The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Community => Introduce yourself => Topic started by: Lion Learners on November 29, 2012, 05:52:03 pm
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Just a quick note to introduce ourselves. We have recently taken on a 7 acre smallholding with the intention of turning it into an education centre for children to come and meet various pet and farm animals as well as learn about conservation. At the moment we visit school with our range of small animals and we have plenty of experience with keeping everything from rabbits to snakes and tarantulas but the chickens that arrived last month are our first step into “livestock”. I already have a million questions just on chickens and with pigs, geese and ducks scheduled to arrive at the end of January I imagine I’ll be on here a lot asking for advice!
Thanks in advance
Liona
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Good luck with your venture, My animals and I also work with children...must be mad
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Welcome from sunny Shropshire. :wave:
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Welcome from :sunshine: Carnoustie :wave:
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Hi Leona and welcome to TAS - I'm sure you'll get plenty of good advice here to help you get started.
Whereabouts in Cambs are you?
We run a community farm just north of Cambridge with pigs, goats, chickens ducks, geese, turkeys and bees as well as doing veg boxes. I've had a bit of interest from the two schools in our village about coming out for farm visits so would love to pick your brains on what we would need to provide to make this happen.
Ben
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hello from cornwall :thumbsup:
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My kids schooled in Cambridge and in their early years their schools had veg gardens but I don't recall trips to farms. The current emphais on the environment and healthy eating in schools should sit well with farm visits. Sounds exciting ! Good luck.
Martin
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Hi and welcome from Worcestershire :wave:
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Welcome from just next door in suffolk :wave: and good luck
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Thanks for all the welcomes!
Ben - we're in Soham. We're just starting out with this process but if you have any questions I will help in any way I can. There's a lot to think about with opening up your farm.
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Hi from the Isle of Mull :wave: .
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Hello and welcome from Somerset.
If you have time, you might like to do some reading about livestock before they arrive. Anything by Katie Thear is good. Not to mention Tim Tyne's sheep book.
Watch out for those snakes if your chickens are free ranging! ;)
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Any pig questions, feel free to drop me a message. What breed are you hoping to get, and how many?
Best of luck with it all and welcome to a very friendly and helpful forum - you'll always find an answer (more often, several) to your questions on here. Post some pictures of your place when you get up and running.
All the best,
Liz
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Thanks for all the helpful advice already!
Liz - the pigs are German micros. They're arriving at the end of January, 2 boars on the condition that we don't eat them!
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Liz - the pigs are German micros. They're arriving at the end of January, 2 boars on the condition that we don't eat them!
ok i've counted to ten............why german micros when theres bloody hundreds of micro pigs in rescue centres all over the flamin' country!?? ???
Mandy :pig:
ps see pig section "dreaded mp question" topic, you'll understand my comment
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hmmm. this situation needs sorting, im off to talk to the mods!
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ok the board position on micro's is they don't exist as such...
they are cross breeds, how old will they be when you get them? 2 boars not for eating. will they be castrated? Have you seen a grown up version of this 'breed'?
we get lots of 'micro pigs' advertised as free to good home if you promise not to eat them... so far i think they all ended up as sausages although i may be wrong.
Please don't take this the wrong way as we welcome everyone on this site but this is a very contentious issue for many on here...
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I didn't realise I was wading into such a contentious issue! Interesting though since it's such a common term. I shall go back and read through the micro pig debate when I get the chance. The gentleman who is giving them to us said they were sold to him as 'German micros' but he didn't seem too sure! He's had them 2 or 3 years so they're fully grown. They are bigger than I would expect a 'micro' pig to be but they're not massive.
Mandy - we always try to take in our animals from rescue centres or from people who can no longer look after them (as is the case here).
Anyway, whatever they are I'm really looking forward to their arrival. All the pig owners I've spoken to tell em they are a joy (cost of feed aside) to own! :pig: :pig:
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Sorry LL to jump on you just when you said they were German i assumed you were importing them, (humble pie icon required! :-[ )
Well done you for taking them on.
Yes so called micro pigs are a big bone of contention particularly amongst us regular pig breeders, its a despicable trade and i would like to see it completley stopped or at the very least strongly regulated.
best wishes with your venture we're not a bad lot really just passionate about our animals.
Mandy :pig: :bouquet:
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No problem Mandy! ;)
I'm a complete novice at this whole thing so I doubt that will be the last time my poor choice of words gets me into trouble!
Liona
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Hello from me in Lanarkshire :wave:
Also an avid pig keeper and part of the anti-micro brigade :roflanim: (it's not the pigs - it's the irresponsible breeders that we don't like ;))
Look forward to hearing lots more about you
Karen :wave:
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:wave: hello from the fens of cambridgeshire.
another pig keeper/breeder along with cattle and goats (the sheep are now in the freezer)
sorry to say it but i am another anti micro in fact i go as far as saying they are non existant.