1 May 2008 Cuckoos!
I finally heard the first cuckoo of Spring yesterday. He certainly waited until the last possible minute to arrive!
The cuckoo comes in April,
He sings his song in May.
In the middle of June
He loses his tune.
In July he flies away.
It has been such filthy weather, cold and damp, so his happy song did raise my spirits. |
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Grass is slow in arriving, too. Still feeding haylage to the cattle, but the pasture looks greener and they do spend more time grazing, rather than huddled around their feeders. Soon it will be time to move them to summer pastures. The three calves will be left behind, giving mummies a break for a few months before their next babies arrive in July and August. The calves are only comfort nursing now, but it will still be a wrench for them and tears will flow, or, in the case of calves, lots of mooing for mum. It only lasts a short time, then I can begin to do a bit of halter training.
I am certainly no expert when it comes to ‘taming’ my cows. I get them into the open steading, chase them around until I get the halter over their heads, then tie them up, and start combing. After a bit of jumping about, the strokes of the metal comb suddenly start to work their magic. You know what it is like when someone scratches that itch you just can’t reach? I chat away to them, while ‘The Archers’ plays in the background. Bliss for all!
The piggies will arrive next weekend. I’m getting two little rare breed weaners from a local farm. They will be about eight weeks old, shy at first, but they do settle in quickly. We are already trying to think of names. Last year we had ‘Pinky’ and ‘Stinky’, not very dignified and they weren’t pink and they didn’t stink! Some folks don’t like to name animals they are going to eventually kill and eat. I am never overjoyed taking animals to the abattoir, but I always try to focus on the fact that they have lived a good life, treated with dignity and kindness. I’m not a vegetarian and I am proud of the meat I eat and provide for others to eat. |
5 May 2008 The ‘Devil Pigs’ Arrive
Sunday morning Dan, Archie and I prepared for the new arrivals. The pigs have a lovely big paddock all to themselves, with hedges and trees for shade. In one corner sits the pig arc. When the weaners first arrive we fence in a small area just around the arc. It helps them settle into their cosy new home. So this section was duly prepared with fence parts and stakes to keep it secure. I also put up the electric fence around a larger area for their eventual release into the wider world.
Penny and Wags arrived home after lots of squealing in the back of the Land Rover. They are a lovely warm ginger-orange colour. Their father is a pedigree Tamworth and mother a half Tamworth and half Gloucestershire Old Spot. Penny is copper coloured and Wags looks like she put on too much fake tanning lotion, a bit like Victoria Beckham. I just couldn’t bring myself to name her after a woman who survives on only designer water and steamed vegetables. So she is the generic ‘Wags.’ |
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We popped them into their new home and within thirty seconds Penny was out! Archie grabbed the squealing wiggling little devil and back in she went. More construction work ensued and security was beefed up. Dan commented that this was certainly the tightest, best built little yard we ever made for new arrivals.
Monday morning at 6.30 I went out to check on the piggies. Penny was outside the pen squealing for her sister to come join her! Don’t even ask how she got out. Suffice to say and contrary to popular belief, pigs CAN fly. She took one look at me and bolted, straight through the electric fence and towards the gate. Freedom beckoned as she would be able to wriggle right underneath the bottom rail. Luckily Huntly, my big black Labrador always faithfully waits for me by the gate when I attend the pigs. He saw this orange bullet hurtling toward him, so he stood up to take his leave. I screamed, “Sit!” He sat, and the devil pig stopped in her tracks, turned around and charged back to the arc. After considerable time and effort I finally cornered her and chucked her back with sister.
As Dan and Archie had both departed Sunday evening I was on my own. Luckily, our wonderful joiner, John didn’t mind getting a desperate phone call at 7.30 am, on Monday bank holiday, and came right over to do yet more hammering and nailing. I have been checking every couple of hours and the wings appear to have been clipped.
Stay tuned. |
30 June
The cattle are now happily ensconced in their summer pasture, with long grass tickling their bellies. Moving our cattle out of the field here at Auchnagathle is always a challenging and interesting task. Being mysterious Highlanders, they definitely sense something is about to disrupt their daily grass-munching routine. Operation “moving day” goes as follows - I first coax them into a small area down by the steading, enticing them with some sweet smelling calf mix. The trailer is backed up by the gate, hurdles planted, in anticipation of our darling girls, who should just stroll up that ramp. But some are not so willing to partake in the new adventure. Therefore, patience and calmness are key. Also, lots of pushing and shoving and a fair bit of swearing. This month my husband was away so I enlisted the help of two local farmers, Andy and Alastair. The operation went like clockwork and I keep asking myself why I hadn’t asked them before! Last year I ended up with a bulging black eye after running into the gate. Not even a scratch this time.
So the three not so little calves are left behind. I hope to begin their halter training shortly. There was little noise from them after their mothers departed, the odd mooing sniffle, but the natural weaning process had already taken place.
Now to the other livestock staying at home for the summer…Penny and Wags have completely settled in, no sneaky escape attempts anymore. They have also doubled in size. The two get very excited when I bring their meals, but are not as aggressive as other breeds I’ve had. I was regularly knocked off my feet by the over-enthusiastic Pinky and Stinky, last year’s pair.
My chickens are laying lots of eggs, still not always where they are supposed to. I regularly collect from a cosy nest hidden in a straw bale inside our tractor shed. And last week I discovered eggs in another hiding place last week in a huge metal storage barn down the lane.
The only bad news this month is that my (usually) trusty old John Deere tractor has sprung a leak. The mechanic is on his way. My husband is very handy and can maintain and repair minor bits but this is going to be a messy job. But all in all, life is good on Auchnagathle Farm.
Where has the summer gone?! It was busy but fruitful at Auchnagathle Farm. The pigs are HUGE. They still have a few weeks to get even bigger. Apple season is upon us and they get all the apples that fall off the trees. Perfect for tasty pork. I love to give their “hams” a nice pat when I bring them breakfast and supper.
The hens are still productive. Selling eggs at the end of the lane, along with homemade strawberry jam, has proved popular with my neighbours. Unfortunately no chicks arrived this summer. A couple of broody hens were put in a cosy broody house, but the eggs never hatched. In the past hens have disappeared only to show up a few weeks later with little chicks in tow. Now that I want chicks, none have appeared!
The cows have had a fantastic summer. We have all complained about the cool temperatures and lack of sunshine, but that is perfect highland cattle weather. Five calves have arrived – Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying, and Nini. The Highland Cattle Society will be not be best pleased with my non-traditional choice of names. But my daughter, Hannah, is reading Chinese at University and spent two years studying at universities in China. She arrived home from Beijing just before the start of the Olympics and has christened the calves with the names of the Chinese Olympic mascots. I think they are lovely names.
Haylage-making was quite successful so the cattle will have plenty to eat through the winter. In mid-July, my friend, Glen Wood brought his equipment and crew to the Glebe fields. About 9 acres of grass was cut – then it rained for four days. Not a good situation and I was slightly panicked. But Glen never lost his cool, the sun came out, the wind blew for three days and we made eighty seven bales of haylage. My trusty John Deere performed his part admirably, with me at the wheel and Archie, my son as navigator. What an exhausting afternoon! I ran the tractor back and forth, picking up the freshly rolled bales on the front forks and back spike, then carried them to the wrapping machine. It took at least ten minutes to pick up the first two bales, but I did get quicker. Archie’s instructions, “Raise the spikes, no, too high, too low, move to the right, to the left…” weren’t always helpful but we did eventually become quite a good team. My confidence in driving a tractor has definitely risen, but I am still very slow and have no aspiration to compete with the younger tractor drivers!
In another month it will be time to send two of my steers to the slaughterhouse. The carcasses will hang for three weeks and then the beef will be available to buy. I will try to have the pork ready at the same time. More details will appear on the website in mid-October |
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Yesterday morning I woke to a winter wonderland. But it is still October and I am just not ready for winter. I knew my cattle would be very grumpy as they aren’t ready for winter either! I am hoping for at least three more weeks of grass eating before the haylage feeding ritual begins. And my tractor isn’t prepared for winter yet. The heater is broken and the bale spikes need to be reattached. Right now Dan has some other tractor accessory on the loader. I don’t think they are called ‘accessories’ but I’m still not up on all the tractor lingo. I just know that tractor accessories cost a heck of a lot more than any accessories I buy! Luckily the snow hasn’t lasted too long, but it is a reminder to get the heater repaired.
Last week we took Duncan to the abattoir. All went well. He was penned, walked onto the trailer quite happily and walked off at Mathers without any problem. I just gave him a final pat on the bottom as he was led away. I always feel awful when sending an animal off to his death. People often tell me they could never do such a thing, but are happy meat-eaters. What really drives me crazy are “vegetarian” celebrities who have a wardrobe full of leather shoes and handbags. Do they think leather grows on trees? My pigs will be ready for the butcher soon, too. Right now they are enjoying all the apples they can eat. You won’t need applesauce with this pork!
After a visit from a terrorist fox, I have only one lonely hen left. I haven’t had a fox problem for three or four years, but a couple of weeks ago a very bold fox came into the garden and killed nine of my lovely birds, including the cockerel. It was terrible. The next afternoon I looked out my kitchen window and there he was staring back at me! I saw him three more times, he seemed fearless. Revenge was swift once Archie came home for half-term, and a large dog fox will no longer terrorise my last hen. I will get her some companions soon, but may keep them in the run until the local gamekeeper dispatches a few more fox.
The cattle have arrived back at Auchnagathle and I can now look out my kitchen window to see them grazing in the field behind the house. I am quite proud of our job in getting fourteen cattle back here, just Dan and me on our own (almost) on a very cold and frosty Saturday.
We arrived at the Glebe fields as soon as it was light, about 9.00 in the morning! I was in charge of coaxing the cattle into the temporary pen, then Dan backed up the trailer and we shoved them on. As the cows were somewhat reluctant about the whole exercise, we ended up taking just two to three at a time. The four calves were especially suspicious of our motives, and three stayed far away from all the commotion. So at 3.30, with the sun setting we were stuck with one steer and three calves. Banquo was enticed into the pen with a bit of feed and we loaded him up. The calves were calling for mums, looking frantic, and stubbornly refusing to be herded into the pen. Just when I was starting to panic, Robbie, a local farmer came by, saw our situation and offered to help. With his expert help we quickly drove them into the pen, loaded them up and were on our way just before dark. Mummies and babies were noisily and happily reunited. A large glass of wine (or two) was my well-earned reward! With every task involving the animals, there is a feeling of real satisfaction, and always something learned from the experience.
We also brought some new hens home this month. I had earlier made contact with an egg factory about 30 miles north. (These places should NOT be called ‘farms’ just because they happen to be built on a field in the countryside. They are factories.) They agreed to sell me some POL hens (point of laying) when their next batch was ready. So ten very lucky hens got to come and run around Auchnagathle instead of being put in cages. Saying that, they may eaten by a fox, but hopefully not!
As is usual I kept them in the henhouse and enclosed run until they settled in. But these hens are different than any others I have ever had. The silly creatures did not go back up into the house as darkness fell. I had to grab them and pop them in myself. It was very cold and I was concerned about them staying out. This went on for about ten days! I actually kept them in the house and run longer than usual as they seemed
a bit dim. They won’t go up on the perches in the house! But they are now adjusting to being free range hens, happily flapping wings, pecking about the garden and climbing up into their cosy house at night.
Meat sales have been brilliant! Thank you to all my customers. I sold out, with a very annoyed husband because I didn’t save him any sirloin steak!
The Scottish government sent me two Christmas presents. The first was a large packet of reading material, ‘Guidelines for Farmers in Nitrate Vulnerable Zones’, with new regulations and record keeping demands. This paperwork weighs 0.744 kilos, that is 1 lb 10 ounces! Thank you EU, I’m sure the French farmers will ignore the entire exercise. Apparently it will cost British farmers millions of pounds to fulfil all the requirements.
The second was an announcement from the Animal Health and Welfare and it is actually fantastic news. The OTM – Over Thirty Month – Rule has been extended. This means we don’t have to slaughter our cattle at such a young age. We can now keep our cattle for 48 months before slaughter. Some breeds, especially the continentals, are ready for slaughter at a much younger age. But many special British Breeds are slow growing and should live for at least three to four years before slaughter. Finally, common sense has prevailed and we won’t be forced to kill an animal before it is really ready. The meat from a highlander will taste even better! Of course, the beef should be hung for three weeks; it should be dark red with creamy yellow fat on the edges. Always look for aged British beef. I have three beasts currently about 33 months old, kept in anticipation of this rule change. Thank goodness!
Our family Christmas was grand. We had our absolutely favourite B-B-Que Brisket of Beef on Christmas Eve, then a local free range turkey for Christmas. Dan’s big gift from all of us is a beef butchery evening at the Ginger Pig (from Borough market in London) and John Torode’s BEEF Cookbook. He spent the evening picking out recipes for me to try! A home-cured Ham will bring in the New Year, with lots of my spiced-apple sausage rolls. Happy New Year!
Winter is finally behind us and I’m waiting to hear the first cuckoo of spring. January and February always drag along so slowly and this year was no exception. Cold and dark. We had a few heavy snowfalls in February and temperatures stayed well below zero for two weeks. The exhausting routine of twice daily water haulage to the frozen cattle troughs was hugely helped by Archie, home for half term. He even seemed to enjoy it, thank goodness.
March was fairly uneventful and very windy, excellent for the wind turbine! April has been an especially busy month, with Blue Tongue and TB vaccinations. The cattle are fairly easy going the first time they get pushed through the race and jabbed in the back end. But by the third time they are rather reluctant to come down into the steading for another poke! Bribes with sweet calf feed don’t even work, so it’s all hands on deck for a cattle drive, yelling and whooping until they all come running!
No calves will be born this year. I have a black bull arriving in July so the cows will give birth next spring. Due to scheduling problems with a bull, the last calves were born in the late autumn. I would just prefer to have them in the springtime, so they can enjoy the warmer weather in their first few months, while their mummies enjoy all the green grass. I am also organising the arrival of two weaners, to raise and fatten through the summer and autumn. My lovely hens are as productive as ever. I love looking out in the garden, watching them scratch and peck. They follow us around like adoring puppies. And for Easter they had lovely hot cross buns as a special treat!
