Monday, April 23, 2007

Testing times

The unusually warm weather continued well into February but by the end of the month Mother Nature took her revenge with some really atrocious weather, but more on that next time.
The warm weather meant I was able to get a great deal of work done from the never-ending list. Pride of place was the construction of a homemade propagator using good old fashion pig crumb as a heat source! Although the polytunnel is quite warm it still doesn't achieve temperatures around the clock to ensure germination is successful and I would run the risk of perhaps having seeds germinate only to be cut down by the colder temperatures at night. I really do want to start off sowing seeds early to get a good start and hopefully carry on all throughout the year if possible.
Unlike most years I have sat down and planned how to do this and a large part of the plan being successful is to make sure that crops are sown and planted with the next crops being taken into account. I am planning to make good use of the polytunnel over the winter months and shall sow the winter crops to coincide with the summer crops being lifted, having hopefully provided good crops. Well that's the plan anyway!
I plan to start sowing seeds in the propagator mid March and further details of its construction can be found in the article pages here.
Bonnie and her piglets continue to do well and we are hoping to sell some on in March once weaned, as we really do need to let our paddocks rest for most of the summer in readiness for litters later in the year. Regarding litters these are probably the last of the crossbreed pigs we shall have as we will only have pedigree Large Black pigs from now on. I can however recommend Tamworth meat as a good all round meat product, just that the temperament in our experience has seen the pigs to be much more nervy and flighty than the Large Blacks. Just a case of personal choice I think.
On a more serious note I guess I should discuss AI or bird flu as is it's more popular media name. Mid February really did seem to me anyway to be a time when the issues surrounding bird flu hit fever pitch. On the little TV I watch the hysteria was at times very worrying and I would be lying if I didn't say I thought drastic rules would be implemented at that time. However at the present time things seem to have calmed down a little. Nothing like political scandals to push news items down the media pecking order! In reality I think I would be a fool to ignore what has happened and what could happen although that doesn't mean I agree with the scare stories and gossip mongering that has been regularly spouted.
At times I have been really angered by comments and reports by folk who appear so distant from the actual practicalities of living with the threat of bird flu on a day-to-day basis. The issues are something, which could have a dramatic affect on our lives to the point where it could affect our very way of life.
Like most country folk we have hens, ducks and geese and the main response to any outbreak appears to be to confine them in areas where they would have no contact with wild birds. Our birds being free range all their lives I think this action would be quite cruel on several counts. Yes the lack of freedom to go about their business would be bad enough, but what worries me is that the impression seems to be lock them up and everything will be fine. Well sorry I don't agree with this. I should say I have no problem at all with folk who make a choice to have their birds in enclosed runs if this is the way they wish to keep them, but I do feel that the likely hood of ailments occurring and with more regularity and spreading quickly cannot be denied.
Without a doubt pecking orders exist in most animal groups and having space to run away if needed is one of the plus points of free ranging. Having all the birds together with limited room well I think would prove very painful for some, as feather pecking or bullying is something I would think would be common.
Pigs as well have been linked to being susceptible and I have heard that unofficially people who have asked have been told that they would be better off indoors again segregated from the wild bird population. Better still a case has been reported of a cat that had died from eating an infected bird. It really does make me wonder where it will all end?
The threat of course could impact on my new career after all, no birds = no work= no money. I have had to be very realistic about the whole situation and have decided to work on a bank work basis for my old employers just incase the worst case scenario happens. Perhaps my nursing career hasn't finished after all.
So at the moment I find myself in a little nightmare scenario. Juggling two demanding jobs to make sure that whatever happens I should be financially secure, whilst at the same time trying to keep on top of the jobs around our place. Realistically if the threat remains with no restrictions imposed by the government then I shall have to continue like this until July/ August time when the pheasants and partridges should be free of the pens and classed as wild.
Any restrictions imposed before June and I am probably back to my nursing career which although not ideal would at least mean financial security. Bookings for shooting days are around half full for the forthcoming season which I am led to believe is normal and the work I am doing at the moment is all preparation work so my new employers are at least being positive about the situation I just hope that I can last the distance.

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