The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Community => Introduce yourself => Topic started by: Flecktimus on March 04, 2010, 01:23:07 pm
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Ok,
What do you need to know about me
1) I live in the Scottish Borders and have roughly 3 acres of good paddock land,river and 2 border Collies whom are pure pets.
2) Plans - 4 or 5 chickens for eggs, i req pigs asap to clear 1/2 acre of over grown paddock ready to plant willow trees next season. plant a nice veg garden and a few sheep or maybe Alpacas 8). Also looking to make electricity from the river.
Anyway any help will be welcome as i am a complete novice
The dogs names are Fleck and Red :wave:
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Hello and welcome. It seems we all start of with just a couple of animals and then it just grows...
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Welcome to the forum!!
Yes, we do start with a few animals, and then if you are like me you stop counting!!
I am interested in using our river to make electricity, because it has been done further down the river from us, and this supplies a number of houses.
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This is a good forum with lots of ideas on Micro Hydro electricity
http://www.navitron.org.uk/forum/
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Hi and welcome!
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Welcome from fife.
I notice the 4 or 5 chickens, it will end up more like 40 or 50 ;D ;D ;D
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Hello and welcome from me in South Lanarkshire ;D
I'm still waiting for my chickens (too many foxes still around to risk it just yet ;))
But pigs are a different matter ;D ;D ;D They're VERY addictive though, so soon you'll be looking around wondering where you can put more :pig: :pig: :pig:
Good luck and keep us up to date with how you're getting on.
Karen x
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Hi and welcome from a fellow borderer, I have about 6 acres and the river Eye running through perhaps I should think about hydro elec. given the amount we seem to use here, I have Shetland sheep, with a few of last years ewe lambs for sale. 28 hens at last count and 17 ducks. No pigs at the moment.
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Hello from another smallholder in the borders. Seems to be a "smallholder hotspot" at the moment... We are close to the Ale, but dont own any access etc and it just keeps flooding one of the fields we rent...
We have sheep (4 weeks to lambing), goats (3 weeks to kidding), about 25 hens for eggs and raise weaners over summer for meat. Wirehaired foxterrier for pet. Menagerie completed by two (human) kids of 6 and 8.
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Anke you must be very close to me, I am in Reston. We have have 3 acres flooded or unuseable for months now.
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Hi, we are near St Boswells, flooding only when lots of rain/snow melting, otherwise ok land for sheep (but not for cattle or horses).
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Hello and welcome, you sound like you have some great plans s, I wonder how much electricity to can generate from the river? It would be good if you could run the whole home from it. I agree with the few chickens bit, I started of with three and now have 16, did have 17 but one got crushed under a bale of straw poor thing, I think our Duck pushed it over to lay her egg as there was the egg as evidence, anyway, welcome from Clackmannan!
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hello and welcome from Derbyshire. We dont have a river.... !!
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Hello and welcome, you sound like you have some great plans s, I wonder how much electricity to can generate from the river? It would be good if you could run the whole home from it. I agree with the few chickens bit, I started of with three and now have 16, did have 17 but one got crushed under a bale of straw poor thing, I think our Duck pushed it over to lay her egg as there was the egg as evidence, anyway, welcome from Clackmannan!
Hi Sandy
I am hoping i can produce at least 17 Kwh per day as that is the amount of electricity i am using at the moment.Lots of obstacles to jump SEPA and planning to mention 2.
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hello and welcome from Derbyshire. We dont have a river.... !!
What part of Derbyshire, i have just moved back up to Scotland from Mansfield and had the pleasure of working at Shirebrook Colliery which is North East Derbyshire
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The only thing we have in a bundance is pooo!! Now what can I do to make that useful?
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The only thing we have in a bundance is pooo!! Now what can I do to make that useful?
Methane Gas?
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hello and welcome from Derbyshire. We dont have a river.... !!
What part of Derbyshire, i have just moved back up to Scotland from Mansfield and had the pleasure of working at Shirebrook Colliery which is North East Derbyshire
Right in the middle - about half an hour from Derby.
Smallholding in Scotland must be very different to colliery work?! Are you born and bred from here, or there?!
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hello and welcome from Derbyshire. We dont have a river.... !!
What part of Derbyshire, i have just moved back up to Scotland from Mansfield and had the pleasure of working at Shirebrook Colliery which is North East Derbyshire
Right in the middle - about half an hour from Derby.
Smallholding in Scotland must be very different to colliery work?! Are you born and bred from here, or there?!
Born in Edinburgh,moved to Mansfield when i was 21, now 29 years later i have returned over the border.
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Hi and welcome- lovely part of the world you are in. My dad was born in Kelso, but we live in the central belt of Scotland now.
All of you Borderers- no one lives at Smithy Cottage near St Boswells do they?
Beth
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Hey, Beth, my pal lives at Alma House, St Bos, and I remember seeing the sign for Smithy Cottage when I was down there last year. Is that where your Dad lived?
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Hi, we are near to St Boswells, there are probably quite a few places where there used to be a Smithy. Whats the connection? We have the Smithy at (Old) Belses just down the road, I think they used to keep goats a while back not anymore though?
We have only moved here about 3 years ago so still finding my way round sometimes...
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No, I had a friend that lived at Smithy Cottage who kept goats. I just thought what a coincidence if someone else had moved in and started keeping goats! She lives in France now, moved about 3/4 years ago.
Beth
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Yes she stayed about half a mile east from us at Longnewton, we are just down the road. Current owners dont keep goats, but people keep telling me that the goats used to peer out onto the road from their stable and watched the world (or the few cars per hour) go by... It would have been so good if a goat keeper would have been near me, I am still a bit apprehensive about milking in earnest, have only done the odd try... and others are too far away for me to just pop over for the mornings milking...
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Is Diana not near enough to visit at milking time? She's out Jedburgh way, outside the town of course, so I suppose it might still be a bit of a trek. You might have met her at Kelso- Diana Oliver? I can't think of anyone else down that way unfortunately....
Beth
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Yes I visited Diana's farm to look at her goats last spring, before I got mine. It is not too far away but with the weather this winter has been impossible to get through. Its only now that there is no ice first thing in the morning, and we both live on single track roads...
I'll just have to learn hands-on on my own goats I suppose. Have had both of them on the milking stand twice a day getting them used to someone getting underneath their bellies etc for the last three weeks, and they are hopping on quite readily now.