[Kitsuni88]

I have always wanted to move to the country and keep chickens.
Now me and my partner have moved and we have 4 small little stables and a little bit of land that used to be used as a small paddock. The whole place needs a bit of work doing to it, the stables need new doors, the paddock needs levelling as well.

Question is what do I need to do now?!
I'm thinking of ducks as their eggs are richer, but also would like some little pigs to rear and provide us with meat. How do I go about gaining the knowledge I need?

Are there any beginners who can help and guide me to what I should be doing, timelines and what's probably the easiest to ease myself in and test just how well I will cope with the responsibility and sudden influx of animals?

26 years old living in North Devon with my fiancé and 4 cats.

[Rosemary]

Hello and welcome to TAS

Quite a few Devonians on here and lots of others who will be happy to impart wisdom.

How small are the stables? Are they in a block in a yard? Are these all the outbuildings you have?

How big is the paddock? And why does it need levelling? What are the fences like?

Have a read at the TAS website above - especially the sections on poultry and pigs.

[Carse Goodlifers]

  and welcome from Perthshire.
Remember all good things come to those who wait.
I'd draw up a list of things you want to do and that need doing and then prioritise.
Don't rush.

[Lesley Silvester]

  and welcome from Shropshire. You have the property so that's a start. I agree with above - don't rush into things and take it slowly. the temptation is to get lots of all sorts of animals and then find you're out of your depth. Read as much as you can - the sections at the top of this site are a good start and go through the posts in different sections. Poultry is a good start as hens and ducks are relatively easy to keep.


Ask lots of questions. There's always someone on here who will know the answer. If you get the chance to visit other smallholders - and, as Rosemary says, there are several TAS members in Devon - do so. Most people are happy to show others round.


And enjoy it. 

[Bramblecot]

  from Dorset! 

Congraulations on your new home.  Make haste slowly especially with acquiring animals - it's easy to overstock with !!  A few rescue  is a good place to start.

[Kimbo]

Hi there,
Im a beginner too.
We got 6 hybrid hens to start with and they have been wonderful. They are quite easy to look after and wont overface you as a beginner. Id stick with those until you get a better idea of what you want to do. if you aren't used to keeping animals they can be a bit of a shock! how about some nice fruit and veg too while you are thinking?
kimbo

[Caroline1]

Hi, I have just moved to a smallholding, but had some poultry at my previous place.

I would suggest start with 1 breed, then add other types of animals. The start-up costs could easily mount if you do too much at once. We started with chickens which was a great learning curve and really rewarding (and soooo much easier than ducks which are very messy and can be noisy even though the eggs are delicious). I still love collecting my eggs and have kept chickens for 5 years (ducks for 3)

We got some pigs about 3 weeks ago for meat and are really enjoying them. I am glad I gained confidence with the poultry first though. Not just through looking after them, but the mindset of having them for food not pets. 

[Kimbo]

good point Caroline.
Ive yet to see how we will be with the lambs..... sensible I hope as we already have too many pets!

[Caroline1]

  would love lambs in future but could see me finding it hard not to see them as pets. Maybe next year, goats are next on my list 

[SallyintNorth]

Congratulations!

If you haven't already, get yourself joined up into DASH - Devon Association of Smallholders.  When I was down there, the North Devon group was particularly active, meeting once a month, usually at a member's place and having a good look around.  So a really great source of local expertise and places where you can go and see how others do it   I seem to recall we had a member at Molland... 

[B3a5tie]

Welcome and Good Luck! We are up on Bodmin Moor so not too far away. We have chickens, 5 piglets and 3 orphan lambs at present. You'd be very welcome to come and have a look.

[Kitsuni88]

Thank you, all very helpful.

Makes me realise that I don't have to know it all to begin with but can learn on the way and start off small with just as big rewards.

The paddock is bumpy and was so overgrown when we required it. I'm not sure about measurements I need to download that this weekend really!

I've been told when it comes to getting pigs or goats you need to register as a small holding, is this hard to do and who do I have to do this with?

Oh my I would love to look around at other peoples small holdings and really see what could be possible, ideally I would love people to come to ours and have a look at what we have available to us before we start to gain some pearls of wisdom on where the hell to start!!!

I am looking up all sorts of guides and how to's but words of experience are what I need the most, people who have done trial and error for them and know what they want.

I will look into dDASH  sallyintnorth thank you

[Kimbo]

no its very easy to get a county parish holding number. just a phone call. I found them very helpful. When you get your number (it  takes 2 weeks now) you then apply to Animal Health for another number ( sorry: for sheep its a flock number but Im not sure what its called for piggies! They will tell you anyway).
You need an annual  movement record and a medicines book too. It sounds daunting but it isn't, as long as you keep on top of the record-keeping as you go along. Don't put that part off though as there are criminal offences attached to not keeping proper records.

it'll be lovely for you to join a local smallholders group. I don't know of one round us, sadly

[Womble]

for sheep its a flock number but Im not sure what its called for piggies!

Herd number. Simples! 
 

You need an annual  movement record and a medicines book too.

Which they should also send you. (Well, they did for the sheep in my case, just not for the piggies).
 
 
Apart from that, I'll just reiterate what others have said - take it SLOOOOW and avoid overstocking at all costs. Also accept that unless you manage to find a real niche, you're not going to make money at this game. So, if you're going to be doing it for fun / pleasure, do more of the bits that bring you fun / pleasure / feeling of satisfaction etc, and stop doing (or outsource) the bits you don't enjoy!

[Kitsuni88]

Ooh definitely doing it for my pleasure Womble.

I've been a live in carer and worked in the care industry for the past 5 years, now I'm ready to do something for me. I'm 26 I need to be at home with my fiancé building our rural life lol. Something that kicks my ass out to enjoy the countryside, something to get me going and get a sense of achievement.

I'm researching and researching and discussions with my partner about wich animals, on which he has been rather silent lol. I guess the next step is getting a smallholding number then can look into animals and land space.

The next big question really is chickens or ducks?!