COWS AND CHRISTMAS

It's been a while since we lost our black and white cow and I must admit the Farm didn’t really seem the same without a 650kg beast greeting our visitors, so when Alan phoned me to say that he had this good looking heifer (that's how us farmers describe young ladies too) looking for a good home, I eagerly accepted to pay over the odds for her. Abbie decided to wait until she had a large audience before giving birth to a very strong Aberdeen Angus Bull (boy) calf weighing in at over 40kg (88lbs). A few mums seemed to sympathise with her as she struggled to push the monster-sized baby out!

Conor was delighted with his twenty-first birthday present from the Farm: his very own three-week-old Jersey heifer calf. He beamed from cheek to cheek as the calf was delivered to the Farm, and acted like a broody hen when the calf coughed or sneezed; hopefully this calf is the foundation of Conor’s own herd over the next few years.

Hallowe’en was a great success this year with record numbers of scary-looking children (and some adults) soaking up the spooky atmosphere. Luckily we were able to use the overflow car park, with only one mini bus getting well and truly stuck in the mud. The two girls from The Creature Teachers did a fantastic job allowing our visitors to be hold Barn owls, rats, all sorts of creepy crawly creatures and even a raccoon!

Calum has decided to go travelling during the winter period and has packed his bags ready to explore Indonesia and other Far Eastern  countries. He is even going to help on an elephant farm, so my guess is he will be suggesting that we introduce elephants at Longdown when he returns in February.

Some of you will remember Lisa Marsh who worked at Longdown for over 5 years, and is now a 

teacher. I’m delighted to say that she recently got married, so our congratulations go to her and her new husband Dan as they start their lives together. We wish them every happiness and hope that it's not too long before they are bringing their children to the Farm.

During the October half-term we had our VAQAS inspection, which involves an unannounced visit from an inspector from the Tourist Board. Our inspector (mystery shopper) brought along his grandchildren and spent the day joining in with all the activities. At the end of the day he gave us a report which rated aspects of his visit; I was extremely pleased to hear him congratulate all the staff for being so friendly and helpful— they scored 10 out of 10 for customer care. The tearoom also scored highly for its 

selection of food, and helpfulness of the staff. Overall, the Farm was awarded high points for its 

interactive activities and cleanliness. Great news. 

Steve has been busy digging out the goat pens with his mini-digger, creating a real rural aroma. I’m not too sure if our neighbours approve, however most of this well-rotted straw (with the added goat droppings ingredients) will be making its way down the A35 to Sunnyfields Organic Farm ,and to some local allotments. You have been warned!  

The Straw Den has now been emptied with the help of our volunteers and students. Rolling the 250kg bales of straw around to the other end of the farm is no easy task, and tonnes of dusty wood bark swept up from the barn floor is now heaped outside ready to go into the duck enclosures during the winter months. All of this activity is what Father Christmas has requested so that he can bring in his tractor sleigh, and set up home in the cottage in the straw den area. I reckon he gets fussier each year: he has insisted that he has two cushions to sit on this year as apparently his seat  was too hard for him last year. Judging by the calls enquiring about our Christmas Barn, I would strongly advise anyone to come and visit him during the week to avoid having to queue for too long. Father Christmas likes to spend time speaking to the children so unfortunately there could be a wait during busier times. Opens 6th December—take a look at our website for more details. Hope to see you soon. Farmer Bryan. 

SUPER STUDENTS

 The weather during the school holidays was fairly kind to us: not too hot and not too wet, with lots of cloud, meaning that most days of the holiday we were able to operate the tractor rides - much to the delight of thousands of 'mini farmers'. Of course, it did literally bucket it down on Bank Holiday Monday, but despite all that rain, it was amazing how many people turned up. And I thought that I was going to have to feed all the goats on my own! 

We have a new group of students from Southampton and Brockenhurst colleges, and also from Great Oaks school. Each group will attend the Farm for one day a week during term-time, working alongside our staff in order to gain experience working with animals. Quite a few of these students have learning difficulties, so it is very gratifying to me to see how much confidence they gain in just two or three visits by simply getting outside of their home environment and joining in with the daily activities at Longdown. Our volunteer scheme has also been a great success with over 20 regular volunteers joining the staff with the daily chores. So, combining the volunteers and students, we are now giving over 60 people a chance to 'get involved' each month, and judging by their comments and the smiles on their faces, I'm pleased to report that our work with the students and volunteers continues to be a great success.
We have more bookings for school groups this autumn, with several schools benefiting from the glorious extended summer weather. The schools have found that it's been a good 'bonding exercise' to bring their new pupils out to the Farm in the first term, aiding friendship and teamwork. Once back at school, the pupils can also discuss the experiences of the day and the animals they've met, giving further bonding opportunities.  

It might as well be spring what with all the baby animals arriving on the Farm: new chicks and ducklings are arriving on a regular basis, the Kune Kune pigs have decided to farrow now that the holidays are over, and we are now receiving over 100 goat kids over the next few weeks. We have so many goat kids as the large goat herds have changed their breeding policy to ensure the nanny goats will produce more milk during the winter whilst the milk prices rise. So lots of little mouths to feed! 

I never realised how popular straw bales could be! As a farmer, straw is something that you use to bed down the animals with, then you dig it out and spread it over the field, and wait to get complaints about how much it smells! However, during the last few months there have been quite a few requests for bales to go to school fetes, weddings, parties, and even to put into ponds to help keep the water clear! So, please let me know if you would like to borrow some bales for your next event - it's cheaper than hiring in chairs and obviously at the cutting edge of fashion!            

Before we know it, half-term will be upon us. We will be open daily with our usual schedule  of hands-on activities. There will be a few spooky surprises on Friday 31st October when The Creature Teachers visit with their barn owls and creepy creatures. There will be pumpkin carving and paper bat making too. Children in scary fancy dress will gain entry for just £4.50 on 31st October 2014. 

Look forward to seeing you soon. 

FARMER BRYAN 

MUCKING ABOUT WITH ACTRESS SARAH PARISH, AND A SUCCESSFUL SHOW.

The actress Sarah Parish came along to the Farm to promote the charity that she set up with her husband James: "The Murray Parish Trust". This was set up in memory of their late daughter Ella-Jayne who died of congenital heart failure. Sarah's passion to this cause was obvious from the moment that I met her: she simply wanted to get as many people involved as possible. My job was quite easy - all I had to do was to provide her with some really mean tasks such as cleaning out the Kune Kune pigs. What I hadn't explained was that these young pigs like to nibble on people's toes, and despite Sarah wearing some heavy-duty wellie boots, she soon found that her legs and feet were the objects of attention from several inquisitive young Kune Kune piglets. Whilst feeding the goats and calves she managed to speak to many of our visitors promoting the sponsored walk that the Trust is organising at Southampton Common THIS SUNDAY 7th September. All monies raised at this event will go directly to Friends of PICU - the charity that supports the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit at Southampton General Hospital. We have made this our charity of the month, so if you would like to help us raise money for this special cause please let me know: there will be a charity churn at the Farm. If you would like to join in with the sponsored walk click here. 

The New Forest Show seems to get busier and busier every year, or maybe it's just me getting older!

If we could convert compliments into a monetary value then we would be very rich now as many people were very kind about the efforts we had put into our show tent this year. Our marquee was busy on all three days, so Dawn and I welcomed the help of the team who worked extremely hard to make it such a success. We left Conor in charge of the animals overnight in case any tried to escape, but he was so exhausted by the end of the day he probably wouldn't have noticed if a herd of elephants rushed through his tent. Samuel the donkey was on his best behaviour and didn't create too many problems this year, that is until the Show President walked by and Samuel gave a loud bray which startled everyone in the area - the President included! George, our large Nubian goat, was a great attraction especially when he reached up seven foot in an attempt to demolish the hanging basket above him. We installed fans inside the marquee this year to keep the animals cool, but found the visitors benefited as much as the animals, as once again, the Show benefited from some glorious weather. Thanks also go to Katie, our talented face-painter, the fabulous Countrywide staff, and our ace cartoonist, Simon Chadwick, who drew amazing cartoon animals for the show tent visitors for the whole three days, and produced our fun photoboard which is now situated at the entrance to the Farm.

  

The cow and tunnel that have been in the outdoor play area for nearly thirty years have finally been laid to rest! I didn't have the heart to put the wooden cow on the fire so she has ended up in our garden. In their place we have installed three new play structures: a Climbing Tower which enables the children to burn off some of their excess energy, the Clamber Stack which helps all ages test their agility skills, and my favourite, a Group Nest Swing, which is suitable for juniors and adults. Obviously, I had to try all this equipment out before we could let the children play on it! Next time you're at the Farm, pack the children off on a tractor ride and have a sneaky swing yourself - great fun! 

I do not watch much television so when Channel 4 phoned me up and asked if they could use the Farm to film a clip for a programme called Four in a Bed I was a bit reluctant; I had visions of this being a bit of a seedy programme and politely told the researcher that it wasn't my scene! She quickly pointed out that the series was about B & B establishments competing with each other, and that the production crew wanted to film some scenes at a local tourist attraction. I suggested some activities for the contestants, but these were dismissed on the grounds of Health and Safety. Where has the sense of adventure gone?

Thank you for all your kind comments about our new chicken website, however most of the remarks have been about how good the cartoons are, and not so much about the details on looking after chickens. If you haven't had a look yet, please follow this link: Farmer Bryan's Chicken Site  and let me know what you think. On the website, you will find lots of down-to-earth advice on keeping chickens, chicken news, and opportunities to purchase online the main items you will need. If you're local, you never know, I might turn up with your order in the new van! Watch out for more details about our Poultry Pack - a very handy pre-packed package for all your chicken's daily needs available on  a 6-week delivery basis. 

 Hope to see you soon. Farmer Bryan

THANK YOU FOR FARMER SAM'S WONDERFUL WHEELS

Farmer Sam 

I don't normally request money from our visitors or friends unless I feel there is a worthwhile reason to do so, but last month, my request for help to raise money for Farmer Sam's wheelchair was one of those exceptions. It's true, I did stand up and tell the wedding guests at our son's wedding that they wouldn't be able to leave the premises until they'd emptied their pockets into the milk churn placed at the exit of the marquee, but I was simply amazed by the generosity of Aaron and Lou's wedding guests. I have been stunned at the generosity of so many of our family, friends, and visitors - even Charley, our granddaughter, raided her money box saying: "Farmer Sam cannot talk, he cannot walk, and I can do both, so the least I can do is let him have all my money." Wow, that brought a lump to my throat. With all the goodwill from so many people, we managed to raise £1200.00 in just 18 days and I'm pleased to report that Farmer Sam's wheelchair has now been ordered complete with all the accessories that he requires. You have helped to make one little boy (and his family) very happy, so a big thank you to all.
FARMER BRYAN'S CHICKEN SITE
What do you get when you put a very skilled illustrator and a talented website designer together with a farmer? A fantastic new chicken website! Even if you don't keep or intend to keep chickens, it's still worth taking a look as Simon's cartoons are hilarious and will make you 'cluckle'! Click onto Farmer Bryan's Chicken Site if you're a keen poultry keeper, you will find lots of useful advice, news, and opportunities to buy chicken products. Do keep re-visiting the site as we intend to build our product range quite substantially.

HOP ABOARD
The weather has been perfect for the New Forest Tour's open-top bus, and the start to the season has got off well. The bus drops off visitors at the Farm gate and collects them again later to go to their next destination. It is a perfect way to see the Forest, and I am looking forward to having a trip on one when the holiday season is quieter.

VALUABLE VOLUNTEERS
Our volunteer scheme has been a great success with over thirty volunteers on our list now. We've had such a range of people joining us: some simply wanting to have a reason to get out of bed in the morning, others who have professional jobs but feel a need to escape the rat-race once in a while. There are also those who wish to expand on their animal skills. It seems that all of them enjoy working alongside our regular staff, and are quick to take on the banter thrown at them.


SEE US AT THE NEW FOREST SHOW
Some of the animals are packing their bags to visit the New Forest Show again this year. See us in our show tent from Tuesday 29th July through to Thursday 31st July. This year the theme of the show is hands-on, and you will be able to get close up to a variety of animals including day old chicks, calves, kid goats, donkeys and rabbits in our tent. There will also be lots of fun interactive games with Countrywide, and drawing with cartoonist Simon Chadwick.
Look out for scarecrows this year, which will feature throughout the show ground, but especially at the front of our show tent!!

A Sad Farewell and some Happy Events

RIP Kerry Cow 

For over twelve years Kerry cow has been a firm favourite with the visitors at Longdown, not only because she was such a quiet animal who enjoyed all the attention, but she was a real film star having worked with Nick Knowles in Animal Rescue and also in Heinz soup and PG Tips advertisements. Kerry cow was very special to Dawn and I as she was the last remaining family member of the Deerleap herd of Holstein cows, which originated at Longdown in 1977 when we had a large dairy herd. We had been hoping that Kerry was going to produce a calf to carry on the herd's name, however, just before she was due to calf, she died of Grass Staggers - another name for magnesium deficiency. This is caused by a lack of magnesium in the grass, which in turn affects the cow's nervous system causing sudden death. It was quite sad to see how Fudge, her Jersey cow friend, pined for Kerry, pacing the field and bellowing day and night.

On a much happier note, Kylie had to turn into a midwife unexpectedly on the day of our Vintage Rally as FiFi, our donkey, decided it would be a good time to give birth in front of a very large group of visitors. As we debated if FiFi required a helping hand, or to let nature take its course, we noticed a young girl collapsed on the floor in front of the large group of visitors who had gathered to witness the birth. We think that the sight of this natural birth had proved too much for the little girl. As I went to the young girl's assistance, Kylie looked horrified. "I have never foaled a donkey before". she stuttered. By the time I had completed the first aid, FiFi had produced a healthy young girl foal with a helping hand from Kylie. I'm not sure who looked the most exhausted - FiFi or Kylie! And guess what? We named the new donkey Emily, after the young girl who fainted. Do come and see FiFi and Emily at the Farm and take a look at the birth video on YouTube.

Look out for the New Forest Tour buses which start their service from Sat 28th June. We have a bus stop right outside the farm gate where you can hop on and off at hourly intervals using the red route bus. There are three routes around the forest - each inter-linking with each other, meaning you can reach the whole forest on one bus ticket per person. Show your valid New Forest Tour Bus Ticket at admissions to receive 20% off entry to the Farm (cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer). See The New Forest Tour website for further details about the tours.

 
Our annual Vintage Rally was great success once again with perfect weather conditions. There were many different tractors and engines on display, as well as all sorts of working attractions such wood sawing machinery and a crane. The children's tug o' war is always a highlight, and this year didn't disappoint with the children ending up as victors (with a little help from Shaun the Sheep!). The tractor parade was great too. Horse-drawn wagon rides took place alongside tractor rides, and the Victorian kitchen produced some tasty biscuits, which I simply had to sample on a regular basis - just quality control, you understand!
   

At last, our Pygmy goats have produced some kids: one giving us a set of twins and the other a single boy.
The pictured twin Pygmy goats were named Hugo (left) and Maisey (right) after we launched a competition on Facebook. These little kids like to show off as they chase around their paddock, making it extremely difficult for our visitors to take photos of them. It's all a lot of fun for the little kids - both human and goat variety!

Hope to see you soon, Farmer Bryan.

A Large New Arrival and a Poorly Goat

Dora and her calf

Dora, our Highland cow, has given birth to a large boy calf weighing in at 36kg. She 
quietly wandered down to the bottom of the field and had her calf early one morning. Once the calf was born, she wanted to tell the world, bellowing very loudly. Conor was like a proud dad as he went down to check the baby calf. We have brought Dora and the calf up to the main farm so that we can monitor them and put the ear tags into the calf’s ears, as this is a legal requirement and must be done within the first seven days after birth. The calf will then be issued with a passport – yes, all cows have a passport!

My farming friends will give me grief when they realise how much I spent on veterinary bills on one of our smaller goats. Louise was feeding the goats one morning and noticed that one of her favourites (bear in mind she has over 300 goats) was limping badly. When we looked at it more closely it was obvious that this poor little fella had broken the bottom part of his leg. At this point a ‘real’ farmer would have this small goat put down as it is only worth £20, but as I watched Louise trying hard to hide the tears, I phoned Sarah the vet to come out as soon as possible to try to splint the leg. Even vet  Sarah sounded surprised as she questioned me about the possible cost of this procedure. “Let’s give it a try", I said. Now you can look out for ‘Leggy’ hopping around the yard with his pink bandage on. Would anyone like to purchase a goat which is now worth over £400?

Talking of babies, it seems that Kylie has now realised her donkeys are simply too fat and that they are not so heavy in foal as she had once thought. She has now put them on a diet, poor things.

We have started to think up new ideas for our area at the New Forest Show - our aim is to make it as "hands on" as possible and have considered many different activities, however I'm not sure how the Health and Safety executive will react to some of our ideas! 

Spotty, the Kune Kune pig, and her piglets have outstayed their welcome in the animal encounter area after she decided to remove the boards along the outside wall and then kept turning her water trough upside down. She was given her marching orders and sent back to the Farrowing unit, which is where you will see her with her litter now.

Ducks and ducklings seem to be the 'in' pets this year: we have sold so many despite us warning people that they are the muckiest creatures on earth. We also have had some cute houses made to keep them safe from the fox, so they’ve been popular too.

New Forest Tour - we're on the Red Route

We’re now on the  New Forest Bus Tour (red route) from 28th June—to 14th Sept 2014, so hop on for a fun trip around the Forest after your visit to the Farm. 

It's always a bit of a struggle to make sure that everything is complete before opening the gates for the new season, and this year was no exception. With the dreadful weather making our annual task even harder, we were trying to drive fence posts into sodden ground, and pump out water from the livestock pens. Ben the electrician was balancing on his ladder whilst the wind whipped around him, and Chris and Gareth, the plumbers, were paddling around in the mud whilst they dug out the old pipes. Bearing in mind that these tradesmen only normally see the wind and rain on the golf course, we are grateful that they didn't give up on us, and they completed all their jobs successfully!
For the first time in the 30 years that the farm has been open to visitors, we have had to close off the outdoor play area. This was a decision made by me after the third time I had slipped up on my  backside whilst I inspected the grounds. With slightly wounded pride, I decided that it would be far too risky to open that area up to the public.
The day before our season started the heavens opened flooding the goat pens and the pathways, so with an early morning start, we pumped away the surplus water and cleared the debris that the gale force winds had deposited around the farm. With minutes to spare we were able to open the gates. Guess what? One of our first visitors complained that the car park was very wet; I did employ the ‘customer care smile’ as I explained to her that it was something to do with the weather!
It hasn't helped our staffing situation having Dawn off for the first few weeks of the new season: whilst on holiday she managed to slip up on some rocks and break her wrist. She now has a bracket and some stainless steel screws inserted into her lower arm and is on the road to recovery. It has made all the staff appreciate just how much we all rely on her.
Our main area for improvements this year has been the seating area for eating, which has been extended by over 30 more seats. Not only that, we have really spoilt you by installing heating and air-conditioning units in as well. It hasn’t gone unnoticed that the farm staff have been creeping in there to have their lunch in comfort.
The farm is fully stocked again with over 100 small chicks, rabbits and guinea pigs, 50 new young goats (which were rescued from the floods in Oxfordshire), 20 calves, and 40 or more hungry pigs... all looking forward to being fed by our visitors. Sandy, one of Kune Kune sows, decided to produce a litter of 11 piglets on one of the first days of opening, so there will be a chance that you will be able to cuddle a piglet. In fact, it feels like a real farm once again!
Louise has returned to take on the goat area, which she will find challenging as we are expecting 250 young goats in during the next month or so. Kayleigh will continue to look after the stables, and has inherited the poultry as well, which should keep her very busy! Coner prefers the real animals, so he will continue looking after the pigs and calves. Callum has joined us to relieve the other stock people when they have a day off, and we also have employed some new weekend staff as well.  
Our season ticket promotion went very well this year with record numbers of visitors purchasing season tickets for this season. This increase is partly due to our new online purchasing facility, which we think makes life easier for everyone - although it does amaze me what time of day people are on their computer parting with their money! Despite having a 'cut off period' for our discounted season tickets, we still had phone calls from people who had forgotten to renew their tickets, giving imaginative excuses such as: "My letter had a different date on it", "My dog ate the form" , and "I thought that you were not opening until Easter".
Our thoughts go to all the farmers throughout the country who have suffered during the extreme weather conditions. Only half the story can be seen on the television: the devastation of finding your sheep floating down the river, sheds full of cattle wading belly-deep in sludge, and whole houses of chickens being drowned are just some of the cases that the farming world has been confronted with. It will take a very long time before this will be rectified. We are very grateful indeed that we seemed to have missed the brunt of the weather here in Ashurst. 
Hope to see you soon, Farmer Bryan