[Nelster]

Hi all Neslter here.

My wife and I recently - after many months of harrasing our local farmer - managed to agree to rent an acre of land which is just behind our house (in Wiltshire). We have moved our house chickens onto the field successfully and have planted various vegetables in our quest to provide as much food as possible for ourselves, our next move is livestock !

We have many many questions, concerns, worries etc etc and  I'm sure will be posting often looking for any help we can find !!

[jameslindsay]

Hello from a beautiful day in Fife, what livestock would you like?

[Nelster]

Thanks for the reply JamesLindsey.

Ideally we would like to keep just a couple of sheep and possibly some ducks or geese. Our master plan is to get store lambs for fattening (at the moment Wiltshire Horns to avoid shearing), then possibly to run a couple or so geese on the same piece of land over winter to graze and fertalize the ground.

There is a small copse on the land that would make an ideal pig pen - but thats about our plan Z at the moment.

We really are loking to maximise food production from our paltry -see what I did there - one acre

Our main concern at the moment is making sure we are 'set-up' properly. Our friendly farmer has said he's happy for us to use his movement book etc, but I'm not sure if this is 'allowed' or if we need to get our own holding number, movement book etc, and also if we need to consult local planning ? or local health ? or something like that to see what animals we are 'allowed'

The land we are renting is a corner of an already registered big farm which is obviously designated agrucultural land

Help ?

[chriso]

Hi and welcome Nelster. I have been considering doing the same - renting from farmer. I was also wondering what the complications would be if I never got my own parish holding/stock numbers - there may be movement restrictions passed either way but maybe not if you had your own numbers.
I'm sure some of the more experienced people will be along soon. 

[JulieS]

Hello and welcome from Devon.   

I'm not sure of the answers to the CPH, herd/flock numbers and movement book.  It would be worth contacting your local Animal Health/Trading Standards.  They are very helpful and would rather you contact them before you do anything.

[Wizard]

It's grand weather here in Gy Nelstar welcome to the group

[HappyHippy]

Hello from me in South Lanarkshire 
I was looking into getting some geese myself, until I discovered that the recommended stocking is about 6 geese per acre (personally for that much space I'd rather have pigs ) For maximum food production pigs are definately the way to go (but I'm maybe slightly biased  )
I think it's best to have your own CPH and herd numbers - that way you would be contacted if there was ever a problem. The forms are a bit of a nightmare to fill in though and if you're not sure how long this rental is likely to last it'd be easier to use the farmers existing ones (though how legal this is, I'm not sure )
As for the animals you'd be allowed to keep - I don't think there's any restriction on normal cows, sheep, pigs etc - obviously if you were looking at wild boar (possibly ostritch too ) there is a need for a 'dangerous animal licence' 
You'd only need to contact planning if you were putting up any permanent structures (think brick built or having foudations) - movable arcs, field shelters etc should be fine.
Hope this helps and good luck with your venture - keep us posted with how you are getting on.
Karen x

[Hilarysmum]

Hi welcome, go for pigs 

[Nelster]

There is a small copse in the land, which would make a perfect pig area, but are there any restrictions on keeping them, ie noise, pollution etc, do you have to dispose of the erm 'waste' in any particular way ?

Are pigs 'neighbour friendly' ?

[doganjo]

No they are NOT, they are smelly things!

[HappyHippy]

They do have a certain aroma  But providing you're not overstocking and clearing any piles of poo (great for the compost heap) it can be kept to a minimum - when they're outside with plenty of space you hardly notice it.
Neighbour friendly ? It depends  You've got to make sure the fencing is robust (neighbours won't be happy if piggies eat all their beautiful garden plants) and as long as you feed them at the same time every day and make sure they've got plenty of water, they'll not make too much noise (but be late at your peril  )
Doganjo's not met my pigs yet - or she'd change her mind in a jiffy 

[Wizard]

They are like Marmite you love them or hate them and much more use than an average dog Sooner have pig pooh on my shoes than some of this that most dogs and dog owners leave behind around here Horrid messy things good for now't Oh Annie love

[JulieS]

I love them 

[doganjo]

They are like Marmite you love them or hate them and much more use than an average dog Sooner have pig pooh on my shoes than some of this that most dogs and dog owners leave behind around here Horrid messy things good for now't Oh Annie love

Can't argue with that, Wiz.  But we have a new scheme up here.  Every responsible dog owner has more than the requisite number of poo bags in their pocket, and if they see an owner starting to move away from a new deposit they go up and smilingly offer a bag in a very friendly manner.  You wouldn't think it would work and you might get a load of 's*&t' said to you, but in fact it seems to be going fine.  Perhaps because we have LOADS of red bins around here.

[doganjo]

Doganjo's not met my pigs yet - or she'd change her mind in a jiffy 

Not YET???  Not EVER!!!