First catch your dung....

Last weekend, it was nice and frosty, so Brian was working at the midden, getting the dung out to the field. It is well rotted, and steaming.

Loading it into the muck spreader.

off to the top field.

Let rip with the muck.

Happy New Calves

The new batch of calves arrived last night. Of course, we had just started our tea and had to put it in the oven. From a distance, we could see the wagon and talked the driver along the road up to the farm - what did we do before mobile phones?

The calves were quite happy just to run into their newly bedded shed and lie down for the night (they arrived at 6pm). Next morning 2 didn't come in for their feed, but all of them came in to their trough at night. Will have to keep an eye on them for pneumonia for the first couple of weeks, although they have all been vaccinated with Bovipast.

New Batch of Calves for the Spring

It's that time of year for the new calves to arrive. All being well they should be delivered Friday 15.02.08.

This weekend has been spent preparing their welcome, in the form of spreading straw on the ground to keep them warm, putting hay at their feeder, and making sure there is plenty of ventilation through walls, doors, fan, etc.

The plan is for 18 Belgian / British Blue beef calves, though it may just be 17 if the vet cannot descend an undescended testicle. We had one like this many years ago, and ended up paying a vets bill to the neighbouring dairy farmer who wanted dairy calves, not beef. After this we had to keep the calf, named Haybob,(probably by Steven, because that piece of machinery was in the yard at the time he was born) in solitary confinement.

After 3 months of freedom from calves it will take a bit of getting used to again, but after a few days, it will, no doubt, feel like they have never been away.

As today was such a glorious day, I also took the opportunity to go up on the roof to try and find the source of the leak onto our new ceiling. The strongest contender appears to be a joint between the lead flashing and I have sealed that off. If that stops it for the time being, I will make a more permanent joint in the Summer.

Welcome to the Pattie Family Blogspot

I am setting up this blogspot to publish photographs and news of the Pattie Family. The site is only open to those people invited to participate and authors will be family members or friends.

It was a beautiful day today and I went out into the field to see if the primroses were starting to come through and indeed they were. They used to be pure yellow, but must have cross-pollinated with some cultivated primulas as they are now coloured.