The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Community => Introduce yourself => Topic started by: Greenmoth on December 27, 2010, 01:33:14 pm
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Hi, i stumbled across this forum whilst checking if pigs could eat chocolate, after being dumped with alot of stale chocolate biscuits over the xmas period! luckily they can and have eaten them with great delight, i do love it when things dont go to waste! :)
ok so a little about me: Im 25 years of age, qualified with a degree in wildlife management, ive been a shepherd for the last few years, managing a flock of jacobs in a conservation parkland. I recently was offered a job managing a feed merchant which i accepted, which may sound insane because i have a seemingly idea job with the sheep, but i fancy having a job that i can close the door and go home, at the moment its 24 hours a day work, and i want to enjoy my own smallholding and dont have time to do so.
I rent a 5 acre smallholding which was abandoned for at least 10 years previous to me moving in on the 1st of Aug 2010, so its been a battle with brambles so far, luckily with the help of a friend with a flale on his tractor we ripped the out, and now are beginning the expensive task of fencing the whole site. we have one field finished so far, which keeps in 2 shetland ponies, 1 welsh cob, 1 irish cob and 5 saddleback weaners. on the 1st of jan we get our new goats, so that'll be fun! theyre anglo nubian doe kids.
i was brought up on a small urban smallholding where we had pygmy goats alot of rare breed chickens and grew all our own veg, so its been part of my life forever. i still keep alot of rare breed poultry for exhibition and produce, aswell as californian rabbits for their meat.
so thats about it, i have a long way to go with my plot, but we'll get there!
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hi from derbyshire
we used to live in w sx
where abouts are you
:wave:
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near Bosham, chichester :)
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we lived in chichester!! ;D
in laws still there
lovely part of the country- but we love walking and hiking in the peak as well
welcome. i've always had good advice from the forum and are all friendly :farmer:
Manian :wave:
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Hello and welcome from Devon :)
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Hi from Ardingly, good luck with everything
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Hello and welcome from Carnoustie :wave:
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Wow that is really useful to know that pigs CAN eat chocolate. (We have a pet house pig). From experience I know htey are partial to a bit of smoked salmon
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:) im sure there wont be an awful lot of leftover choc items for our boys, but its good to know it wont go to waste if there is. they have a happy life in a scrubby/wooded bit of the holding at the moment, so they eat bits and bobs all day long, they always look a bit disheartened at the nuts i throw, think choc biscuits are the prefered feedstuff :)
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hi and welcome from moray :wave:
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hello and welcome :)
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Hello and welcome,
It's nice to see someone young so keen. Don't think I was that keen on growing veg etc when I was 25! Still that was only a 5 years ago I suppose!
We live in central Scotland, with 16 pedigree dairy goats (I breed Anglo-Nubians- my family have some of the other breeds), just put away 2 weaners and a orphan lamb in the freezer. Would love to grow more veg, but just don't have the time!
Good luck with the fencing- are you doing it all yourself?
Beth
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my friend is helping, its not such a huge job, as have the use of a tractor, only problem is the coloured cob pushes the posts out quicker than whe can sink them :)
We were all encouraged as children to grow veg, and knew where everything came from, i have 3 brothers who were brought up in the same environment as me but are all suited and booted office workers now, so it goes to show that its something your born with! my father is an original eco warrior! our family house is covered in solar pannels, and ground source heat pump pipes fill the ground below the veg. if he could have a windmill he would, so i guess i get it from him :)
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Hello and welcome from damp and dreary north Wales. :wave:
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Hi there and welcome from Worcestershire. Now very damp and misty, but at least no snow and much milder.
Sue :wave:
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Hello and welcome from a misty Kent. :wave:
We moved to our smallholding in July, and much the same as you have brambles and nettles to deal with. We are lucky that most of our holding is fenced, just a few repairs to do.
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Hello and welcome from wonderful West Wales (previously from Findon, West Sussex ::) ) :wave:
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And a warm welcome from Me, just down the road in East Sussex - been here 28 years, before that Somerset ;D
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Hello from Worcestershire :wave:
have really enjoyed reading this thread as I have 4 girls and, having been brought up in London, have been keen that they enjoy all there is to love about the countryside. seems to have had an effect as the 7 year old asked santa for a cockerel for xmas and the 6 year old spent today fretting over someone elses sheep that was stuck in a bramble bush ::)
welcome to TAS
LIsa