The Poultry Keeper

milkmaid · Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 6968 Location: isle of lewis

this post is picture heavy but i feel it's one of the most important things, i've done in my life ,and it was great fun

i said they behaved but there was a bit of naughtyness after all they are goats Wink

this is our auction mart ,filled with children Very Happy

some of the poultry

milkmaid · Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 6968 Location: isle of lewis

some of the produce that can be grown on the isle

nonie giving a tak ,she did 2 or 3 during the day poor child
before going off and sitting an exam Embarassed

anybody want to buy these ,the teachers were wieghed to show the children how sheep and cattle were wieghed before being sold ,bidding was hot Wink

some lambs feeding

i wonder if i can borrow him next year
would you like to see more Very Happy

Spana · Joined: 30 Apr 2005 Posts: 2070 Location: North Cornwall

Yes, I would Very Happy

milkmaid · Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 6968 Location: isle of lewis

i'm afraid there is no highland cattle i'm afraid jan there are cows though and pigs

these are a ladies cattle who runs the lewis beef asso
as crofts her are only small most herds are 3 or 4 cows and calves ,most crofts are 6 acres ,although they can be 40 acres the 6 acres of grass still applies the rest is rock Wink

the brown and white one is one that nonie raised till it was sold

milkmaid · Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 6968 Location: isle of lewis

i want this bit at the top

the goats got a lot out of the day as well Wink

the man with the tash is my oh who gets dragged along to help with these things,bless him Very Happy

milkmaid · Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 6968 Location: isle of lewis

both deb and i love blackies

pigs

most of the children didn't know how big a pig was
it was an exhusting day ,suki taking time out Wink

i hope you enjoy these pics Very Happy

,
the children seemed to get a lot out of it ,and seemed to learn a lot about how food was produced and it was free for anyone who wanted to go but mainly schools ,i was really honored to be asked ,and felt that everyone got a lot out of it ,even the goats Wink

Gilly C · Joined: 22 Jun 2006 Posts: 2381 Location: South Cumbria

Well done you hopefully those children will go on to keep livestock of their own Very Happy

milkmaid · Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 6968 Location: isle of lewis

we always take cabbage leaves and carrots chopped small so the children can feed them ,and i really shouldn't have done this but each group got to see a squirt of milk ,
one child thought milk came from the horns Shocked

,would make milking interesting
i'd love to know what you think about this should more smallholding also run things like this ,
sorry to ramble Embarassed

CP · Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2006 2:17 am Post subject:

Excellent Suz! Love the horns on that ram! Laughing

It sounds like you all had a brilliant time & hopefully all the children learnt a lot. (even the one who thought milk came from the horns! Shocked

)

Spana · Joined: 30 Apr 2005 Posts: 2070 Location: North Cornwall

What a brilliant day for all concerned and what a great set of photos. Very Happy

I'm sure the children will remember it. Id love to see more of this sort of thing.

Judging by my holiday makers comments, its not only the children that need info about farming and food Confused

A pat on the back for all the milkmaid family Very Happy

debcat · Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2006 7:27 pm Post subject:

wish my kids school had of gone Confused

milkmaid · Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 6968 Location: isle of lewis

that's what i was thinking ,i hear so may people moaning about children and adults not understanding about food ,this sort off thing should help Very Happy

,the children where told that goats produce milk ,meat and fiber and that they have to have kids to produce milk ,to make cheese, butter ,yogurt,and sheep were the same i was worried about telling them ,but they were fine with it Very Happy

,maybe next year when they should be doing it over 2 days ,with the feed back it got from the schools any schools that didn't go Crying or Very sad

Lisa · Posted: Sat Dec 09, 2006 11:22 am Post subject:

Great idea and lovely pics Very Happy

fluffly_fifer · Joined: 02 Oct 2005 Posts: 411 Location: Fife, Scotland

This is excellent. Our family sometimes visit farms either to buy or pick produce. We also go to Jedforest in the borders which has animals on display, complete with petting area. I feel it should be included in primary visits as part of the environmental studies.
People still ask me about my chickens and we often get a group of children in during warmer months watching the chooks and the braver ones stroking them. Very Happy

Paulfrompompey · Joined: 05 Aug 2006 Posts: 162 Location: Back in Pompey

If it's not to late, I just wanted to congratulate you on this, I think it is absolutely wonderful what you did, and I think these pictures are some of the nicest I've seen.

It really makes me proud to know that this way of life is what I want, and one day I will achieve that!