Skipping ahead a bit to keep you abreast of our livestock arrivals.
First to arrive on 2 May were four Dorper ewes - all hopefully in lamb. We chose Dorpers for a few reasons - we are interested in rare and heritage breeds; they are a meat breed and they do a good job of self-shearing. The Dorpers have black heads - note the wooly top coats that rub/wear off.
They are a South African breed, and are able, it appears, to have three breeding cycles as against two of most other breeds in the same timeframe. Rams and ewes mature at a more early age as well. We don't know yet how old ours are - we have yet to get them yarded - we found out very quickly it takes three or more people or two and a good dog - but we did get Astra in for a hoof trim.
We picked up four smaller white lambs at the Clareville weekly Livestock Sale on 4 June. There are two ewes and two wethers. They don't have names. They were a bit boney when we bought them but they are fattening up nicely, eh? The two wethers are Christmas dinners and freezer pack. We'll keep the two ewes and get them in lamb next year to produce more freezer packs.
The Dorpers (in front) : Annabel, Abigail, Aroha and Astra. All hopefully in lamb. Freezer packs and mothers of freezer packs behind
Great excitement last Sunday 26 June - our first cattle arrived. We decided to go with Dexter cattle, which are about three quarters the size of regular beef cattle. They say the meat is excellent - but it will be a few years before we can start eating the offspring. We were lucky enough to find two for sale nearby, and the seller kindly delivered them.
Bonnie and Bella, our black and red Dexters. Bonnie is rising 3 and expecting her first calf early September. Bella is rising 4 and has already raised one calf, expecting again late September. You can get a good idea of their height by comparing them to the 7 wire fence behind!
Both the Dexter Cattle and the Dorper Sheep are registered with the NZ Rare Breeds Association.
We are awaiting delivery of a 4 bay implement shed - but like the second water tank we purchased 6 weeks ago which is still sitting inside the fence, things have been held up by continual rain. We have a lot of surface water at present. We are hoping the shed will be up in the next 4-5 weeks, and the plan is then to get a few four-day calves and rear them. Another freezer pack ...
