Hello Everyone

Well, this pet-forum seems depressingly (though perhaps understandably) cat/dog/gerbil/other rodent orientated.

Perhaps people do other things and care for other animals?

We certainly do. Myself and my fiancee, along with her mother, run a small Dairy Goat farm in Stirlingshire and I wonder if anyone else here farms, small-holds, or similar? If so, I guess here is the place to share stories, ideas, photos, tips, tricks and advice.

Today's been a busy one for us (well, they're all busy, but more busier than usual) as we've had to prepare one of our stud Billy Goats for transportation. He's off to work in the North East of Scotland, and to be honest, we're a little relieved to see the back of him. He's well into his autumnal rut and 280lbs of sexually frustrated, stinking, angry aggressive muscle is a real danger around the place if you aren't careful. He's a superb animal in terms of conformation and the quality of the stock he throws . . . but in all other respects he's an absolute bastard at the moment.

Anyway, here he is glowering in the back of the trailer which took him away.

And we moved onto our other big job of the day. Pigs.

Last year we reared two Tamworth weaners up for slaughter, and it went so well and provided us with such good quality pork at a cost price that we're doing it again this year.

These two lads arrived today, and will stay with us until late December/Early January (transport permitting), at which point we'll slaughter/butcher them and put them in cold storage.

They are Large Black/Mangalitsa crosses and should, hopefully, provide us with some top quality product come mid-winter. At £40 a head we'll feed them up on goats milk (which we're obviously not short of), pig nuts and assorted left overs and in a few months we'll have made a large saving in terms of cost of the amount of meat we'll get back. Makes alot of sense.

These two will stay in our small isolation paddock until they outgrow it (which won't take long beleive me) and then will be moved into a larger area which we're currently fencing for them. Pigs are nature's rotavators so, if, for example, you wish to break up ground for vegetable planting, putting pigs on it for a few weeks before-hand will prepare the ground incredibly well. We used last year's Tamworths to rescue out very overgrown orchard, and they took to it magnificently (and got themselves alot of free apples and plums by learning that if they shook the trees they'd fall). Useful animals pigs.

So, anyone else work livestock?

I should of course add that, like all farms, we've got our share of dogs (two Border Collies and one Jack Russel) and cats (three working farm moggies) as well as chooks and sheep and, at the moment, far too many guinea pigs. Anyone out there do similar?

Just me then?

Looks like it

Ach, none of you have lived

I have to say I envy you your smallholding. I'd love to live your life.

Right then. Grab a muck fork and you can have the spare room

I suspect most of us don't class animals we will eat as pets. Nothing wrong with eating animals IMHO, just that they are not pets.

I want to marry HFW and live in River Cottage.

I was brought up on a farm till I was 19 and can hypnotise chickens.

We had goats (anglo-nubians) and chickens when I was a child. I loved the goats, they were so clever and friendly. We started with two, but had six by the time it got too much and we had them rehoused. I used to take the two for walks round the woods, they had bells round their necks and followed me like dogs. The nicest girl, Tansy, who was very docile and well behaved and calm, went to live on a farm where adults and teenagers with severe learning difficulties came to spend time learning social skills and looking after animals - she quite happily stood there and allowed very unpredictable teenagers milk, groom and pet her. She was a lovely girl.

I have four chickens and a guinea hen. One New Hampshire Red called Freda, one Black Orpington called Petronella, one Light Sussex called Florence and one Double Gold Leafed Barnevelder called Egberta.

Freda is The Boss!

Gertrude the Guinea Hen is a recent addition, I saw her months ago in a local pet shop, then again, more recently. She had doubled in size but was still in the same cage, which was too small for her. A member of staff had got her for a friend but the friend then lost her job so poor Gertrude ended up in the cage in the pet shop. I felt so sorry for her that I bought her. She is a Helmeted Guinea Hen i.e. she had a 'lump' on the top of her head!

It took her a while to get used to her freedom in the paddock with the other girls but she now thinks she's a chicken!

We keep many Anglo-Nubians. In fact we just picked up a new male kid for breeding purposes last month. He's a handsome lad and should get a bit of colour into our lines (which have a tendancy to be a bit monochromatic).

They're easily the most affectionate of the various goat breeds I think, very herd, and therefore if they're reared correctly, people, orientated. We've got several females of very good show quality and a number of goatlings (including an absolutely beautiful girl Karla) and kids coming up too. Hoping for good things from them come show season (providing they have the milk).

Here's a video of some of last year's AN kids, who are all well grown up now, having a play.

Meanwhile our pigs are growing like mushrooms! I'll have to get some new pics of them up.