Hello from Groeslon, Gwynedd

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Davetedjack

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Just a quick 'hello' from Groeslon, Gwynedd.

We have recently moved to a new home and have around 3 acres to play with.

We currently have 3 geese, 4 ducks, and 21 mixed type hens (Light Sussex, Blackrock, Crested Cream Legbars, Bluebell, Speckledy, Whitestar and Cheshire Blue) but this seems to grow weekly. Our Cockerel is a young Cream Legbar who hasn't started crowing yet.

We are going to register as a smallholding etc so may be looking for any advice on that subject.

We are looking forward to learning so much more than we currently know over the cold winter months ready for a busy spring.

Dave
 
Hi Dave, and welcome to the Forum. We'll be very interested to hear how this new project goes. I see you've already succumbed to Morehens Disease, which is very common, especially among keepers with plenty of room to play with!
I would be interested to know a bit more about your background, and what led you into what sounds like a new venture. Certainly a beautiful area for a new home, if you have good strong walking legs! We've had many holidays in Snowdonia so we know it well, and hope to return next Spring.
 
Hi Marigold

Yes you are right is a project and an adventure all rolled into one.

I retired from the 'rat race' in March this year and we moved from a 3 bedroom semi in Lancashire to a farmhouse and 3 acres on a hillside outside the village.

We have only just got started with our plans and its a bit of make it up as we go along.
We know that poultry, own grown veggies and walks on the beach vote highly on our list.

With regards to your visiting the area for holidays...... we also run a holiday let business just outside of Caernarfon.
www.kingfisherselfcatering.com is the address (sorry for the cheap plug but it has to be done)

Dave
 
Thanks Dave that looks interesting, I liked the dog friendly bit, that's always our first concern. I've bookmarked it. (Did you realise the booking enquiry software doesnt seem to work on an iPad?)
 
Hi again
I have just tried the software again on two of our iPads and it seemed to work fine.
Can you expand on what was not working for you!

Yes we are very dog friendly. We have 3 Jack Russell's and love meeting the dogs of our customers.

Thanks, Dave
 
All the days I selected for June 2015 said 'You can't start on this day - valid dates are underlined or are in Bold.' But none of the dates were marked in bold or underlined.
Maybe we had better continue this conversation using the Private Messages function, as we have gone a bit off thread and you're right - people aren't really supposed to post links until they've been posting for a while, to discourage spammers - though I'm sure you're not a spammer, don't worry!
 
Marigold, it looks like it's bookable only two months in advance: I can only see the dates up to 3rd of January!
 
Hello Everybody
Just to let you know that the reason you can't get prices for 2015 is we have not yet uploaded the 2015 prices. (Been too busy out with the chickens, or so I keep being told !)
We are going to get them on the website in the next few days.
If you are looking at any specific dates (or more information) you can PM me via this site or use any of the contact numbers/emails on the site.
We are already taking bookings for 2015 by phone and email.
Thanks
Dave
 
Welcome to the forum Dave. Registering as a smallholding is a rather confusing term. What you will actually be doing is registering each category of your animals with DEFRA and Animal Health. In our case we had sheep and more than 50 chickens, so we had a Holding (CHP?) number allocated for the sheep and a flock number for the ear tags. Also given was an Animal Health registration number for the random inspections. The chickens also had an Animal Health number. We used to get inspections to check the sheep every 5 years, because the first inspection showed they were pets will little heath risk (cat C). The chickens were checked every year or so. The sheep paperwork is also checked because the movement sheets are logged and the holding record checked with the medication records. Also the ear tags. Yes, it can get complicated, you just need to stay on top of it or risk losing your licence.
 
Hi Chrismahon
Thanks for the information.
Having spent the last 6 months trying to plan what we are going to do we have ended up just seeing what happens at the moment. We will probably get a little more planning done over the winter. By Spring we should have a better idea of weather conditions here and will be better placed to site buildings, polytunnels etc.
Best guess is we will be having poultry and pigs to start with.
I will get to grips with the paperwork over the coming months
Dave
 
Chris, are there any resources that you can recommend? My other half is interested in keeping more animals at some point in the next few years so I think we'd need to go through all the hassle.

Dave, I would be interested in reading about your experience setting everything up!
 
The www.accidentalsmallholder.net is probably what you are looking for Dave. Loads of info and a forum as well which covers every aspect. This forum is still the best place by far to get chicken advice though.
 
Good link, that, Chris, very useful.
Dave, if you go to the main website at poultrykeeper.com (link at the bottom of the page) and then go to Social Hub button on the top line, and then go down the page a bit, you'll come to Tim's Facebook link with news of a TV company that is looking for people moving into self-sufficiency projects, for a programme they hope to make. Sorry my iPad won't seem to copy links sensibly after the latest update!
 
Hi all

Sorry for the late reply but I'm really busy rebuilding the living room and have a 1st December deadline........

Lots of good information and other resources to look at.

Once again thanks

Dave
 
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