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Who's who at Alledal |
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Written by Nigel
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Sunday, 11 March 2007 |
| This is us [Stephen and Nigel] a couple of Englishmen living in rural Sweden. |  | Troy
He’s a three and a half old Weimaraner. He came from rescue after being given up by his previous owners. We are actually his third home, forth if you count the kennels he was being held in when we met him. He came to live with us in June’06 just before we moved to Sweden. It was all a major upheaval for him. Not that you’d know it to see him now. He’s made a marvellous dog.
Like any Weimaraner he’s a big athletic dog that likes plenty of exercise and lots of mental stimulation. His favourite pass times involve him retrieving something, usually his Frisbee. No matter how often we play or how far we walk in the local woodland, it’s never too much. I don’t think it’s possible to tire him out. He is a little highly strung at times and can still be excitable and this is one of the areas we’re working on. Compare him now two years on from when we first met and he’s a different dog. |  | Tazio (died December’06)
Tazio was Stephen’s cat before we met. He was a small black rescue cat who somewhere along the line had become convinced he was royalty. By the time we moved to Sweden he was sixteen years old. He liked his routine and was rather unhappy that things weren’t the same any longer. I’m comforted to know that he was settled and happy in his life here before the end.
Rest in Peace Tazio |  | Jyrkï
After Tazio things were a little quite around Alledal. A house just isn’t a home with a cat. We saw some Maine Coon cross kittens for sale in some local classified ads. When we inquired luckily for us, one of the couple that had them for sale was English. With communication not a slow process we arranged to see them and fell in love. We ended up with a one mackerel and white tabby. I’ve never had a kitten before and not sure it’s an experience I’d rush to repeat. Notwithstanding any of this he is a wonderful character and into everything. Being half Maine Coon he has made a very big cat. |  | Charlie and the girls
These are our Blommehöns a native breed to the southern part of Sweden where we live. They are big sturdy birds a real dual purpose breed. Good for eggs and the table. Our come from a genebank registered flock |  | Pingu and his girls
These are our Cochin. They are about as large a breed as domestic poultry gets, but for all that they are gentle giants. These were the first eggs we ever hatched here at Alledal and because of that they will always hold a special place. Their thick plumage just enhances their already large size. They are stately creatures who’s origins is a bit of a mystery since they seem to come from a different wild ancestor to most domestic breeds, though that has yet to be identified. |  | Phil and his girls
These were my first ducks. They are Svensk Myskankor or Muscovy ducks. This is the only domestic breed not descended from the mallard. They are turning out to be quite the characters. They came from a pig farm outside Sjöbo where they lived in the stalls with the pigs. They were in quite a state when we got them. A week later and a little TLC and they are doing fine. We’ve even started to get eggs. Now they’ve settled in they free range the garden and paddocks here at Alledal this is quite a change for them, but all for the better.
|  | Blåblomme and her family
These are Svensk Lantrasget [Swedish Goats]. These are a highly productive, robust and healthy medium sized breed. There can be a huge variety in appearance. Colours ranging from solid white through to solid black, both horned and polled animals exist. There is also some variance in coat length. Our fine animals came from the Island of Hven in the Öresund straight between Sweden and Denmark. There is no Genebank register for these animals and sadly they are declining in numbers which is rather sad. This little family group are milked twice daily and the milk goes to make cheese and yoghurt
|  | Skånegås
I have wanted some of these for as long as I have known we'd be moving to Sweden. Skånegås or Scania Geese have their origins from the towns of Vomb and Hunneberga around the end of the nineteenth century. This grey and white goose despite appearances is not identical to either the Pomeranian or the Danish Goose. Research has shown that the Skånegås is mainly of native Swedish origin with far less mixing with foreign breeds than had first been thought. They are a large goose with ganders weighing up to 11Kg. We have a flock of ten here at Alledal
|  | Bertil and Hattie
These are Svensk Gul Ankor, The Swedish Yellow Duck and are quite rare in Sweden - and not found anywhere else worldwide. It was developed here in Skåne and is thought to have been developed from the Swedish Blue, though there does seem to be some argument around this! Some claim that he must have used Kaki Campbell to improve the breed. Måns Eriksson himself said he used a "white race"... Their appearance causes some confusion, being as the ducks are more beige/brown than yellow. Perhaps a better translation would be buff ducks. There were believed to be 145 left in 2004, and in 2001 there were 110. They were relatively common in the 1920s, but post-war they declined, and were thought to be extinct. A small flock was discovered in the village of Billinge (the village where Alledal is located) in 1977, and a Genebank program was started to try and build up their numbers we’re hoping to help in this endeavour.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 22 April 2008 )
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Who's Who 