Christmas Day on a Farm

By Nick Morrison

We get timely and necessary reminders of folk who have to work on Christmas Day. Top of the head a non exhaustive list would be :- Nurses, Doctors, Police, Fire Brigade, RNLI, Coast Guard, Radar Operators and many many others. This little piece is about farmers however. The stock need to be fed on a 24/7 basis and the ultimate waste from that feeding needs to be cleared from the byre.

First get your Haylage wrapped bale

Farm 4 Nick

Cut off the end of the wrapping.

Farm 5 Nick

Make a small cut down the side.

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Install in the barn and remove the plastic covering.

Farm 7 Nick

The haylage goes into plastic tubs for the coos already inside, some in sacks for the few still outside.

Farm 8 Nick

The bull “Goldenballs” with some of his ladies are still yet to come inside. The outside temp is +7 Deg C. He and his ladies get daily haylage as well as what is left in the field.

Farm 9 Nick

 

Where’s my dinner!

Farm 2 Nick

Calves are not tethered.

Farm 3 Nick

The 85 hens also have to be fed. This is the the time of year when  Farmyard free range hens don’t lay much. These 85 produce around 6 a day at the moment. it will be a month or so before the laying rate picks up.

I saw the registration/pedigree document of Goldenballs. He was born in 2011 out of “Greenbank” and “Seamer”.


 

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