Marchweeke Farm,

Each month we provide an update on the activities and events that have taken place at Marchweeke Farm as we develop our own beef, lamb, pork and poultry enterprises.

Normally all the cattle would have been housed by the middle of October but the continued dry weather has enabled us to leave the larger cattle outside. Now that the grazing is getting scarce we have been feeding big bale silage in round feeders. The ground immediately around the feeders is getting somewhat poached but the remainder of the field is holding up well.

The dry weather has also been ideal for lambing the poll Dorset ewes that have been running out by day and housed by night. It is very much easier to monitor any nighttime births in the shed rather than by torchlight in the field. Attempting to catch a shearling ewe at two in the morning, soaked by horizontal rain; crook in one hand and dimming torch in the other is an overrated pastime! Within the well-lit lambing shed it is possible to conduct the nightly checks in a warm and semi-comatosed state thereby allowing an immediate slide back into the arms of Morpheus on return to bed!

Another reason for lambing inside at night is to avoid the danger of foxes. It is not uncommon for foxes to carry off the first of a set of twins while the ewe is diverted during the birth of the second lamb. Even lambs of a few days old may be taken; last week we lost a lamb overnight; despite a comprehensive search we found no trace and can only assume that it was taken by a fox. Our suspicion that there is a confident, rogue fox in the vicinity was confirmed yesterday morning when we discovered a trail of feathers and destruction in the hens’ enclosure. A dozen hens had been slaughtered and partially dismembered. Although the hen houses are protected by electrified netting we had allowed the grass to grow up into the netting consequently shorting-out the current and reducing the level of electric shock. The grass has now been removed but the words “stable door” and “horse” come to mind.

The rams have been working hard since they were turned in with the ewes; it is not unusual for the rams to lose 10 to 15 kgs in bodyweight during the mating season as they are too busy to graze for long. For the first time we have used “tupping harnesses” which carry a coloured crayon between the ram’s front legs. When he mounts a ewe the crayon rubs on the ewe’s rump leaving a coloured mark. By changing the colour of the crayon each week we are able to observe which ewes were served first and therefore due to lamb first; i.e. the red rumps will lamb during the third week of March; the blue in the last week of March and the green the first week of April. With limited housing available we will be able to separate the ewes according to lambing date. Knowing when the majority of the lambing is due to take place enables us to arrange adequate labour to supervise and assist. That’s the theory anyway! What we want to know is how one of the young rams came to get crayon marks on HIS rump?

The rams are not the only ones with reproduction on their minds; the red stags on Exmoor have also been rutting and one evening we went up to Dulverton and observed a grand, 7-point stag protecting his harem of twenty plus hinds. His guttural bellows and grunts reverberated up the valley and were answered by two further stags that remained hidden from view. It is amazing and reassuring that there is still space in this highly populated country for beasts as impressive as the red deer to live and thrive.

Our bronze turkey stags have now reached maturity and look quite absurd as they fan their wing and tail feathers, strutting about with their blue tinged faces, long snood and red wattles. (The snood is the name given to the finger-shaped flap that hangs down over the stag’s beak!) The hen birds are not easily impressed with all the vanity and gobbling and are inclined to peck the stags exposed bottoms!
Have a good month. Julie, Simon and Rebecca