Small Talk.... a chit-chat thread for smallholders.

tattycat

So. How are folks doing with their holdings..survived winter? We've had our first chicks of the year from our Buff Orpingtons...bring on the mayhem!!





Thanks to tattycat for the inspiration, the mods think that this is a perfect post to start off a Smallholding chit-chat thread..

.....so... bring on the mayhem!

greysides

Buff Orpingtons.



Nice looking chickens.

Boardnashea

The hen run will finally be going into construction this weekend. Steel posts are all galvanised so digging holes and mixing cement on Saturday. Next decision is galvanised chain link or plastic coated???

aonb

Boardnashea: as long as the fencing is set well in to the ground, or attached to the cement base or something... The other think I would highly recommend, its the best thing Ive done, is to put a net (I used a pond net) over the top of your run to keep the wild birds out - off your hen food and keep infection to a minimum...

Greysides: How do you find the Buff Orpingtons as layers? Any issues with them? Ive been avoiding pure breeds as Ive had bad luck with any Ive had, and have been sticking to hybrids...

greysides

aonb wrote: »

Greysides: How do you find the Buff Orpingtons as layers? Any issues with them?

Can't answer that. Sorry. I looked them up to see what they looked like.........:o

whelan2

greysides wrote: »

Can't answer that. Sorry. I looked them up to see what they looked like.........:o

we used to have them, they are alot older starting laying and dont lay as much as other breeds. They are lovely looking hens though

Charliebull

whelan2 wrote: »

we used to have them, they are alot older starting laying and dont lay as much as other breeds. They are lovely looking hens though

so what you are saying is "they are high maintenance but a good looking bird"

Boardnashea

Thanks aonb. They have about 250M2 of a run with a few well established trees so there won't be anything going over the top. We never had much of a problem with wild birds.
I intend to plant a couple of rows of close planted ash in there as well to harvest over a 6 year rotation. I have done the willows but not quite as satisfying.
The fencing will be going about 15cm or so underground.

OUTDOORLASS

:mad: Blasted fox took one of my Khaki campbell.s...I had her for 4 years, and as luck had it, she was the only one laying at the moment. Plenty of rabbits around, why did.nt he take one of them.....

aonb

once the fox knows you've got fowl, it will probably come back... so extra precautions required :mad:

tattycat

Well as I said mayhem begins! ! We've Buff Orpington chicks, White Silkie chicks.7 Pigglets, 5 kid goats, 1 to kid, due y'day. Moscovy's ducks sitting on eggs, along with geese and various chickens (including a turkey hen that hasn't laid herself yet!!)
Nd copious amounts of seeds, sown, potatoes planted nd abundant slugs!!
By the way my Orps are always the first to lay (a good size egg) and are good mom's and are good eating!!

Kevhog1988

tattycat wrote: »

Well as I said mayhem begins! ! We've Buff Orpington chicks, White Silkie chicks.7 Pigglets, 5 kid goats, 1 to kid, due y'day. Moscovy's ducks sitting on eggs, along with geese and various chickens (including a turkey hen that hasn't laid herself yet!!)
Nd copious amounts of seeds, sown, potatoes planted nd abundant slugs!!
By the way my Orps are always the first to lay (a good size egg) and are good mom's and are good eating!!

Your flat out... I only have a pet lamb

OUTDOORLASS

Morning all, with all the prep being discussed about preperations for the arrival of the Beast, what should we do for our hens/ducks...
Is there any special precautions we should do......
Thanks, ODL.

aonb

OUTDOORLASS wrote: »

Morning all, with all the prep being discussed about preperations for the arrival of the Beast, what should we do for our hens/ducks...
Is there any special precautions we should duvets o......
Thanks, ODL.

Last big snow, I just made sure that the water was never frozen. Hens feathers are like duvets! I put many layers of newspaper on the floors of their coops to act as insulation. I threw an old carpet over the roof too. Gave them hot mash, hot water in their pellets. Cleared a bit of a path from the coop doors, they were pretty freaked by the snow. I also increased their fat/carb intake for a few days. Spoiled brats. Keep an eye for combs and wattles, if very cold you could put some vaseline on, to protect from severe cold /frost.

Rows Grower

Great weather lads!

The rested field is getting green at last.

The ducks are all laying. A recently acquired goose is sitting on 5 eggs as far away from her warm shed as possible, the gander is very protective.

The chickens are banging them out, last years lambs are as fit as a fiddle and looking ready to go soon, the ponies coat is starting to gleam, the dogs are stretching out and soaking up the sunshine and the fruit and veg are starting to yawn.

I love this time of year.

Be nice to have a dry spell for a while.

Boardnashea

The hen run mentioned above has been bare earth for the past few months. I can't wait for it to start greening up again as the weather warms up again. It is divided in two so am keeping them out of one side to give it a start. Just got to control the nettles and other undesirables.
Three goslings hatched over the past couple of days which are lovely. One more egg being kept warm so fingers crossed.

realitykeeper

Recently I was in the market in Cork and I wanted to buy raw cheese (i.e. made from unpasteurized milk). I found it but a lot of it seems to be sourced from abroad. An obvious solution to low milk prices is to use your milk to make raw cheese.

Another obvious solution is to get out of dairy. Most Irish vegetables have to be imported. Whatever reasons may exist to explain why Irish farmers do dairy instead of other stuff, one cannot deny that going against the grain may stand to you in times of systemic crisis. Think of veg as gold to the contrarian. So, that is my tuppence worth.

Eamonn8448

Alot of labour goes into veg, big overheads to get started and then the nightmare of trying to sell it , alot of ups and downs in it , those few who do stay at it are a rare breed these days and glutens for punishment :-)

realitykeeper

Eamonn8448 wrote: »

Alot of labour goes into veg, big overheads to get started and then the nightmare of trying to sell it , alot of ups and downs in it , those few who do stay at it are a rare breed these days and glutens for punishment :-)

Another way of looking at it is that dairy is great if you want an easy life. I wonder why so many farmers in Ireland want an easy life. What do they have in common?

Eamonn8448

Ah i wouldnt say dairy is easy , far from it at times like this ( not dairy myself btw), main point about veg i was trying to make to you is trying to find a market at a fair price for it, i remember many years ago going back to another fellas yard and loading up boxed broccoli @ say 2.50 a box and then delivering to a retailer for 4.80 a box, farm i was working with had a market for it the new guy hardly broke even , veg is a very tough game at times and so too is dairy, your tied to the place 24/7 in both

Rows Grower

realitykeeper wrote: »

Recently I was in the market in Cork and I wanted to buy raw cheese (i.e. made from unpasteurized milk). I found it but a lot of it seems to be sourced from abroad. An obvious solution to low milk prices is to use your milk to make raw cheese.

Another obvious solution is to get out of dairy. Most Irish vegetables have to be imported. Whatever reasons may exist to explain why Irish farmers do dairy instead of other stuff, one cannot deny that going against the grain may stand to you in times of systemic crisis. Think of veg as gold to the contrarian. So, that is my tuppence worth.

I take it you have never worked on or even seen a dairy farm or cheese making farm in operation?

Either that or you must be that lad Johnny Lynch that imported the buffaloes from Italy to Kilnamartyra.

Rows Grower

realitykeeper wrote: »

Another way of looking at it is that dairy is great if you want an easy life. I wonder why so many farmers in Ireland want an easy life. What do they have in common?

How is being tied to a job that involves looking after a herd of cows and milking them twice a day, 365 days a year come hail, rain or high water easy?

I love the easy life, who doesn't? That's why I wouldn't take up dairy farming if you gave me the land and the cows for nothing.

realitykeeper

Rows Grower wrote: »

I take it you have never worked on or even seen a dairy farm or cheese making farm in operation?

Either that or you must be that lad Johnny Lynch that imported the buffaloes from Italy to Kilnamartyra.

Wrong on both points.

Rows Grower

realitykeeper wrote: »

Wrong on both points.

To be honest I was fairly confident you weren't Johnny Lynch.

Would you be willing to share your experience of the other point?

realitykeeper

Rows Grower wrote: »

How is being tied to a job that involves looking after a herd of cows and milking them twice a day, 365 days a year come hail, rain or high water easy?

I love the easy life, who doesn't? That's why I wouldn't take up dairy farming if you gave me the land and the cows for nothing.

My concern is to do with food security for Ireland. Relying on imports for veg is unwise given that international trade is subject to market forces which can sometimes change suddenly. Needless to say I am expecting this to happen otherwise I would not be concerned. How soon? Too soon.

Esel

realitykeeper wrote: »

My concern is to do with food security for Ireland. Relying on imports for veg is unwise given that international trade is subject to market forces which can sometimes change suddenly. Needless to say I am expecting this to happen otherwise I would not be concerned. How soon? Too soon.

How prepared are you?

Rows Grower

realitykeeper wrote: »

My concern is to do with food security for Ireland. Relying on imports for veg is unwise given that international trade is subject to market forces which can sometimes change suddenly. Needless to say I am expecting this to happen otherwise I would not be concerned. How soon? Too soon.

You quoted my post but managed to totally ignore it at the same time.

I'll give you an easier question, how much per kg was the cheese you purchased?

Rows Grower

Esel wrote: »

How prepared are you?

He's got a block of cheese.

Buford T. Justice XIX

realitykeeper wrote: »

Recently I was in the market in Cork and I wanted to buy raw cheese (i.e. made from unpasteurized milk). I found it but a lot of it seems to be sourced from abroad. An obvious solution to low milk prices is to use your milk to make raw cheese.

Making it is the easy bit, after spending a significant sum to buy and set up the equipment. Waiting for the cheese to mature is going to cost hugely in terms of cash flow, the longer the maturing process needed, the bigger the hit on cash flow. Then there is the whole seeking out markets, which in itself is time consuming when done alongside the day to day management of running a farm and the not insignificant time needed to make and process the cheese. And the obvious necessity to actually sell the cheese to try to recoup some of the money already spent with years in getting to that stage.

Another obvious solution is to get out of dairy. Most Irish vegetables have to be imported. Whatever reasons may exist to explain why Irish farmers do dairy instead of other stuff, one cannot deny that going against the grain may stand to you in times of systemic crisis. Think of veg as gold to the contrarian. So, that is my tuppence worth.

Dairy has traditionally been carried out on poorer land where it was necessary to have as many sources of income as possible to allow bills to be paid. The better land was traditionally in beef and tillage as it would still be possible to derive an income even in poor weather which isn't always possible in poorer years.

So the land already in dairy would be poorer land which wouldn't be possible to convert to tillage in any meaningful way.

The old saying, 'We can grow anything we want in Ireland, we just can't harvest it', still rings true.

greysides

Dairy has traditionally been carried out on poorer land where it was necessary to have as many sources of income as possible to allow bills to be paid. The better land was traditionally in beef and tillage as it would still be possible to derive an income even in poor weather which isn't always possible in poorer years.

I'm not sure that's the case nationwide. The difference might be the passage of time and specialisation but in the areas I've worked dairy was on the better land with sheep or beef on less suitable ground.

Lady Haywire

realitykeeper wrote: »

Recently I was in the market in Cork and I wanted to buy raw cheese (i.e. made from unpasteurized milk). I found it but a lot of it seems to be sourced from abroad. An obvious solution to low milk prices is to use your milk to make raw cheese.

There's LOADS of raw Irish cheeses out there. English Market caters for a certain amount but you'd prob need to visit a proper cheesemongers to get a true gauge of the amount of Irish cheeses out there.
Good list of cheese producers here- Both raw & pasturised, from 2010 so rest assured there's a lot more out there now.
https://www.bordbia.ie/consumer/aboutfood/farmhousecheese/FarmhouseCheesesGuides/FarmhouseCheeseBooklet.pdf

realitykeeper

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBhTyNbJE6A

The above link is about vertical farming, i.e. growing food in buildings. It starts out in New York with some of the locally produced indoor food initiatives which are quite impressive but if you go to 21 minutes into the video it shows the Netherlands, wow! I new they do impressive there but was not expecting the scale of the production they have going on. The difference between the Netherlands and Ireland is the same as thinking big is from thinking small. I guess there is always an excuse if you want one, just ask any junkie and he`ll tell you the same thing.

For now, we`ll throw another turf on the fire. Let the cows out there Madge, they`ll be grand. Forget work. Joe Duffy is on the wireless.

Rows Grower

realitykeeper wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBhTyNbJE6A

The above link is about vertical farming, i.e. growing food in buildings. It starts out in New York with some of the locally produced indoor food initiatives which are quite impressive but if you go to 21 minutes into the video it shows the Netherlands, wow! I new they do impressive there but was not expecting the scale of the production they have going on. The difference between the Netherlands and Ireland is the same as thinking big is from thinking small. I guess there is always an excuse if you want one, just ask any junkie and he`ll tell you the same thing.

For now, we`ll throw another turf on the fire. Let the cows out there Madge, they`ll be grand. Forget work. Joe Duffy is on the wireless.

I love this forum.

gozunda

realitykeeper wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBhTyNbJE6A

The above link is about vertical farming, i.e. growing food in buildings. It starts out in New York with some of the locally produced indoor food initiatives which are quite impressive but if you go to 21 minutes into the video it shows the Netherlands, wow! I new they do impressive there but was not expecting the scale of the production they have going on. The difference between the Netherlands and Ireland is the same as thinking big is from thinking small. I guess there is always an excuse if you want one, just ask any junkie and he`ll tell you the same thing.

For now, we`ll throw another turf on the fire. Let the cows out there Madge, they`ll be grand. Forget work. Joe Duffy is on the wireless.

If you think forgetting work involves throwing the cows out then you're badly misinformed....

realitykeeper

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KPWLSVn0ko
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dv3hSNhRaNU

The above documentaries explain why agricultural subsidies must end in the EU. They both raise the issue of cheap European food flooding the African market and when African farmers can`t make a living in Africa, they join the migrant march to Europe. It makes sense to end subsidies, and the subsidies will end or be severely curtailed whether Irish farmers like it or not. I have heard Irish farmers assert that the solution is much bigger commercial dairy farms.

Such farms may have their place but should that be the future of Irish farming? I think not! Again I allude to Africa, where they have belatedly realized that it is not a good idea to have economies in which they "use what they do not produce and produce what they do not use." Even at present, Ireland produces far more milk and beef than it can use and it does not produce an awful lot of the food which could be produced here. How sustainable it that?

realitykeeper

Here`s a thought for lazy farmers. Why not just plant a variety of fruit trees. They`ll look after themselves and never mind EU rules and specifications - if there`s a downturn in the economy and food becomes scarce, people will be glad of any fruit thats available. Depending on trade for food security is foolish. During good times when foreign sourced food is cheap and available, imperfect Irish fruit that does not meet specifications can be used for feeding pigs. Besides, there may be a grant for planting trees.