The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Community => Introduce yourself => Topic started by: jenniferruth on November 04, 2012, 11:22:47 am
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Hello Everyone,
I have 6 lovely acres in Weardale in the North Pennines AONB. 3 are permanent pasture and 3 are a very posh flowery hay-meadow. I'm at 1100 feet but the house and part of the pasture are surprisingly well sheltered by trees. There have been various neighbours' sheep on & off on the land, but for the last 3 or 4 years it's been occupied by my permanently lame ex-racehorse, Morris, aged 12 or so, and his chum, Sandy, a palomino Arab cross aged 22. It's a real love-match between these two.
I've just got my heart's desire in the shape of 4 Herdwick wethers born this year. They only came last Tuesday and I'm loving training them to the bucket to which they are responding very quickly - I only started yesterday. My golden retriever, Blackberry, and my little terrier, Molly, both love sheep nuts and are already sharing with the sheep, who've almost given up stamping their feet at these bits of canine cotton wool. I must remember to keep the camera in my pocket at all times. They will be lawn-mowers and will now live out their full life span.
One of the new boys does appear to have orf, which is not the best start, but he's eating well and now we're getting chummier, I hope to be able to catch him to deal with it properly. He has already been sprayed by his previous owner. The owner of Sandy, Sue and her husband, Rob, have some experience of sheep handling, so we should be able to cope.
I've been very impressed with the very helpful bits of advice on the forum, and I promise not to be so long-winded in future.
Regards, jenniferruth
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Hello and welcome jenniferruth :wave: from Carmarthenshire. I am very jealous of your very posh flowery-hay meadow.
Sally
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Welcome from Yorkshire jenniferruth. :wave: Your set-up sounds similar to ours in that we have horses - retired, in work and youngsters just backed, a golden retriever and have just adopted (a fortnight ago) a lovely old dalmation who was discarded because her puppy making days were over and she has medical issuess. We also have sheepies who are our living lawnmowers and this is their forever home. New to sheep keeping this year but the advice and support on here has been immeasurable at times, especially when weaning our boys off the bottle. We also have 5 cats who like to bring us their yard catches, they do look after us ;) . Enjoy the forum and let us know how you are getting on with your woolly boys. :sheep: :sheep: :sheep: :sheep:
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hi from cornwall! :thumbsup: nothing wrong with long winded, feel free!
oh and we need photos, i too would like to see your flower meadow.sounds lovely.
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hi there jenniferruth :wave: from a ways along the vale from you... well, just about clean across the country from you, actually - but that's still not far around about here, eh?! :D
Other end of the spectrum here, commercial beef and sheep farmers on a Cumbrian hill farm. But we're traditional, low input farmers, love making hay and love hay meadows and their varied flora. There's a meadow not far from us is meant to have the globeflower and the melancholy thistle - we go and see the globeflower every year, it's so beautiful I always well up ::) but we've never yet managed to see the melancholy thistle. I think it must flower at a busy time for us, when we're not getting out and about. One day...
As well as the commercial flock and herd, working collies etc, we keep Jersey house cows, rare breed / fleece sheep (I spin), pigs and ponies.
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Hello From Worcestershire :wave:
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Hello and welcome from Carnoustie :wave:
We breed coloured Ryeland sheep - tup lambs went off last week and the tup went back in with the ewes today to start all over again. We also breed Shetland cattle and I WILL milk them next year.
We keep about 100 hens (although one less this morning :( ), grow veggies and fruit and we're in the middle of planting an orchard of 120 trees.
Look forward to pics of your meadow :thumbsup:
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Hi :wave: and welcome from sunny Shropshire.
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Hi and welcome from the Scottish Borders :wave:
That's a lovely part of the country you're in, and the flower meadow sounds beautiful.
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Hello and welcome from durham :wave: