Ben - thanks for the tips. I was going to start out with just chickens and work my way up - pigs would definitely be next on my list in the second year though. my plan is really the end result that i am aiming for - maybe after 5 years on the smallholding. I live in Tamworth and the farmer i will be working for next year rears pigs and cows/beasts (for meat) so if there is anyone here close to Tamworth/Birmingham, who keeps sheep and lambs, i would happily come and work for free doing all duties from the dirtiest that nobody wants to do, to the nicest one that everybody wants to do.
Mak - 120 pounds of meat a year from rabbit with just a few square metres? i am amazed. what would i need to do to start them off? throw a buck and rabbit in a hedgerow and just wait for the magic to happen? i do like rabbit meat, it makes a brilliant stew but the missus has the old fluffy bunny stigma that I'm trying to break!
Ina - i didn't know if wheat had to be rotated or not - it was another question i had ready to fire so thanks for answering it. would i rotate it with hay and vegetables? does hay even need to be rotated or ploughed? what type of grass makes the best hay? what percentage of my wheat should i keep to resow a wheat field the following year?
pgkevet - another good point about funding. from what i have researched, land goes for roughly 10-20k an acre. it's not cheap i know. I'm 28 and in my final year of accountancy (and also employed in an accounting role) so in 10 years, i plan to have raised enough money to start my plan. I can see it being an incredibly difficult operation though. In regards to plant and animal disease, i am reading up on a lot of natural ways of preventing (as much as possible) any negative health issues but I'm sure it will be inevitable that a vet will be needed at some point, be it for legal reasons such as tagging and inoculations(?) or sick animals. does anyone have any golden pearls of wisdom to prevent any prone diseases in pigs, poultry and vegetables? what are the main potholes i should be aware of?
Bazzais - what is the best way to combat poaching? i thought that by splitting an acre up into plots that pigs and cattle could swop once or twice a year to let the land recover would help this? say if i have moved my pigs from plot 1 to plot 2, and cows from plot 3 to plot 4, what would i have to do to plot 1 and 3 to return it to fertile, healthy pasture land? if i am being naive in any of this please point it out, no offense will be taken
thanks for all the comments