More uplifting news

So after yesterday's unremitting doom and gloom I wanted to give you the more exciting and uplifting news - Barley has had puppies. They were born about 36 hours after Flynn died so it was a bit of a rollercoaster weekend. She had six, though one was born dead and one died at four days old, but the others are hale and hearty and already great fun.


Puppies at 13 days old

We've decided to keep the yellow one (a girl) and call her Fig, the others are known as Hector, Bramble and Hickory (though we can't tell Bramble and Hickory, both girls, apart yet!).

The other exciting (!) news is that we have the pork back from the first five animals we sent off, but I will post more about that later...

Sad news

When we started down the path to being farmers, we accepted that along with life there would be death, and we've experienced our fair share of that over the last few months. Two weeks ago we had the saddest loss, which we're both only just beginning to come to terms with - we had to have Flynn, the horse I'd owned for six years put down. As anyone who has pets will know (and yes, he was a bit large to be considered a pet, but that's essentially what he was) it is completely devastating to lose them. The poor chap developed an acute neurological disorder, we're not sure what caused it, we fought all day to save him but in the end had to admit defeat and let him go.

RIP Flynnie, you were loved.

Hay there!

Ed has been manic for the last week or two trying to make enough hay to see us through the winter. There is meant to be a photo here of the finished product in our barn, but I forgot to email it to myself from my work computer so you'll just have to imagine it. Ed decided to make big square bales of hay as they are cheaper than small bales but easier to handle than round bales. We think we've got the equivalent of about 200 small bales which should hopefully do the horse(s?) and pigs for the winter, especially now we've had some rain so won't have to start feeding it in August! We're also hoping the grass might have a growth spurt and actually give us enough for a second cut.

The first two pigs went off last weekend. We took them to a local abattoir on Sunday afternoon to give them time to recover from the journey and calm down before they were killed on Monday. I had serious misgivings about taking them early, and felt they would be less stressed at home with their friends in surroundings they knew, but at the moment we're listening to those who have far more experience than us. I have to say that the process of unloading them was very calm and none of the animals seemed stressed or worried. Whilst producing the meat is obviously the point of our business, we are both very concerned that our animals have a good life, partly as we think this has the biggest impact on the flavour of the meat but also because animal welfare is of paramount importance to us.

The pigs were picked up by a local butcher on Tuesday who said they looked good, if a bit too fat. We are therefore taking the last three saddleback cross pigs off this weekend and will have to be more aware of when the animals are ready to go. It's all part of the learning curve!

Note to self

I must make time to blog more often. I keep thinking of things I must put up here and then life somewhat takes over and I miss the moment. However, there have been some momentous changes here in our little corner of Somerset and it is time to update you on them.

Firstly that which I dreaded has happened. I have gone up a decade. It was traumatic and I have to admit that I still consider myself 29 and 57 weeks. However on the plus side I had an amazing party to celebrate still being in my twenties, attended by my most fabulous nearest and dearest.



Whilst I was incredibly lucky with the people I lived with in the south-east, who couldn't have made me feel more welcome, I nevertheless felt that to be 30 and still living in someone else's house half the week wasn't really where I wanted to be. Fortunately as I mentioned in a previous post I now have a brilliant new job in the south-west and managed to move home two days before my birthday!

I'm loving my new company, who have really helped me fit in, and the shorter commute is a total dream, as is living at home with my husband for the first time in three years!

In other news numbers have increased again, we bought three Tamworth weaners at the beginning of May which were swiftly nicknamed Bacon, Sausage and Tomato by a visiting friend. Whilst we have a policy not to name the animals that are going to be eaten we have chosen not to work out which boy is which so they haven't been able to develop characters in our minds.


Bertha and Bacon/Sausage/Tomato

The saddleback weaners are shortly approaching finishing - we are planning to book at least two in this week. There was a slight delay in sending them off when we realised we didn't have the right ear tags for them, and when they arrived we realised the pliers we had to fit them didn't work so had to wait a bit longer for them to be delivered. However, all has now arrived and we're preparing for the first load of pork soon.

In preparation we had a sausage making extravaganza this weekend trying several recipes from this book, though adapting them to use gluten free breadcrumbs (we may have a supplier, but that's under our hats for the moment while we work out a plan). Whilst they were ok they weren't as good as we want them to be, so we've got more work to do. One of the things we think we might need is a new sausage stuffer, as with ours the meat gets minced twice - once from lumps of meat so it can be mixed with the flavouring and then again as it's put in the sausage. This makes the sausages quite smooth and with the wrong texture we feel. So, back to the drawing board.



In other exciting news, our website is about to go live. Check it out here.

Finally, the veg is in and starting to look good, we had our first harvest this weekend with some baby gem lettuce, and the chickens are all at full capacity producing an egg a day each. We lost one of the chickens a week or two ago, she was just dead in the coop in the morning. Ed thought she hadn't been well for a few days, but fortunately all the others seem to be ok.

So, I think we're now pretty much up to speed and I will endeavour to update you more often in the future.

I'm baaaaaaaack!

Wow, we've had a busy month. Some of the highlights include:


New Tamworth cross weaners, born mid-december


A new feed hopper to stop us losing on average two sacks a tonne to marauding rats


The original Saddleback weaners are nearly reaching finishing weight. We weighed some of them at the weekend (many comedy pig chasing moments) and they were about 65kg. We're aiming for 75kg for the Saddlebacks boys. A friend has suggested we fatten the gilts to more like 100kg as there obviously aren't the problems with bore taint. We're weighing it up at the moment, on the one hand it would fill a gap in production and save us having to buy more weaners for a few months and we'd produce more meat per animal on the other hand we need to feed them more.

There were also meant to be photos of the new kitchen blinds Ed and I made a few weekends ago, Ed even drove the sewing machine and is inordinately proud of 'his' blind, but we forgot to take photos. Will feature them next time...

Do you want the good news or the bad news?

Lets start with the bad news, get it over and done with, we had to have a pig put down last week. It was one of the saddleback crosses and we're pretty sure he was poisoned. There are a couple of yew trees in the pigs enclosure, which we knew were poisonous, but animals generally know to avoid them. However, one of the trees had some of its root exposed and, as we've been feeding the pigs under the trees to encourage them to forage, we think they probably ate some of the root too.

Ed checked the pigs in the evening and they were all fine but by the following morning most of them were off colour and lethargic and one was very ill (disorientated and struggling to breathe properly) so Ed called the vet who diagnosed poisoning and gave him an injection to fight the symptoms. Unfortunately the pig didn't improve and so was put down at lunchtime that day. Fortunately the other pigs seem to have recovered with no lasting effects. The only pig not to be ill at all was Roger, the smallest Oxford Sandy and Black, I'm taking it as proof she's the cleverest (Ed thinks it's because she's the smallest and not allowed near the good food!).



It was a really sad experience, even though they're going to die soon anyway, and we both felt awful. But we live and learn, and won't make the same mistake again.

The good news...I've finally got a job in the South West. Ed and I have been living apart for nearly three years, firstly with him away during the week, and for the last 18 months with me only at home at weekends so it's really exciting to be contemplating living together again though I'm sure there are going to be a few teething problems while we sort out the tv schedule and the dishwasher loading rota!! One of the most exciting things is the increased flexibility it will give us to start growing our meat production business and hopefully start looking at farmers markets, grants for a cutting room etc.

Self sufficiency

We're on our way...



Ed found these just 10 days after we first collected our point of lay Bluebell chickens. I was expecting them to take ages - a friend who bought chickens last year had to wait about six weeks for her first eggs. It was a very exciting moment for us - so much so that Ed had to send me a picture message and comply with my request not to eat them until I got home at the weekend! They are now residing in some specially purchased egg cups on our dresser (sad, me, no, of course not). Since then production has really picked up and we're getting around four eggs a day. Some of them have looked a little thin shelled so we bought some oyster grit to keep in their pen and they seem to be improving.

We have also bought all our vegetable seeds and I'm hoping to start planting this weekend. I am most excited about the very posh River Cottage ones we were given as an inspired Christmas present by a fabulous friend. I was slightly worried we'd missed the planting boat, but was reassured by Chris Evans on Radio 2 this morning when he said that the soil isn't warm enough for planting yet so everything needs to go in late. Hurrah!

Update

Just thought I'd show you a few photos of the weaners we're fattening, and Lara and Roger (a girl!) our breeding gilts - well, they will be in a few months!



It's difficult to tell whether they've grown when you see them every day, or every weekend, but looking back over the photos I can see a definite change. Which brings them ever closer to becoming sausages. We're both trying to view them as a business proposition, and to some extent are succeeding (Ed more than me probably) but it will still be sad to see them go.

And then there were 20...

Numbers appear to have increased again. Ed is fast becoming a porcine kleptomaniac. Several weeks ago, whilst looking for some Dexter cattle for a friend, Ed managed to stumble across a two year old female Oxford Sandy and Black free to good home. Bertha had been living on her own since she was weaned and, following her owner having a serious accident, had ended up on a farm near Leominster. They loved her, but had run out of space, so had to rehome her - this is where we stepped in. Ed collected her a few weeks ago and she seems to have settled in well, though she is (somewhat understandably) convinced she is a human not a pig and has been a little miffed at our attempts to a) keep her in a pen and b) introduce her to the boar!!



We have borrowed an Oxford Sandy and Black boar from a local farmer, nicknamed Bert who seems quite keen on Bertha. She is somewhat less keen on him. We're keeping our fingers crossed though. Neither of them are registered with the OSB Society so we will sell/keep their piglets as weaners for pork rather than keeping them for breeding.



Next up, Ed discovered the livestock equivalent of ebay and managed to procure two 13 month old Tamworth gilts for the princely sum of £11.54. Bargain. There's the small matter of feeding them, but we'll gloss over that for now... They are really friendly and lovely looking. Flynn is much more interested in them, and less afraid of them, than Bertha - I think it's because they're ginger like him! They have settled in really well (we've split the pen at our yard in two) and are very interested in Bert, so we're now looking for a Tamworth boar. Though I am keen to stagger the arrival of piglets a bit or I think we might be a little overwhelmed.



Finally, we went to look at a potential husband for Barley last week. He's a lovely, two year old, yellow labrador. So now we're just waiting for her to come in to season. It is so exciting, though not quite sure how we're going to cope with all the babies - still, it'll probably put us off having our own for a while!!

Major Updates

I have been rather absent recently, but there have been a number of additions to our smallholding. Taking them in chronological order, first we collected two pedigree Oxford Sandy and Black gilts from near Watchet.



They are both birth notified pigs, and the breeder is obtaining the herd book certificates for us. This means that we can breed from them and, assuming we use a registered boar, register their offspring as pedigree OS&B which can attract a premium both for their meat and as breeding stock.

We have now moved all eight pigs to a local Estate. At the moment this is a bit of a joint venture with the landlord as he has some areas of woodland that are overgrown with brambles. The Estate also has amazing gardens which are currently being redesigned and will hopefully be opened to the public in the future - the plan is to be able to sell meat produced on the Estate to visitors to the gardens. The pigs caused a great stir when they arrived - half the Estate turned out to meet them! They've now settled in and seem very happy, if a little uninterested in the brambles - we're planning to cut their feed down a bit in the hope they do some more foraging.



Earlier this week we collected six point of lay bluebell chickens. We have a small shed in our garden (one of three - check us out!) which the previous owners left behind that we've (read: Ed) converted in to a chicken house, complete with an old sideboard (also left behind) as a nest box.



They also have an outside run, which we're planning to put a roof on for extra fox protection, particularly if we're a bit late getting them in.



That's about it on the smallholding updates, though I did look at a pony the other day........

Two amazing recipes

I cooked two amazing recipes on Friday that I thought I'd share. This post may appear not strictly to the point, but it is relevant in that part of what we're trying to do involves eating sustainably and in season, so I'll probably drop in the odd post about recipes that I find and love. I should probably interject here that I have a slight obsession with recipe books. My current favourites are:

River Cottage Everyday

Sarah Raven's Garden Cookbook

and Nigel Slater Tender

Anyway, I digress. On Friday I made curried fish pie and rhubarb clafoutis, both from the River Cottage Everyday book, for some lovely friends who were visiting for the weekend. They were A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. I tweaked them slightly and changed the wheat flour for rice flour as I have a wheat intolerance, which worked absolutely fine. I can't put copies of the recipes here as a) I don't have the books with me and b) it would probably be infringing some kind of copyright. Suffice to say, they were delish and the leftovers were vigorously fought over on Sunday morning after the guests had left!

Edited to add, Hugh has very kindly posted the curried fish pie on the River Cottage website, you can find it here

We have lift off!

Well, pigs anyway. The farming (well, perhaps smallholding would be more accurate at this stage, but there's no harm in being ambitious) operation is underway.

On Saturday afternoon we collected six Saddleback cross Landrace weaners. They're all 12 weeks old and from the same litter, not that you'd know from looking at them.



They had been living inside so it really lovely to see them exploring their surroundings - and getting used to electric fence...! We're going to keep them in the pen we built, which is about 25m x 25m for the next two weeks or so while they get used to us, and living outside etc and then move them to the woodland we're renting (more about that later).

The people we bought them from have been feeding them weaner pellets, about 1kg each per day, so we're keeping going with that for now even though they can forage outside as they will be using extra calories to keep warm. We'll keep an eye on this though and review as necessary. We're planning to weigh them before we move them so then we'll have more idea when they might be 'ready'.

The pig pen (a work in progress)

So, work commenced on the pig pen last Monday. We started with this:



(ok, this is a bit after we'd started as I've laid out the posts, but I forgot to take a photo right at the beginning!)

At lunchtime we had this:



And by the evening we had this:



(excuse the lightened photo, it was pretty dark by the time we'd finished)

So, we've got to put a gate in, which Ed is hoping to collect from my Mum this week, and add the electric fence holders and we're good to go, which is lucky really as we're hoping to get the pigs this weekend or next!

The pen is 25m x 25m approx. It's made from wooden posts and pig netting with barbed wire around the base on the outside. The electric fence will be run along the inside about six inches off the ground.

Books

Whilst Ed and I both have a certain amount of relevant knowledge for our projects ahead, Ed more than me, we’re both voracious readers and like to be as clued up as possible. So I think we have single handedly managed to keep Amazon afloat recently. These are our particular recommendations at the moment, though I’ll no doubt be adding to the list as time goes on.

Basically an idiots guide to keeping chickens, really comprehensive and clear

Ed swears by this one for pigs

I'm also really enjoying this to help me plan how to keep us in vegetables for the year. Last summer was a bit of a plant it all at once and see what happens, but this year I'm determined to try and have something growing all year round.

Finally, my new best thing, to accompany all the veg we're going to be growing is this. Beautiful pictures and amazing recipes, we're having the root veg korma this evening!

Looking forward to spending the weekend finishing fencing the chicken run and beginning to fence the pig nursery (and going to the wedding of some fabulous friends).

We're getting started...

Hi

So here we are. Trying to be farmers. Trying to become people who own or manage a farm. But it's more than that. We're seeking a life that lets us live with the seasons, work together and, yes, enjoy a certain lifestyle. I always hate using the word 'lifestyle' but it doesn't need to mean holidays in St Tropez, butlers and caviar, and in this case it certainly doesn't. We were both bought up in the country, Ed on a farm whilst I was pony mad and lived in a village. We currently rent a small parcel of land, and are negotiating to rent some more including an area of woodland.

So what are we hoping to achieve? Well the list is long, and at this stage looks pretty daunting, but you've got to start somewhere and I'm hoping this will act as an incentive and a spur to make us progress.

Perhaps before presenting you with the list I should explain who we are and what's brought us here. The main players in this story are:

Ed - late twenties, digger obsessive, currently managing the european arm of an overseas company, living full time in Somerset

Camilla - late twenties (though not for much longer as I keep being reminded), surveyor currently commuting weekly between the south east and Somerset, seeking a better work life balance and time to spend with husband and menagerie.

Barley - labrador, loves: most things particularly small children who drop food, hates: disco lights

Flynn - horse, loves: reminding me he's a thoroughbred when I least expect it, hates: pigs (this could be a problem).

Here we are, a family of four. Shortly to increase dramatically in numbers. No, I'm not pregnant with quads, but by the end of this month we are hoping to have chickens and pigs. By the Spring we are hoping to have bees as well, and possibly lambs and with every likelihood puppies. So that's goal number 1.

Goal number 2 is for some, if not all, of these increases in numbers to make us money, or if not make us money then at least save us money. We have a number of enterprises we're currently investigating, including the potential markets for our pigs.

Goal number 3 leads on from this and involves either one of us, and preferably both, to be able to work less in our current jobs. We both realise what we're letting ourselves in for will probably be considerably harder work, but hopefully it will lead to the ultimate goal - being our own bosses and running our own farm.

So expect updates on the animals, the vegetable production, the attempts to sell our produce, some recipes involving said produce and probably the odd bit of Cath Kidston when my obsession gets too strong.

I hope you come along for the ride! x