Monday 14 July 2008

Movement without licence

5.30pm and I down tools. Well, move away from the computer and put on sheep chasing trousers and boots.
Today the ducks have been moved out of Back Orchard and into the garden for a few weeks. The grass in Back Orchard (so called because it once served as the secondary farm orchard near the house - there's posh) is long, and apart from the pig paddock area hasn't been touched by anything other than waterfowl and the odd badger or fox for three years.
There are big plans afoot for creating a duck pond and some good sized foxproof pens for the ducks, and another for guinea fowl. But first there's all that lush grass, and with haymaking weather failing to appear, there is a real shortage of forage ground at the moment. So after a quick once-over, a sore foot treated and an approving check on lambs being not too far off butchering time, the flock has been let loose in the long grass for a couple of days before the digger goes into pond-making mode.
They are so busy chomping they forget to baaaa. The ewes' milk is drying up and as soon as haymaking releases a spare field, there will be a weaning and a wailing.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Any sign of next-wave fly strike? I've seen quite a lot of blow flies around these last couple of days...and this b*** hay? Fingers crossed for the coming week.

Duck ponds sound exciting too.

Mopsa said...

Not so far....have Clicked them all