A couple of funny incidents

I really did work very hard yesterday, so today I took things a little easier. First thing I did, even before the 'sunrise' photo, was to go and see the guineafowl family. There was rain last night and the grass was wet, so I was very concerned for their survival.
Not to worry though. I found a very contented, healthy family pottering about around the base of an apple tree.


It took a while, but eventually I managed to count 16 healthy keets.
How many can you see in this picture?

Sunday 26th August 2012
Not the best weather for the the newborn keets.

The keets are very special, but the other animals on the farm have not been forgotten. The ducks have a new pool and have been let out with the rest of the poultry. They just waddle around in a gang making contented noises to themselves. The geese, all four of which are now peacefully cohabiting in the same field with the sheep, have the other half of the pool!

The ducks are growing fast.
They are very likeable creatures.

The sheep, affectionately known as Number Ten and Number Eighteen, have really surprised us. They are friendly, gentle and quite entertaining. Number Ten's feet seem much better now.

The first of today's funny incidents concerns Number Eighteen, who has discovered that there are all sorts of tasty nibbles just the other side of the stock fence. So it was today (no photos I'm afraid) that he got his head stuck through the top square of the fencing! He did not have the sense to reverse and, besides, his ears were stopping his head getting back through.
With my several days experience of sheep handling, I tried to help him out gently, without causing panic. However, whatever I did it seemed he was determined to go forwards and not backwards. In the end I had to be quite forceful - only problem was that when I tried to push his head backwards he interpreted it as a headbutting contest and put even more effort into going forwards!

Anyway, in the end he was extricated from his predicament. I'm sure he's learned not to do that again ... NOT!

Say "hello" to Gerald.
After this usually comes
a vigorous shake
and a liberal
spattering of mud!

The second funny incident concerns Gerald, the boar who was supposed to be going back home today. Funny how the farmer has lost his phone every time  Gerald has been due to go back after his boar duties!
Gerald really does scream like a girl when he wants to be fed. And he has learned to stand up on the fence too. He is actually a rather big boy now, though a gentle giant.

But today he went one step too far and his front legs ended up the wrong side of the fence! So he just kind of flopped and lolloped over the fence!
Fortunately he was hungry and it didn't take too much effort to get him back through my newly built gate and into his enclosure. For a few moments he was definitely more perplexed than us though.

All in all an entertaining day. And this lot were still faring well by the evening.

Proper Mingin'!

Sunday 22nd April 2012
Pig Moving Day

Imagine The Good Life crossed with Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em. Throw in a Benny Hill chase scene and a bit of Mr Bean.
You could well end up with a scene similar to what occurred on our farm this morning, for it was pig moving day. Sorry for the lack of pictures of the most exciting (!!?) bits, but there just wasn't an opportune moment. All planning ahead had been done. The route is well marked and foolproof, clearly defined with fencing and with gates along the way which can be shut to secure each part of the journey. The only problem was that I suspected the piglets could squeeze through the stock fencing if they wanted to do, but that wouldn't happen as they'd follow their mum down to the pig enclosure... wouldn't they???

We deliberately left Daisy without food for the morning (there is only one way to a pig's heart) and so, at the appointed time, she dutifully followed me, or to be more precise the bucket of food I was holding, out of the stables and into the yard. The piglets followed in a straggly line. Well, most of the piglets followed. A couple stayed behind and a couple went off exploring in the stables. So Daisy turned back to check on them all. Nothing unexpected so far, and we have learned to be patient when moving pigs. This happened a couple more times, then Daisy followed me in one clean, swift move all the way down to the pig enclosure, about 100 yards from the stables. I decided to abandon Plan A and to make hay while the sun shines. I could attend to the piglets next.

I then headed back toward the stables, only to meet Sue expertly ushering half the piglets down the garden. This could go very smoothly... or they could scatter in all directions, breaking through the fence and heading for the potato patch, the dyke and the farmer's field.

Which is exactly what happened. One ended up in the chicken pens, so we shut the door and left it to calm down. Two ended up with Daisy. And we ended up chasing the other two all around the garden and, eventually, all the way back to the stables. We ushered them back into their stable block, ready to move on to Plan C.

One, two, three, four, five, six...SIX!

Fortunately number 7 was soon relocated under the log pile and, after a bit of an adventurous chase around the garden, was reconciled with its brothers and sisters.

Plan C proved far more successful. Catch the piglets one at a time and carry them down. I am now an expert piglet catcher, and once they've had their mad, crazed squeal they soon settle down to their new form of carriage.

It was during one such operation that one of the little porkers must have weed on me. I stunk like the worst men's toilet I've ever been in!

The word MINGING somehow works very well to describe this attack on the senses.

All the time, Gerald (the boar who overstayed his welcome) was taking a very keen interest. This was the first time he had seen any of his offspring.

Eventually, all settled in to their new home. They ate so much grass and ran around so much, I wouldn't be surprised if half of them made themselves sick. They took a keen interest in the chickens, and vice versa.
There now follows a series of cute, happy piglet pics.

After the move, the clean up.


It might not look a lot, but you try shifting it!

Slowly the second pile grew...

and grew...

 

 

and the stable emptied...

until the last load..

was done.
These compost heaps and manure piles are the beating heart of my fruit and veg patch.

Now I was proper MINGING.

Time for a long, hot bath.

Some more gratuitously cute pig pics