..but you can't make it swim. That had appeared to be my ducks motto in life until a couple of days ago. Having been 'released' from their pen area to explore the 'big wide world' (barring a day of enforced pen area after a friendly, hungry Buzzard was spotted in duck land.) Pongo, Petra, Tinkerbell, Camille and Jemima spent their initial time running at the fence, falling over every crack and bump in the ground and generally behaving like a Laurel and Hardy / Chuckle Brothers (depending on your generation) farce taking it in turns to be the 'leader.' Now Pongo is a gentle drake, still getting to grip with being the 'man of the house' but slowly, he is learning to lead. It is always with great amusement do I watch Jemima my feisty white IR 'hold back' from running the show. I think she pities him and when Pongo leads his girls into a fence, well it's be rude not to follow...I can just imagine what Jemima's thinking when she stands back watching him, gives a loud decisive 'quack' and then follows Pongo into a more suitable area. I can just imagine her saying 'there you go dear, you were right all along...'
They have now ventured into the water - only at the side of the pond mind, just enough to get filthy in the mud of the bank and stink like the smell on school coaches when someone always opens egg sandwiches then peels an orange... Very well behaved mind you they are too - I hope Pongo maintains his gentlemanly behaviour unlike my last drake Waldo who was a brute! At bedtime, he leads them all into the house - no chasing them with a net, no rugby tackling, no scratched limbs on the many hawthorns ( I still bear the 5 inch scar on my arm, really attractive and I don't think.) So far, so good with them and my confidence is being restored in the world of the IR.
The sheep remain fine. I am now searching for a Dorset Ram to 'borrow' for Dolly & Dors in October. I had found the services of a Southdown but having done a small amount of research realise this wouldn't be a beneficial match really, most notably I'd get a smaller lamb. So when the boys go for the chop (sorry!) it's a lighter carcass. Of the others, Hiltz continues to disturb me in her behaviour! Even now she constantly tries to latch on to her sisters for milk! She's been weaned for +12 weeks for gods sake! At sheep nut feeding time it's always Hiltz who fails to realise the foods In the bowl, it isn't THE bowl. The winter will be do or die for her.
DH and I thought we were 'planning ahead' by considering leaving a field fallow for a year before cutting and making hay (whilst the sun shines...) Ha! We are both as green as the grass! Clearly in the real world this is easier said than done. Firstly the cost of machinery (hire or buy - to hire you have to pay a reliable farmer and the going rate is roughly half the bales!) Then it's finding a reliable 4-5 dry day forecast window (errr 'BBQ summer' ring any bells?) Plus there's the decision to treat the field or not (more £) then do I make hay or haylage...? It comes with a wealth of terminology that I don't yet understand and a science I have no hope of understanding other than it seems to be for a 1.5 acre field lots of work, reliability on others, plenty of £ = little return in hay! Perhaps we'll just graze some more animals on it after all... Of course, when discussing this locally and through reputable forums I showed my hand way too early using the word fallow - that's not what it means at all in leaving the field to grow. Fallowing involves ploughing etc... My reputation befalls me once again...
Off to read up on my pig breeds...after having my hair and nails done (check out how countrified I am thesedays though - am going shopping at the weekend - for a pink pitch fork!)
Mx
Weather: Wet! Cool 19 degrees, thundery showers making sheep and duck feeding soggy and cleaning the duck house miserable and slow, made my slow by DD's new 'friend' the imaginary Hollie who has to be let through gates and given a bucket...
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