Ovine Intensive Care

 There has been a lot of rain - so there is mud everywhere - and then snow over the last week or so.  

And the young rams have clearly been struggling in the adverse conditions. 

A couple of them have got a skin infection on their noses  - possible trauma in trying to  graze through ice and the mud is a less than hygienic environment . 

So they needed an antibiotic jab, and some feeding up , so they have been brought in for a few days 

Indoor hens

We have had quite a lot of rain  so far this winter . Its a bit muddy . Just as muddy as it was in 2015 

And we have moved one of the hen houses to make it more accessible in the winter . But this means that we are walking over the same ground . Did you know that you can get standing water on a slope ?

And the hens are in this bit. And theyu have stopped laying - related to the hours of dalylight ( not a lot up here) at this time of the year and there isnt a lot fo food avaialble to them - bugs dont grow in mud and cold

So we have brougth some of them inside.

We can feed them , give them additional light and hopefully get them back into lay . So a run, constructed with sheep hurdles and netting , some nesting boxes, and food and additional light ( on a timer) and we shall see what happens over the next week or so

Repaired

Earlier in the winter we have a bit of a storm that  did some damage 

The weather hasn't been too bad  so bit of pottering around at weekends  ( its only now light enough to do stuff in the early evening ) Ive managed to repair it

And ive taken the opportunity to create a shortcut - a gap in the wall that we can step through.

The only problem is the mud on the slope -  it will get easier when it all dries out a bit but at the moment its too muddy and slippery to use.

So id better have think about putting some steps in .

Grit

Hens need grit - as explained here .

 

 

Spray, at a distance

a wave or few

One of our excess cockerels went to a neighbour , who said the gizzard was full and the birds needed more grit.  Obvious really - there is a lot of mud here at the moment and the hens will be getting enough of that but anything insoluble will probably be washed away .
And our neighbour recommended a spot that was ideal for collecting grit.
So early one morning , we went with some buckets
Its a bit windy ,so we took a few other pictures as well
































 And some grit for the hens

Happier Ducks

In October  we moved the ducks to their new home. We gave them access to some of the pond. Ducks are very messy eaters, and need access to  water when eating ,  and emptying  and refilling buckets was a real hassle. giving them access to water . We  took  pictures of Previous their previous home  and the mess they managed to produce.

They and we are much happier with their new home ( well apart from some of the mud, but we shall wee how it dries out this spring) .  And now we think we can give them access to more of the pond. And we haven't had a lot of rain over the last few days  so it as the opportunity to move things around a bit .

 How it was

So we've move the railings and they have access to the whole pond. By now they are good at going into the run at night. They lay their eggs in the morning  and hopefully they’ve got the idea of laying them in the house. First attempt at moving them and they were laid all over the place. In the intelligence stakes ducks come a bit behind carrots.

 So their new home, with access to all the pond. And if they  dont go walkabout from here , the railings will be replaced by a drystone wall in the spring ( or summer) , or when I get round to it  

Coccidiosis - update

One improved, one worse , one much the same . A pale comb is one of the signs of a poorly hen. You can see the difference in redness between the one that is standing ( and improving) and the one that is sitting,

The one that is worse will probably die in the night.
We thought about putting the improving one back with the other 8 but decided to keep her separate
-she may still be shedding parasites. The parasites survive in damp conditions and there is a lot of mud around in the field .

the pond

It has been muddy and it still is muddy in places. Its been cold, wet and miserable , and still is wet and we have had, and still have , quite a bit of mud .


We wonder if the pond not filling/draining properly has something to do with a particularly squelchy bit , so  it tiem to sort it out .
first empty it  - just dig out the retaining wall
 

 once that was done, there was  quite a lot of silt in the  bottom of the pond.   So it would need taking out

 Someone has clearly been here before . I found this pie buried next to the pond . I've no idea where it goes - it didnt seem to be carrying anything  from wherever it originates.

And I found the place where water runs into the pond from the bank,


And there is a lot of drainage in the channel that clearly exists for the run-off from the pond.

But im not digging too much of that out.
So  once the silt has been dug out, a drainage channel cleared, its time to put a dam back and see what happens.

We are not alone

The weather has been  miserable - as indicated in Cold, Wet and miserable  and the situation in Orkney has made the BBC website  with

'Orkney cows stuck inside with the rain '

where Robbie  Fraser (the neighbour helping with the lambing  last year) interviews a local farmer
of course the headline  doesn't reflect the true situation

It should be 'a coo' . And the plural of coo  is kye.

But its too wet for the  cattle to go out in the fields and  farmers are running out of feed for them .
And the grass isn't growing so they wont have silage for the cattle when they are inside next winter.
So they will have to sell off some cattle and get half the normal price for them , so that they can feed the ones they keep through the winter

And our biggest complaint is the mud

something must be done

But what ?

There was an article in the local paper ( but there isnt an online summary on the Orcadian website) this week stating it has been the wettest year of the century.
The data comes from Keith Johnson , and there is a website - www.orkneyweather.co.uk .
On his website are a lots of graphs and tables, including the rainfall in Orkney.  And the graph here shows its the wettest year so far with rainfall in Birsay ( a few miles from here )  of 1266.8 mm ( almost 50 inches)

And its been wet and muddy for us as well. Here's the post from January .

The rainwater flows down the hill.  There are a couple of burns that over the year have got   quite full at times .

We had some snow and ice in January  . If you look closely at one of the pictures there is a little stream flowing across the drive.

As the evenings are getting lighter , ive been thinking about gardening.  So i had a look at the small garden and raised beds . All the water that has been flowing across the drive has been going somewhere  - and its been going into the vegetable garden .

across the drive

And then goes across the lawn

and is held up be the wall

and on the other side, carries on 

 


 until it gets to the vegetable garden , where it hangs round a  bit, rots the grass and converts soil to mud.
















Something must be done.


But what ?

Mud

Mud ( and wellies)

To my follower, there has been a bit of a gap.  there are approximately 2 hours less daylight here when compared to balmier climes. So  if you want pictures of black, then fine.

And so far this winter we have had a lot of rain . And there is the well-known formula

rain  + soil =mud

So we are doing mud quite a lot . When i stand in some , my wellies disappear. 

We've got about 10 separate places where you can loose your wellies in the mud

And wander off the drive a little, and you get mud , and there is standing water in all the fields

 

 And the sheep and hens are living in mud

.


and the paths through the fields are mud .

Fed up about mud ?
how could you tell ?