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Written by Nigel
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Wednesday, 21 March 2007 |
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It’s been another good week. The weather has been dry, if a little windy and I’ve been working hard on the new vegetable plots. I’d forgotten how hard double digging can be. My back is a reminder of how unfit a lazy winter has let me become. Still we’ve made huge progress and that is the main thing I think.
 Everything here at Alledal continues to go well. Egg production has rocketed; we had over a dozen yesterday alone. The Blommehöns chicks are growing fast and feathering up nicely they’re ten days old now and have doubled in size. I candlelled the Cream Legbar eggs in the incubator today I have seven fertile, three definitely infertile and two I’m unsure of. I’ve got some Silver Appleyard ducks eggs arriving this week. A new incubator has also been ordered and dispatched, either for emergencies or just to double our capacity. My shopping list for the future includes more Black Cochin, Brecon Buff geese, Skånegås (the Skåne goose), more Silver Appleyard duck and some Muscovy ducks (called Svensk Myskankor here)
Other good news the Cochin and Brahmas started laying this week. They were the first lot hatched here at Alledal born on the 09-Sept-06. Six months later they’re laying for us.
The three cockerels we hatched last year are now getting to the right sort of size and are in their last days. I shall be doing my first solo attempt at killing, plucking and dressing them for the table. I’ve seen my parents do this many times but this is all new to me. I culled a bird earlier this year as she was ill and not improving. That was to end her suffering this is different. I do not like the killing of animals; but I do believe that it has to be done. I put a lot of soul-searching into this decision. I hope to do this in as professional manner as possible, without too much sentiment. We would not have eggs without the chickens and if we didn’t kill the surplus cockerels we’d soon be taken over. They have had a much better life here, that almost all of their commercial cousins. To those who say “How can you?” in shock and horror, if you are vegetarians you have every right to your opinion and I’m sorry we have different views. If however you eat meat and still look on in horror at what we’ve chosen to do your scruples are beneath contempt
I’ve started using the bokashi that we made a few weeks ago and the early results are surprising. I was quite a sceptic, but I think it may have some merit. It’s a little early to make real claims, but I am hopeful.
I think one of the best things about being here is how much I’ve changed. If you would have asked me a year ago if I was stressed I would have said no. It’s only now I realise how tightly wound I was at times. Here, with my life moving at a different pace, working to keep up with the seasons doesn’t seem half as bad as trying to keep up with deadlines and financial period end dates. If this makes it sound like I was unhappy with where I used to be, then that’s not what I’m trying to say. I am just a different person for being here.
The Swedish is still going well. I actually managed to write an advert yesterday for the classifieds that needed no corrections, and I went into the village shop and insisted on speaking Swedish, they know I’m English and usually speak to me in English with me having to say anything. I went to pick up a parcel today and we did the whole thing in Swedish from the pleasantries to the please sign here. Not a big deal I know, but to me it’s real progress |
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 21 March 2007 )
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