The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Community => Introduce yourself => Topic started by: Black Sheep on October 21, 2017, 06:38:24 pm
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Well, after posting an introduction a couple of years ago I need to repeat it. The land we hoped to buy at the time fell through due to planning issues, then followed several unsuccessful tenders and somewhere we had to withdraw from after 7 months of it not progressing. But perhaps all this was just fate's way of keeping us looking.
So we moved in two weeks ago and it is now starting to sink in that we have land and some buildings and a very long list of jobs! The ducks have made it ok, we've welcomed a new rescue cat and sorted through some of the piles of stuff in the sheds. There are 18 eggs in the incubator all developing well and the indoor chicken run (ready for the worst of the winter weather and possible confinement) is coming on this weekend.
We're near Burnley about 800-1000 feet up - currently very windy - and here's the view on our first morning (a rare sunny day!).
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Wow - great view! And welcome :)
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Congratulations! Enjoy the planning - I love the bit where you can have everything! :D
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Looks fabulous, welcome and keep us informed of progress please :wave: :thumbsup:
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Love that view. Enjoy your land and keep us posted. :thumbsup:
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Hi Black Sheep. Now you can relax after 2 years of stress :relief: You'll soon acclimatise and adapt to the altitude, wind and weather and discover the beauty of it. Gorgeous view. Looking forward to hearing of your progress now you're a :farmer:
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Thank you all :-)
Will add some updates as we go.
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Congratulations!
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Cool! I were born in Burnley, and know your area well. Enjoy your new place - it sounds as though it has loads of potential :thumbsup:
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Cool! I were born in Burnley, and know your area well. Enjoy your new place - it sounds as though it has loads of potential :thumbsup:
Thanks :-) Small world!
Four weeks in and I've finished converting half the workshop into an indoor chicken run - secure, dry and out of the wind that howls up the valley. I bought a door panel from the local poultry supplies place, and 20 bricks and a roll of chicken wire from the DIY store but everything else has been recycled from materials around the place - which I'm quite pleased with. I'm sure the internal partition will need revising as they get bigger and can hop onto it, but we'll see.
The last two weekends I have also been digging overgrown grass and moss off the top of the old sheep pens that are set on a concrete hardstanding next to a derelict outbarn that used to house the ponies when the adjacent field was a sandstone quarry. I'm not sure yet whether the existing metal railings are salvageable as some are rusted through but I could always clad those sections to make a race and leave the others as pens. Need to get some stone to fill in the old sheep dip too - it is surprisingly deep. The pictures show a before and after.
Any thoughts on what sort of arrangement would work best for a small flock? What are the bits in a handling system that work best for everyone?
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Congratulations Black Sheep, patience and determination paid off.
Get your supplies in, never know if you'll be snowed in at this level ????.
When are chicks due?
Just seen the date of your first post, sorry, must have missed that one. Hope everything is going well.
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Oooh, I'd definitely be keeping that race and repairing it, rather than doing anything drastic. Do that, and it will probably be all you need for a small flock.
You'll soon find things to fill up the old sheep dip with, then just repair the gates as required :thumbsup: .
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Congratulations Black Sheep, patience and determination paid off.
Get your supplies in, never know if you'll be snowed in at this level ????.
When are chicks due?
Just seen the date of your first post, sorry, must have missed that one. Hope everything is going well.
Thanks, yes it really has paid off, its a beautiful spot and more land than we ever imagined we'd have.
Chicks are coming up to 2 weeks old and doing well - we incubated 27 eggs, 18 were fertile at a week, 15 hatched although one had to be euthanised, but 13/14 doing well, one little one doesn't seem to be growing as fast as the others but is still up and about. They're a mixture of Rhode Island Red, Buff Sussex and Light Sussex.
Will definitely be stocking up for winter in case - thanks for the reminder. Hope you are well too :-)