The first Angus calves born this week

The first two Aberdeen Angus cross Longhorn calves were born this week.

Pictures will follow.

We are still very busy lambing and calving, and there is a lot to do in-putting all the lambing records and individual ear tag numbers into the computer.

On the arable side of the business a legume mix has been planted for arable silage under the Stewardship options, and the wild bird seed mix will be sown next and lastly the game cover will be the final spring sown crop.

The busy season for livestock keepers

Yesterday, we turned the cows out. I hope to post pictures soon.
Calving has started and the lambing is due to start this weekend.

The view from the pony

A view from the pony on a wet morning gathering sheep in for weighing.













Here are the remaining lambs on their way to the farmyard.

This is a small camera and I need to practice taking clear pictures while riding to show you what is going on on the farm. Some of them were much too fuzzy.

We have 3 lambs and a pig going away this week for our meat box customers. The rams are back in their bachelor quarters where they will live until November. The ewe flock is now all grazing on the forage rape until March and we are resting the grassland to freshen it up for the sheep who will start lambing mid-April.

Stocking up

Our lambing supplies are now ordered. We always get lamb milk in ready for any orphans, although we much prefer the ewes to naturally rear them.

The grass is now growing slowly and in another week's time we will be flat out on lambing sheep.

The cattle will remain inside for another 3 weeks at least until the grass is really through.

Sheep safely grazing

Some of our Wiltshire Horn ewes in the park at Kings Walden. This permanent grazing is believed to date back as far as medieval times as a deer park.

See the new oak trees we planted as part of a large Higher Level Stewardship [HLS] scheme.

Our lambing is due to start in April and it is all done outside on an extensive system unlike BBC 2's lambing live, which is an intensive system but was brilliant television.