Looking for a new place

[nick the grief]

I'd love to Rat, but my better half won't budge unfortunately I've been to Inverewe & the place where they filmed Hamish Macbeth that's got palm trees.

I luv Mucklies as I think Highland cattle are called. The Calves look like teddy bears (well they do if your persistant in the pub) & the only reason I know about them Bramble is I was going to have a farmette (bit bigger than a smallholding) in Wales but it wasn't to be, and have been a member of the RBST (Rare Breeds Survival Trust ) for some years. I can bore for england on the merits of using SHire horses as opposed to tractors in the small farm situation

[sewer rat]

Plockton is the place with the palm trees
And if you did come to Scotland you'd have to learn to bore folk about the merits of the Clydesdale as opposed to the Shire.
Not to up to speed on other breeds but was a shepherd/stockman in a previous life (have had three major career changes so far and am now considering a fourth) so am well up on sheep and cattle - have worked in Wales and Scottish Borders with Welsh Mountains, NCC's, Blackies, Badgers, Mules, Greyface, Halfbreds, Blue Leicesters, Suffolk and even Jacob (more like a bloody goat that one) and on the cattle front with Welsh Black, Aberdeen Angus, Beef Shorthorn, Friesian, Ayrshire, Hereford, Romany, Blue Greys, Luing, Limousin and Charolais.

[nick the grief]

A Rat of many Talents I've only had dealings with Manx Loughtans (another one like a goat) & Norfolk Horn Sheep, Dexters & Hereford cattle & a passing aquaintace with Berkshire Pigs. I've always fancied getting some Old spots. We were going to do sheep dairying but it fell through at the last moment & I couldn;t be bothered to got through all the hassle of looking again. I have to say that the best Ice cream I ever tasted was made with sheeps milk & real strawberries!!

[sewer rat]

From memory, the favoured milking breed is Friesland. Have never tried sheep's milk or any produce made from it - but find goats milk absolutely disgusting - nothing can beat a large jug skimmed from the top of the bulk tank immediately after a mornings milking - before pasteurisation and before the cream is removed - bloody EC are a pain in the ****

[nick the grief]

Yes Frieslandsare the best yeild ing sheep. Dorset Horns are good as you can get 3 crops of lambs in 2 years out fo them so they are crossed with frieslands sometimes. Frieslands are really Odd looking, even if they were goats they'd be ugly Also there is a breed called the British Milk sheep that has Dorset 7 Friesland blood in it's make up If I remember right.

Sheeps mik isn't like Goats, it's got a higher fat content & is really creamy but like you I prefer the stuff straight fom the bulk tank.

[Jaxom]

All this time on the boards and none of you mentioned goats or cattle, but it seems as though a number of you know quite a bit about the subject. One month in the mag instead of chickens it was all about cattle. What did you think of it?
Jax

[poultrychat]

I have 2 pet pygmy goats, little terrors that go by the name of Swede and Pumpkin - they are 15 years old and still going strong although not coming through the winters the way they used to.

[nick the grief]

Hi Jax,

I found it quite interesting, although my first love are the rare breeds mainly because they are rare, but a lot of the have far more character & they were "designed" for a slower pace of life. There was no need to have them mature inside 12 months pumped full of antibiotics & no fat.

My wife doesn't like pork particularly, in fact what she doesn't like is the stuff you get from the supermarket butcher If she tried a peice of real pork with a good layer of fat & real crunchy crackling I'm sure she would change her mind

If you want to try some Rare breed meat have a look at the list of accredited butchers on the RBST homepage - the best way to save them is to eat them !!

http://www.rbst.org.uk/

[sewer rat]

Hi Jax
I enjoyed all the "smallholder" articles - shame they're no more. I maintain an interest in both sheep and cattle of all sorts, but have a particular affinity with pedigree Aberdeen Angus as that what I worked with the year before I went to Agricultural College. To my mind, a prime Aberdeen Angus fillet steak, cooked medium rare, with fresh seasonal veg on the side, is a dish that you'll find hard to beat.
Agree with Nick about using good butchers - do not buy your meat from supermarkets - support your local farmers and butchers and buy from them because quality beats quantity every time

[andrewo]

I too am interested in rare breeds, though I doubt I will ever raise beef, as the back isn't up to it. I am considering the 3 acres and would plant and acre up with an orchard and keep a number of free range chickens and sheep on it. I now have to convince my partner that it would be a good idea.

[andrewo]

Come up North (proper North, not North Englandshire) and get a croft ! By the beach on the North West Coast - Highland cattle (excellent eating, good for tourists) in one paddock, Blackface sheep in another (Cheviot or Welsh Mountain are good too - more money with NCC cross lambs) and the sunsets are to die for. You could run a B&B and courses on veg growing. And don't forget the effect of the North Atlantic Drift. Just look at Inverewe Gardens to see what is possible. Most crofts will already have had a dwelling on them, so planning shouldn't be a problem
Second thoughts - don't come - I'm gonna work on the OH with this one.

My partner and I still work and it wouldn't be a financially good idea to up sticks with no job or income, also we have family in this area and my other half doesn't want to leave them (she doesn't drive and she thinks it would put too much pressure on me).

[sewer rat]

Andrew
You could sell the lamb from your orchard as a speciality meat - raised on apples. I once applied for a position of shepherd on a large (well, huge actually) fruit farm nr Colchester, where the sheep were fed on what was left of the apples after they were juiced, and they were being marketed as a speciality meat, as the flavour of the apples does to a certain extent, impregnate the meat.

[andrewo]

Rat, now that is interesting, I wonder what other flavour you could get into the meat. I would suspect that it would tenderise them with cider like qulaities or give a certain sweet taste. Wonder if this would do something to the chicken eggs?

[nick the grief]

Thats where you're Old Spots come in Andrew. Traditionally they were kept in orchards & ate the windfalls.

[andrewo]

Just been to see the 3 acres, on a steep incline and boggy at the bottom, mainly scrub land - will have to pass this time as it is in a national park, I would have a real struggle putting any polytunnels or trees on it without permission and the soil was really poor as it had been washed down into neighbouring fields - shame but the OH now agrees that this could be a way forward for us.

The search will continue...