[Lion Learners]

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

[mojocafa]

Good luck with your venture, My animals and I also work with children...must be mad

[Lesley Silvester]

Welcome from sunny Shropshire.   

[Rosemary]

Welcome from  Carnoustie 

[benkt]

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

[deepinthewoods]

hello from cornwall

[MAK]

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

[darkbrowneggs]

Hi and welcome from Worcestershire 

[LouiseG]

Welcome from just next door in suffolk and good luck

[Lion Learners]

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.

[Bert]

Hi from the Isle of Mull  .

[Possum]

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!

[Tudful Tamworths]

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

[Lion Learners]

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!

[Fowgill Farm]

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
ps see pig section "dreaded mp question" topic, you'll understand my comment