By Judy Barnet, Ag Columnist
Sunday was Goat Worming Day and, surprisingly, it went better than I had dared hope. We have been feeding the goats in the temporary yards dear Richie made a while ago which are about half of the required height to make them goat-proof. Even so, only three goats jumped out and avoided the drench gun. When we had finished, I glanced over at the escapees and to my surprise they were all wethers, so it turned out to be a good thing! They had their tickets booked to the saleyards anyway, as soon as we could catch them. With drenching finished I walked up the hill, which seems more like a mountain in my post-Covid days, to check the Merinos. I was further surprised to discover that another ewe had lambed with twins. They weren’t very old, maybe about two days, so I went and got Richie who was able to run down one of the lambs, a male, so we ringed and tailed it. That is four lambs from three ewes now. We also managed to catch most of the nine kids and the males received the same treatment. Male goats can start “working” very early in life – especially the Feral crosses – sometimes as early as four months.
We were able to get a little bit of work done on Kermit the Bus on Sunday. Slowly, slowly, it is starting to look alive once again. We are hoping to spend a couple of nights on the bus on the First of September – that’s the plan anyway!
Tuesday
We were up long before sparrow fart this morning to catch a dozen roosters that needed to find a new home via the Pig and Calf sale, and also to try and catch the three jumping wether goats. Richie had taken the day off to take some sheep into the sale so it was a good opportunity to kill a few birds with one stone! I am pleased to say that we were able to catch two of the wethers and two out of three ain’t bad in my book! One of the rams that had a one-way ticket gave us a bit of a run-around but, all in all, the job was relatively painless. Well, for me at least as I wasn’t the one on the quad on that freezing icy morning.
In order to catch chooks, the night is the ideal time. If you are moving poultry or introducing new hens into a flock, you can place them on the perch and when they wake up In the morning there is not so much kerfuffle. Those of you who have bought a chook or two and tried to introduce them into the flock during the day will know what I am talking about. You should never introduce just one chook either, I have heard of other hens pecking a new chook to death. I have had trouble with my Araucanas, they seem to be a particularly aggressive breed even towards their own kind.
Thursday
With rain forecast for Friday and Saturday, we had to put the firewood for the cottage and our house undercover. This was dear Richie’s job and, as I was feeding the chooks, I didn’t pay much attention to where he was putting the wood he had cut. I was only mildly surprised though to walk back into the house to find a decent-sized pile of wood stacked up inside the entrance room on the carpet. But I was slightly more concerned to see a row of pumpkins also sitting on the floor. Now, I recall maybe a year or two ago when Richie had also put some pumpkins on the floor without actually checking how good they were. I had a bit to say when I discovered one day that the bottom of one of the pumpkins was rotten. I can see history repeating itself if I don’t take action!
In the process of scanning the sheep, we found that a few were dry (not in lamb) this year. I was not surprised though since they were all ancient sheep that I should have gotten rid of last year. Three out of five Shropshires failed to get in lamb though, which is of more concern. One that I believe is barren is coming up to three years old and has never lambed. Sadly she is everyone’s favourite – a rare silver and black coloured Shropshire that is incredibly friendly and gentle with children. One half of me says there’s no profit in feeding a dry sheep but the other half of me thinks it is such a shame to kill such a beautiful quiet ewe. With her beautiful Downs wool, she would be the ideal ewe for a spinner. The second Shropshire is a grossly overweight ewe. She will be banished to a small paddock without much feed. She too is a friendly soul, one the cottage guests always feed. The third Shroppie worries me a bit as she is just two years old so should have got in lamb for the first time this year. Due to the rarity of Shropshires I might sit on her for one more year.
Made in China
The Chinese goose is descended from the Wild Swan goose and is distinctive for the large basal knob on the top side of its bill. They come in two colours – brown with a black bill and white with an orange bill. The Chinese goose combines both beauty and excellent egg-laying ability which makes it number one on my list. Weighing in at 5-7kg for ganders and 4-5kg for geese, they are a lot lighter than their European counterparts such as the Toulouse goose from France and Emden goose from Germany, both of which weigh around 10kg or more. With the lighter weight comes a better egg laying ability and I believe the Chinese geese can lay upwards of 80 eggs per year. And who can’t resist a baby gosling – they would have to be the cutest, softest and fluffiest of
all the poultry. If you ever get the chance, make sure you hold one. You will squeal with pure delight, I guarantee!
Have a great week everyone.
