Farm News

We completed shearing in June, we managed to pick one of the few wet days and had to house the sheep the night before so that they were dry for shearing.

Here is Jim in action with a Suffolk Cross ewe in the salon.

They may have had their doubts at the time, but when temperatures reach the 90's  they are very. 

When it is warm and damp sheep farmers face problems with fly strike, we have been keeping a close eye on the ewes and lambs so that we could deal with any cases before they get serious.

Every June we declare war on thistles, and this year has been no exception, armed with the topper behind the tractor or a strimmer we try to minimise any seeding.

We have had great excitement with our bird boxes this year, Reg and his good friend Brian organised a number of bird boxes 2 or 3 years ago. The boxes ranged from those suitable for Tits to larger boxes for Owls and Kestrels. The tit boxes found ready tenants and for two years have produced many young Blue Tits and a few Coal Tits, but the larger boxes were invariably used by Squirrels.

This year two pairs of Kestrels took up residence in Boxes at each end of the Farm. On July 14th Reg and Brian came to check on the chicks two clutches of  3 chicks each were ringed.

The photo shows a Kestrel chick about to have a ring placed on its leg.

Further excitement with this year with Barn Owls, every year we take a trip round the bird boxes at the beginning of January to clear out any unwanted debris usually left by squirrels taking up residence in the boxes. 

This year we were thrilled to find  two boxes each having a barn owl roosting in them. We assumed they were male and female, but as the boxes were 500 metres apart romance was not assured.

However they clearly got together. When the experts made an inspection  3 chicks and an egg were found. The summer had some bad spells that made hunting pretty difficult and at the end of the summer only the biggest chick survived. Here he is proudly showing his new ring on his right ankle.

So both Kestrels and Barn Owls have bred successfully this year, we have good habitats for voles which form a significant part of their diets.