Herd Numbers

Smallhold

Hi - apologies if this has been asked before. Have a house on 5.5 acres...looking to do a little hobby farming...pigs maybe goats/sheep, literally talking about a handful...I notice on the herd number application forms that the dept ask a question about having a separate entrance to the herd? What exactly does this mean? We only have (and will only ever have) a single entrance from the public road to our house - we then access the land to the rear and sides of our house..is this a problem for the dept?

And in terms of water etc...is a mobile trough sufficient? Thanks...

Kovu

No your place sounds perfect Smallhold. The separate entrance is sorta asking if you access your farmland through another farm, it's more a question about cross contamination between different herds.
A mobile trough should do fine, once you can fill it handy enough during the day. We even use an old milk tanker in some of our fields.

Smallhold

Kovu wrote: »

No your place sounds perfect Smallhold. The separate entrance is sorta asking if you access your farmland through another farm, it's more a question about cross contamination between different herds.
A mobile trough should do fine, once you can fill it handy enough during the day. We even use an old milk tanker in some of our fields.

Thanks a lot...was wondering what they were implying with that! I should be ok so! As I say really just looking to do a little hobby farming...work full time and obviously not enough land so more of an interest and if there's a few euro in it from anything at the end then all well and good! Although I reckon they'll all become pets!

Kovu

Smallhold wrote: »

Thanks a lot...was wondering what they were implying with that! I should be ok so! As I say really just looking to do a little hobby farming...work full time and obviously not enough land so more of an interest and if there's a few euro in it from anything at the end then all well and good! Although I reckon they'll all become pets!

You could look into a couple of rare breed sheep? Perhaps ask a local butcher if he'd kill some pigs for you if you reared them.
Chickens are a good one, you don't have to kill them for eggs! (You will need a flock number for them though)

Smallhold

Kovu wrote: »

Smallhold wrote: »

Thanks a lot...was wondering what they were implying with that! I should be ok so! As I say really just looking to do a little hobby farming...work full time and obviously not enough land so more of an interest and if there's a few euro in it from anything at the end then all well and good! Although I reckon they'll all become pets!

You could look into a couple of rare breed sheep? Perhaps ask a local butcher if he'd kill some pigs for you if you reared them.
Chickens are a good one, you don't have to kill them for eggs! (You will need a flock number for them though)

Maybe so yea! I guess that's where food comes from so have to get over it! Yea that's what I was thinking anyway just a handful of animals to help manage the grass! Need hardy breeds that will be ok wintering in field shelters! The hens are already on the way!!

Smallhold

Quick question - I know a small pig ark would satisfy the dept vet for the pig herd number...but what about 3-5 rare breed sheep...what housing would I have to provide...would a field shelter work? Hopefully get some tough upland sheep that like to stay out all year with some basic field shelter?! Also do you need a like a sheep pen / crush even if only keep max 5...?

Kovu

Any small enclosure with a roof should do for a few sheep, more in case of illness than anything else. You'd have to show you can house them for treatments if you need to. There's no TB testing so you don't need a crush, that's only for cattle.
Something simple like this would do fine, maybe with windbreakers instead of the sheepwire. If you google 'Homemade sheep shelter' you should get some great ideas!
Also make sure your fencing is good, sheep are a great way to get to know the neighbours

Merrion

If you are looking at pigs, give this lot a call. Rare breed (outdoors) pigs seem to be a viable business

Merrion

Also - pigs love shade so maybe plant an orchard of fruit trees?

Smallhold

Merrion wrote: »

Also - pigs love shade so maybe plant an orchard of fruit trees?

Cheers thanks....was an idea we had alright...have a small wooded area off to side of one field as it is so was thinking of fencing that area for them..

Bunnyslippers

If you have pigs near trees make sure you fence off the base of the trees as they will strip the bark off them and kill them and also dig up the main roots and chew through those too! Pigs are great, good fencing - electric with some stock net works well, a shelter and water are all you need to get your pig number. Fattening a couple of weaners in the spring is the easiest way to keep them, then you don't have them turning the place to mud soup over winter as they'll have gone to the land of freezer before that!;)

A few sheep would be your best bet for the main grazing, you just have to show you have good fencing, which for upland breeds is a huge must or you will be chasing them all over the spot as they are good at jumping and oozing through tiny gaps!!:p. You also need as others have said a shelter that you can pen them into for worming, dagging, feet, dosing, shearing etc. I've used mobile troughs and they're great.
Sheep are great fun and do often tame quite well, the lowland breeds seem to be far less flighty than the hill sheep which are often like trying to herd fleas! We have 6 rams at the mo from a neighbor to eat down one of our paddocks, 4 are scotch blackface, 1 Charolais and 1 texel, the last two are pretty chilled out, the other 4 are nuts! I went to get them out out of the chicken pen yesterday as they'd bust the fence to get the food, the 4 blackfaced panicked ran in every direction despite me not even uttering a single syllable or moving more than 2 feet, they then ran straight for the boundary fence jumped it and onto the lane and ran all the way back down the mountain!! Daft buggers and they've been here for 3 months now and are always leaping out!!:D. The other 2 just stood and watched then went back to eating!:p - they did come back when they got spooked by a tractor!
So choose your breeds carefully as nice calm sheep are so much more fun and easier to own! Also if your land is in one field it's better to split it so you can rest areas and let the grass grow rather than overgrazing patches.

Smallhold

Bunnyslippers wrote: »

If you have pigs near trees make sure you fence off the base of the trees as they will strip the bark off them and kill them and also dig up the main roots and chew through those too! Pigs are great, good fencing - electric with some stock net works well, a shelter and water are all you need to get your pig number. Fattening a couple of weaners in the spring is the easiest way to keep them, then you don't have them turning the place to mud soup over winter as they'll have gone to the land of freezer before that!;)

A few sheep would be your best bet for the main grazing, you just have to show you have good fencing, which for upland breeds is a huge must or you will be chasing them all over the spot as they are good at jumping and oozing through tiny gaps!!:p. You also need as others have said a shelter that you can pen them into for worming, dagging, feet, dosing, shearing etc. I've used mobile troughs and they're great.
Sheep are great fun and do often tame quite well, the lowland breeds seem to be far less flighty than the hill sheep which are often like trying to herd fleas! We have 6 rams at the mo from a neighbor to eat down one of our paddocks, 4 are scotch blackface, 1 Charolais and 1 texel, the last two are pretty chilled out, the other 4 are nuts! I went to get them out out of the chicken pen yesterday as they'd bust the fence to get the food, the 4 blackfaced panicked ran in every direction despite me not even uttering a single syllable or moving more than 2 feet, they then ran straight for the boundary fence jumped it and onto the lane and ran all the way back down the mountain!! Daft buggers and they've been here for 3 months now and are always leaping out!!:D. The other 2 just stood and watched then went back to eating!:p - they did come back when they got spooked by a tractor!
So choose your breeds carefully as nice calm sheep are so much more fun and easier to own! Also if your land is in one field it's better to split it so you can rest areas and let the grass grow rather than overgrazing patches.

Thanks for the good advice! I'm not sure I'll be setup for sheep...fencing wise! Might start with the pigs and see how I get on! The hens arrived at the weekend...cats don't know what to make of them!! Quick question if fattening weaners...what month do you buy them and then sell them - from when to when!? Complete novice here! This will be interesting! Would they be ok on rough ground...and kind of hilly? But well sheltered with the hill and I'd drop down a filed shelter for them...would bring the water / feed up and down in mobile troughs

Bunnyslippers

Hens are great fun and very addictive!;)
Pigs I've always bought at about 8 - 12 weeks old in spring time, depends when you find some to buy really. You do need the pig number though before you buy which means they come out and inspect where you're going to keep them so you'd need a shed/pig arc type set up or even an old trailer you can move about might work.
I fatten by eye so depends on the breed, commercial weaners will finish faster then old breeds, old breeds taste better I think as they have more fat on them!;). But In general for slaughter it's about 6 months, longer if you want more meat but they do tend to put on more fat rather than meat as they get older! Don't let boars go too long as they tend to have a slightly gamier taste as they hit sexual maturity unless they have been castrated.

As for selling them it might be worth having a chat with your local butcher before you buy, firstly to see if he will kill and butcher your pigs and also if he might buy them as some slaughter houses won't take pigs, you also need to figure out how you're going to get them to a slaughter house, a local farmer might lend you a trailer. I've only ever swapped a pig, or half a one depending on how many I'm doing, in return for slaughter and butchering of the others as I only rear for my family and a few friends so not sure how much it would cost to get them done to sell yourself or how much you'd get for a whole pig something you'd have to ask. If you're doing it to not eat them yourself, ie.make a bit of money from them, then the amount of time and money you put into them and then what you sell them for might just cover the cost of rearing, feed/wormer etc, I think you'd need a good few to make a profit! I do it just because I like to know my food was happy and well looked after and free to do its thing outdoors rather than in a huge shed in the dark pumped with chemicals!

If fattening for yourself as well as your own fruit and veg scraps, to keep costs down have a chat with local restaurants/hotels or supermarkets to find out what they do with their leftover veg etc as a lot pay to get rid of it so are very happy to give it to you, also makes for far better tasting pork than meal only fed ones! A few sausages as a thank you are always much appreciated!;). One of my neighbors last year got given 2 piglets for free and got enough feed from a local restaurant that they cost him nothing at all except his time, a butcher friend killed and butchered them in swap for some pork so he got enough meat for a year for free with some left to give as Xmas pressies!!:). It's worth doing for yourself though as the taste is nothing like shop bought pork!!

dathi

Bunnyslippers wrote: »

If fattening for yourself as well as your own fruit and veg scraps, to keep costs down have a chat with local restaurants/hotels or supermarkets to find out what they do with their leftover veg etc as a lot pay to get rid of it so are very happy to give it to you,!!

and why you shouldn't do above
https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/media/migration/animalhealthwelfare/diseasecontrols/FoodWasteTrade040313.pdf