my work as an under keeper.
I have re read my entry for last month and I can see that it may read like that is it finished. However as with most jobs you have good times and bad times. Last month was one of those not bad times but just extremely busy. It had to be to make sure that in the future months the shooting season is successful. Both Debbie and myself have talked about this period over the last few weeks and feel that we can make some changes, which will mean that we are much more prepared for this time next year and the years after that.
This being my first year of game keeping, I had no idea how much it would affect our life but until we experienced it we never would. Now that we do we have come to the decision that we can accommodate all aspects of our life to include my game keeping as well. Saying that, as always it is a case of what will be will be. Things may happen over the next few months that mean the decision to work as an under keeper is taken away from us. For example I can see that the issue of Bird Flu rearing its head again with the migration of birds getting under way soon. So for now I can safely say that I hope to continue for quite a few years to come as an under keeper as the good times far out way the bad times.
1st of August was the date we had arrived at for Bonnie to farrow her third litter and she kept us waiting until the next morning. In all she produced 10 piglets, however 1 must have died when born which was discovered the next day hidden under the straw bedding and 1 died after getting stuck and having to be retrieved from Bonnie. So in total we have 4 gilts and 4 boars, all pedigree Large Black pigs. We are hoping to sell these as breeding pigs as to our knowledge we have the most Northerly herd in the UK based upon the information on the BPA site and Large black pig breeders site. You can read more about the experience here for now although when I have time I shall write an article about the experience.
Finally over!
I have re read my entry for last month and I can see that it may read like that is it finished. However as with most jobs you have good times and bad times. Last month was one of those not bad times but just extremely busy. It had to be to make sure that in the future months the shooting season is successful. Both Debbie and myself have talked about this period over the last few weeks and feel that we can make some changes, which will mean that we are much more prepared for this time next year and the years after that.
This being my first year of game keeping, I had no idea how much it would affect our life but until we experienced it we never would. Now that we do we have come to the decision that we can accommodate all aspects of our life to include my game keeping as well. Saying that, as always it is a case of what will be will be. Things may happen over the next few months that mean the decision to work as an under keeper is taken away from us. For example I can see that the issue of Bird Flu rearing its head again with the migration of birds getting under way soon. So for now I can safely say that I hope to continue for quite a few years to come as an under keeper as the good times far out way the bad times.
1st of August was the date we had arrived at for Bonnie to farrow her third litter and she kept us waiting until the next morning. In all she produced 10 piglets, however 1 must have died when born which was discovered the next day hidden under the straw bedding and 1 died after getting stuck and having to be retrieved from Bonnie. So in total we have 4 gilts and 4 boars, all pedigree Large Black pigs. We are hoping to sell these as breeding pigs as to our knowledge we have the most Northerly herd in the UK based upon the information on the BPA site and Large black pig breeders site. You can read more about the experience here for now although when I have time I shall write an article about the experience.
Finally over!
Milk Bar's open!
It seems that our broody hens just don't realise that autumn is fast approaching and have continued to hatch chicks at a very efficient rate. Thankfully only 2 seem to be left who are on a total of around a dozen eggs between them. It doesn't seem that long ago that we had the fox visit and were worrying that we may be struggling for eggs and meat, but no more!
The bad news is that one of the Slate turkey chicks drowned in a bucket of water, probably overbalancing whilst having a drink, however the 3 remaining seem to be growing fast now. The Bronze turkeys continue to grow well and are part of the fixture and fittings of the place now. There seems to be at least 2 females amongst the 6 we have based on their displaying behaviours, which are a fantastic site.
Strutting his stuff!
Over the past 2 months we have hatched 20 ducklings in the incubator and they are now at the point of being kept in an outside run waiting to free range. They just need a few weeks to get used to the weather conditions and the other poultry before we will let them out of the run. Unfortunately our 2 new ducks decided to share a nest together when going broody which resulted in the eggs they were incubating being smashed probably as they were manoeuvring for position. Something to remember for next year after the same thing happened with the chickens. Nest sharing is a definite no-no!
Hello big wide world!
The veg plot has continued to be very productive and we are being treated to some wonderful produce. The winter crops have been transplanted outside and room is gradually being made available inside the polytunnel for further crops to be planted. Must admit though I get the feeling that producing veg all year round could be very difficult indeed. That is unless I make more land available or buy another polytunnel. Both options are not really viable from a time and finance point of view. We will have to see what happens over the winter and make decisions early next year.
posted by Wayne @ 1:18 PM
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