Oh my god I feel guilty now!!
We are on call 24/7 and do work 7 days a week, but with no stress, at least not the same stress that we used to have.
We gave up the suit and briefcase clan to come to Normandy and our farming life has really evolved over the past 3 years. We started with 3 male goats rehomed from Chichester to bring with us and we bought in 6 chooks. We have become a bit of a goat sanctuary actually and have a lot of unwanted males who are totally useless really but I adour them. We have a few females so have the pleasure of kids each year which we sell on as pets.
Our life moved forward with our farm bizarrly with the birth of our first male chicks. We soon found that you cannot keep too many cockerals, it becomes a bit of a blood bath, so decided to take the plunge and eat them, and with the help of our French nieghbours who showed us what to do, well did it for us in the first instance, we sat and ate our first home grown meat. The first mouthful was really hard, but then a feeling of satisfaction crept in knowing that our chook had been happy and free range, and that became the ethos of our life. We waste nothing and even the carcuss was used for stock/soup. From there we got ducks, then geese, then got brave and bought our first two pigs who were pregnant.
We now have some 80 plus pigs, which are rare breed pigs so grow slowely, and have now reached the numbers that enable us to process and sell our product in it's varous forms. We cross breed the various types in order to vary the meat, and have regular customers who come back for cross weaners, or pure bred weaners, so we have to facilitate that demand.
We are buying in the Rare Mangalitza's so will be breeding the Reds, Blonds and Swallowbellies by the end of 2008 which is exciting for us since their numbers are low, and apart from our friends in Britanny who have the original Swallowbellys, we don't think there are any more in France so we will be doing our part in the conservation of the breed.
We are just about to move to a larger property so we are moving into sheep in a small way. I have Ouessant ram, Norman, and am desparately searching for his Dee (Norman - Dee!! - sorry about that!!). I know I can get some females next May but would like to get Norm a mate earlier if possible.
I have been researching the Ryeland breed, having read Rosemarys thread re the breed, and since I don't believe there are any in France, we are very keen on the idea of importing some, so watch this space and fingers crossed we can achieve that.
Our days are really busy, but in a nice way. Nothing nicer than sitting with your pig giving it a belly rub or tickling its ear. The mud is awful when it rains, but when you look into those beautiful little faces as you dish our their dinner, the mud becomes insignificant.
If there is anything we have learned it is that any life is precious. Every chick that is born is a mirical, every piglet born is a joy, and we respect every animal here on the basis of the joy that it gives us and the food it provides us. As we sit down to our dinner, we know that that piece of meat was a living breathing animal that we brought into this world, and we appreciate it and try to waste nothing. It is not anonomous and packaged, it is a friend.
Good luck to any of you wanting this life, I really hope you achieve it. One tip though - make sure you invest in really good quality wellies otherwise it is murder on your feet!
Kate