Archived News

21st February 2011

With Christopher off rugby with a broken collarbone, he took the opportunity to coax Laurence out into the rain over the last couple of weekends to repair the pig fence. Christopher couldn’t do much with just one arm, but he did a grand job of supervising his father!

Spot stretches out for a scratch with a handy stick

A wire fence isn’t enough to deter pigs from digging, pushing or squeezing through or under any small gap; so an electric fence is positioned inside the stock fencing and the pigs soon learn not to get too close.  With the fencing sorted, water trough filled and straw bedding in the pig arc it was time to move Spot, our young boar out to his new pad.

The Belted Galloways are in three groups which are all overwintering outside. The cows and calves at Churchfield were accompanied by Phoenix the hire bull for a few weeks with the exception of when his feet weren’t looking too good, so he came into the bull pen to rest and have his feet trimmed.  This herd of cows will be tested for pregnancy approximately 35 days after the bull leaves them.

Phoenix is now with the cows and heifers which are grazing on fields between Abinger and Hackhurst.  

That leaves a group of ten steers and heifers, all about 19 months old which will graze on the North Downs once the access conditions improve for the cattle to be taken onto the hill and for us to reach the site on a daily basis to check the cattle; at the moment the wet sticky ground prevents this and still it rains!