I think my blood must be getting thinner, as the cold days during February were tough going for me. I’m only too pleased to see the end of them. What with the burst pipes throughout the farm and the challenging temperatures for our newborns, it was a pretty horrible month. What made it even worse was the geese didn’t lay me an egg on the 14th of February, like they normally would!
The soft play area has had a spring clean, and a top up of over a thousand plastic balls, so all nice and clean.
We have moved the mini tractors to a smaller site giving way for an all weather, large Go Kart area. Hopefully that will keep the older children (dads) happy as they bomb around the new track on the new fleet of John Deere pedal tractors! The smaller ride-on ones are pink, so it’s going to be heaven for many of our young
farmers! Sharon, who has worked hard to create a cosy tearoom, seems to be happy with the new seating arrangements that we have provided. The tables and benches have certainly tidied up the room allowing lots more people to sit comfortably, and we really have spoilt them by putting in an excellent heating system. It’s amazing what can be done with an old milking shed!
We have said goodbye to some of our key staff as they have moved to pastures new to further their careers. Replacing them is quite a challenging task. With so many applications for each position, it has been extremely difficult to select the type of staff to fit the role, however, we have now employed five new candidates and they are settling into their positions well. It’s not easy for someone to come in from the outside world, and be suddenly thrown into the feeding of sixty-plus hungry goats all demanding the same attention of the 250-odd screaming children wanting to feed the goats at the same time. They also have to contend with me telling them that they must keep smiling, which they do through gritted teeth.
To create our new riding area we have brought in 120 tonnes of wood bark, and put it in deep enough to make any falls off the ponies less of a problem. Although, falling from a 28 inch pony doesn’t come under a ‘high risk’ assessment in my book! Still, that is what the Health and Safety recommends…..
Before we opened on the 11th February, there was a flurry of births. It was all planned (well some of it was): 25 ducklings, 50 chicks, 35 goat kids, 12 calves, a litter of Kune Kune piglets, and not to be left out, the Grey Face Dartmoor ewe gave birth to a set of twins. As for Guinea pigs, I am not sure what Kerry was thinking about when she put her breeding programme into practice! She seemed to have a bit of a ‘moment’. Normally, the first week of opening, we would have ten or so baby guinea pigs (pups) on the ground, but this year I gave up counting when I reached over 60.
Our first weekend of opening was extremely cold, so it was surprising how many people ventured out to look around the farm, but as the half term week went by it got warmer, and soon we reached saturation point. Well, at least the car park did, we struggled to accommodate all the cars; we even took over the church car park (thank you Reverend Kate).
Our ‘ We Love Ponies’ day was a great success. Lots of children and adults had a go at grooming, children enjoyed the riding, and just learning more about ponies. After Easter, we will be hosting pony riding lessons for the younger children.
It’s nice to be open again, seeing and hearing all the happy children, and the, sometimes grumpy, adults!
We have enjoyed a bit of a baby bonanza these last few weeks: Bubble and Squeak, our two Kune Kune sister pigs, have given birth to a total of 15 piglets. They decided that they wanted to share their litters, so all the piglets take turns on both mums at mealtimes, and as piglets like to suckle every 45 minutes day and night, the mums are delighted to share the burden.
Our Pygmy goats have been busy delivering their kids, which have produced a big ‘ahh factor’ for the visitors. Even I would admit that they are very cute! Unfortunately, one of the Mums was immune to her kid’s cute factor, so Kim and Rachael have had to step in as surrogate mothers, and train the little one to drink powdered milk from the bottle.
Jack’s first midwifery practice came sooner than he expected: we heard a panic stricken voice come over the radio: “I think Kerry cow’s waters have broken”. When there was no response, another call: “The feet are showing”, then in desperation, the next call came through: “HELP”. By this time, Kerry had pushed her 85lb baby boy out with very little effort, and Jack was looking over it like any proud dad. By the time the rest of the staff arrived, he was rolling his sleeves down
explaining that he had managed this one all on his own - easy work, no problem!
Not to be left out, the grumpy geese have also produced four little goslings, who are being guarded by a very protective Daddy—as Kim found out the other day!
We sell quite a few ducks to people who either like duck eggs, or have a pond that they’d like to stock.
Recently, a gentleman and his wife arrived to discuss the purchase of one male duck, as their old duck had been taken by the fox. They wanted to be sure that the duck was going to settle in with its new wife, so we explained how to introduce them, what to feed and what not to feed them, and the sort of housing required. The discussion then went into how to protect them from the fox. After an hour of intense questioning, the couple went off to discuss the proposed purchase with their neighbours, and to our surprise, the following morning the couple returned with their neighbours, and a list of new questions. They requested that we went through all the facts again, and after another hour of debate, they had a vote to decide if they wished to purchase the duck. We were asked to count the votes – all four. I am pleased to say that the vote was unanimously in favour of taking the duck home with them.
Currently over 500 school children are visiting the Farm each week. Loaded down with their packed lunches and welly boots, they skip into the farm like newborn lambs, however by the time that they have had their 2½ hour tour, they are on their knees, struggling to carry the now empty lunch boxes back to the coach. It wouldn’t surprise me if half of them are asleep by the time that they reach the A35!
Our local animal feed supplier, Fred Norris, has taken early retirement at the age of 95, so Dawn and I thought it would be nice to go out for lunch with him. What a gentleman he is still. I have known him since I was knee high (that’s just a few years ago), and we spent a few hours reminiscing about the good old days when farming was the main occupation in the forest. He really could tell a tale or two about the local farmers, and the antics that they got up to when they were young - things haven’t changed much have they? We wish Fred a very happy retirement - he tells me that he is thinking of breeding rabbits in his spare time……..!
There has been a lot of concern over Billy this last month or so, as he spends a lot of his time lying down. He is a great favourite here at the Farm, and is much loved by staff and visitors alike. (And yes, OK, I have a soft spot for him too). We have put a sign on his stable stating that he is getting old, which is true, and this is why he is resting more these days. However, once we removed his new shoes, he
galloped out into the field like this year’s foal – he is a bit of a drama queen really…...
Finally, These irresistible twosome are our Call duck ducklings that recently hatched. They too, have the ’ahh factor’
