Where did those summer holidays go? Seems that they go quicker every year! Despite everything else that was going on this summer, we were kept very busy at Longdown, with lots of new faces and just as many of our regular visitors. Judging by the majority of comments that we have received, it seems that most of our visitors have been happy ……. well, we did get a complaint from one lady who felt that the smell from the pigs was offensive, so I offered to provide her with some air fresheners! Welcome to the real world of farming!
Our pigs have been busy farrowing throughout the summer with 10 litters being born, much to the delight of the visitors. We have had to create temporary accommodation for them – no different than the NHS! Before the little piglets get too old (or to be more precise, before their teeth get too sharp!), we allow the visitors to stroke them in the animal handling sessions, which has been very popular over the holidays. We so enjoy seeing the children’s (and adult’s!) faces light up when they get the opportunity to get so close to these delightful little pigs.
Poor Billy the Shire has been plagued by the dreaded mite once again. These horrible little creatures burrow into his legs through his hair, which then
causes him to itch. Unlike us, he is unable to scratch with any fingers, so he finds the nearest upright and wallops his leg against it until he either bleeds or the upright gives way! We seem to be constantly replacing fence posts when he has one of his ‘itchy sessions’. Sarah, our vet, decided that it would be best to trim his feathers (the long silky hair on his legs) out completely. However, Billy used his 1100kgs to resist, stamping on the floor with his size 20 feet, then leaning on Sarah until she ended up a heap on the floor! It became a battle of wills with Sarah: five foot nothing, against Billy, 18.2 hands. So in desperation, a large syringe with a sedative was produced. With Kim and Conor on the lookout, the vet quickly trimmed all four legs before the giant woke. He is on the road to recovery now, even if he does look like a freshly clipped poodle!
A new influx of students have arrived from Brockenhurst and Southampton colleges and our task is to get them into a work mode and to get them to work as a team. We have set them some interesting challenges - let’s hope that they can come up with the goods. It’s always interesting to watch these students on their first few weeks doing their utmost to keep clean. After a few weeks with us, they soon learn to accept that a little bit of dirt doesn’t harm anyone.
With our summer staff heading back to universities all over the country, we have hijacked Katie from the Gift Shop to help with the animal work – quite a challenge for someone who cherishes her well manicured nails! However, she seems to be coping very well at present. We wish all our young summer staff success in their various university courses.
Forty of our goats have been transferred up the M3 to Kent where they have the job of clearing the shrubs and overgrown brambles from a power station. Goats are
browsers—not grazers, so are absolutely ideal for this task. Don’t ever buy a goat in the hope of getting yourself a cheap lawnmower, as they will make a beeline for your best shrubs and flowers well before they even consider taking a nibble at the lawn! Hopefully, this is a new outlet for our larger goats, as we have an on-going agreement to provide other sites in the country with over three hundred goats.
We just hope that they are behaving themselves!
In my last blog, I mentioned my absolute privilege of meeting the Queen. Well, I was talking to a six year old boy about this, and he asked me: “Farmer Bryan, if the Queen married you, would you be called King Farmer
Bryan?” …..That’s why I love my job.
We are setting up for our annual vintage tractor weekend on the 22nd &23rd September. Hopefully the sun will shine on us that weekend. There will be lots of bygone sights to see including vintage tractors, engines, a working Victorian kitchen and a saw mill. The children love the working crane and, weather permitting, there will be the popular tractors v children tug of war as well as a tractor parade. Crafts too, so lots to see and do.
Hope to see you soon.
Farmer Bryan
