Comments for Not A Proper Farmer

Comment on Oink! by Richard

Richard — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 17:46:24 +0000

Katie - not so sure about the pigs we got, no problems as such but the ear shape (amongst other things) is suspect - reckon they are a GOS X Large White cross, therefore I wouldn’t necessarily recommend them at this point. A friend sourced them and the price was good - but if it is good GOS’s they’re after, then these are possible not the pigs you are looking for.

PS: As long as they don’t eat us first, they should still make good bacon.

Comment on Oink! by katie

katie — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 14:02:12 +0000

Lovely pigs!
A friend of mine in Worcs is looking for some GOS weaners at the moment . Did your breeder have any more coming on? If so, I wonder if you’d mind passing on his address?

Comment on BTV8 by Richard

Richard — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 19:50:11 +0000

Sorry about the tardy response - been so busy…sorry.

Yep - one injection for sheep, annually I believe. However, it is such a new vaccine no one knows whether it passes from ewe to lamb.

Bad luck on the 100-dose bottles, we got two bottles of the 20ml intervet vaccine - which was fine for our small flock.

I was reading the paper today - only 146 or so cases of BTV8 in the UK so far, compared to the devastation in the Netherlands and Belgium. The feeling is that rolled out vaccination program coupled with strong westerly winds this summer has kept it at bay. Jo, with you being on the far western fringes you are probably in the best place in terms of risk. PS: Good to see your back blogging with photos!! - and the dairy/icecream looks fab!

Comment on BTV8 by Jo Knight

Jo Knight — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 10:16:09 +0000

We STILL haven’t been issued with the vaccine - & so I gather that come the glorious day when we are, the smallest bottles available will be the 100-dose bottles (not the smaller ones made by Intervet). This inevitably means that many smallholders won’t inject if they only have one or two animals as it just wouldn’t be economically viable to do so for many people. Fortunately we have enough animals that we can just about use up most of a bottle - but for those who don’t? Ridiculous.

Incidentally Sara, it’s two jabs for cattle & one jab for sheep; as for goats (which we keep) - well, inevitably the vaccine isn’t licenced for caprines, so we just have to take our chances along with our camelid-keeping colleagues. A veterinary has recommended, ideally, administering two doses (we tend to treat goats as we would cattle, rather than sheep to err on the side of caution). If we ever get our mitts on a bottle - large or small, that is….

Comment on BTV8 by farmingfriends

farmingfriends — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 07:48:56 +0000

I just wondered if you had to give them a repeat injection or is it just a one off injection? I don’t have sheep so was just wondering.
Sara from farmingfriends

Comment on War on Blowflies by Jo Knight

Jo Knight — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 13:27:25 +0000

I know someone who did have a problem when they used out-of-date Crovect; their ram was very badly affected by flystrike which considering they’d only treated the sheep a fortnight before, was a shock to them. On the vet’s advice they checked the ‘use by’ date on the bottle; & sure enough, it was over the expiry.

We’ve had one case of flystrike this year; our first ever. It was utterly revolting & must have been dreadful for the wether concerned. We treated it with Cooper’s ‘Spot On’ & were extremely impressed with the speed & efficacy with which the product worked.

Here’s hoping none of us have any more cases….

Comment on Oink! by Jo Knight

Jo Knight — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 13:18:06 +0000

We kept pigs for a couple of years (no time at the moment, alas) & found them very engaging animals, great fun to be around. And the pork, bacon, sausages etc are amazing….thankfully we still have plenty left in the freezer which we enjoy as the occasional treat.

Just as well your friends got two pigs, though - I think you’ll find if you consult defra that legally you have to keep a minimum of two pigs as they’re very sociable animals. There’s a booklet on the defra website which lists all the legalities, if you’re interested.

BTW I’m back in the blogosphere after a long ‘break’ - or rather, a manic summer as we launched our new business…..just to prove it can be done with all acres, great or small!

Comment on War on Blowflies by katie

katie — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 09:10:28 +0000

We’ve been using the Redtop fly traps - they are apparently more attractive to the flies than the sheep. They seem to be working well so far…..

Comment on Oink! by colouritgreen

colouritgreen — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 07:53:11 +0000

canny, I think, keeping them at a friends house. Think I’ll tell my mates they are having pigs… hmm…don’t think they will go for it!..

good idea to share though - means you can still take a break etc, and have pig cover.

Comment on BTV8 by Big Bruv

Big Bruv — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 18:19:28 +0000

Good news about the vaccine.

Big Bruv, Laura, Rachel & Abi