As with most of the country, the Farm Shop had a blanket of snow resting upon it this morning. The photos below show our animals weathering the chill. They seemed happy as long as the snow didn’t cause any delay or cancellations to their food supply! Click on thumbnails for large image.
Farm life
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January 13, 2009
Many of us don’t enjoy Monday mornings at the best of times, but on the grey, damp morning of 12th January, our two highland cattle had a more eventful Monday than usual. They had an appointment with a cattle crush, which is fortunately not as disturbing as the name may suggest. A cattle crush is a sturdy metal cage designed to hold livestock safely while they are examined or given veterinary treatment.
On this occasion our cattle were due to have their feet inspected for infections, and their hooves given a trim. As the cattle are now eight years old, it is important to have the treatment to ensure that they are clean of infection and able to walk easily. The photo above shows one of our cattle in the “cattle crush”. Once in the machine, the cow is slowly lifted and tilted, to allow easy access to their feet (see image below).
Once the cow is tilted, the process of trimming their hooves takes about five minutes. They can then be lowered and released. Our two cattle seemed a little shocked when they were initially turned on to their sides, but they soon seemed to relax, and once the treatment was complete they certainly seemed happy with their pedicure!
September 29, 2008
It’s been a wet August, but with a few consecutive dry days in September, we were finally able to begin hay making (above). Chris Bulbeck (and his father before him) have been making hay each summer for fifty years, and in all those years haymaking has never been as late in the year as it has been in 2008, thanks to one of the wettest summers on record. Nevertheless, after several days of hard work, approximately 2000 bales of quality hay have been harvested from 20 acres of land in Southbourne and Hambrook, and are now available to buy in our Farm Shop!
