An overview of Shetland sheep characteristics, benefits for small-scale sheep keeping, and the story of how they arrived on the smallholding.
livestock
Chickens: Creating a Dual Purpose UK Easter Egger Flock – Part 2
This is part two of the story of how we created our dual purpose meat and coloured egg laying flock here on the smallholding. You can read part 1 here. After a lot of research, we settled on four main breeds that we wanted to keep to form the base of our flock.
Chickens: Creating a Dual-Purpose UK Easter Egger Flock – Part 1
We came up with a chicken-keeping plan several years ago, which we have been working on here on the smallholding ever since. Our ultimate aim was to create a happy, free-ranging and organic flock that lays a multicoloured array of eggs and produces some of the finest meat we have ever tasted. This is the…
Keeping Geese Part 3: Fencing
Prior to moving the goslings from their brooder (see Keeping Geese Part 1 and Keeping Geese Part 2) out into the orchard, we gave some careful thought to fencing arrangements. Our initial plan was to allow the geese to free-range and not to worry about fencing but, after further consideration, we decided this wasn’t an…
A Swarm in the Plum Tree
When we lived in London, we did everything we could to entice a swarm of bees into our little garden. Purchasing a colony of bees is quite pricey and the idea of being able to expand our hive numbers for free was very appealing. In the beekeeping world, lost swarms are fair game and it’s…
Keeping Geese Part 2: A Rustic Wooden Brooder, Garden Adventures and Bath Tub Swimming Lessons
Following our decision to keep geese (see Keeping Geese Part 1), we prepared carefully for the arrival of the goslings. We read up on the finer details of goose keeping (Keeping Geese by Chris Ashton was our go-to book). And we made sure that we had all of the equipment and feed we needed:
Beekeeping – A Spring Beehive Inspection
On warm, dry spring days, our honey bees can be seen and heard hard at work all over the garden. Foraging from the flowerbeds and orchard, collecting fresh water from the spring-fed pond, and flying further afield to explore the flora on the surrounding hills. At this time of year we try and go through…
Keeping Geese Part 1: A Rickety Lawnmower, a Buttercup Meadow and a Shoebox of Goslings
We inherited an old, ride-on lawnmower with our cottage to help us manage the grass in the orchard and paddock. A temperamental, somewhat rickety machine, it regularly conked out mid-mow and refused to restart without a lengthy rest period and some careful engine tinkering. Keeping the grass in check soon became a full time job…