January on the Farm: A Month of New Beginnings, Lambing Dramas & a Giant Bake!
January always feels like a fresh start, but this year it really delivered. From new hen houses to new lambs, from veterinary plot twists to a 14‑egg cake, the month was packed with activity, surprises, and a fair bit of mucking out. Here’s a look back at everything that happened. New Homes & New Schemes […]
December: Mud, Mayhem and a Christmas Miracle
Mud, Muck and Much‑Appreciated Help December has been exactly what you’d expect on a smallholding in a wet British winter: muddy, tiring, and punctuated by the kind of surprises only livestock can deliver. But it’s also been full of small kindnesses, quiet moments, and one very welcome bit of news that’s carried us cheerfully […]
November – Trials and Tribulations
Fencing finished just in time for the flerd (yes, flock + herd really is a thing) to return from the Glebe. Geronimo, our much loved Dexter: became an “inconclusive reactor” at latest TB test. Fingers crossed for January — this pint‑sized escape artist has forged a moo shaped space in our hearts. Sheep: three black […]
October: Biscuit’s Bold Move, Hens on Alert, and Fencing Frenzy
Biscuit, our cheeky Shetland pony, is back from his longer-than-hoped stay with ponies in the village —and wasted no time making his presence felt. Initially placed in a paddock beside our Exmoor ponies, he took matters into his own hooves, deciding that electric fencing is meaningless to a fearless Shetland. With a bold leap and […]
September: Hay Heists and Helpful Neighbours
September has been a lively one here at Western Farm, with the animals keeping us on our toes and neighbours stepping in when we needed them most. We’ve been especially grateful for the chance to graze our cattle and sheep on the Glebe ground while our own fields recover from the summer drought. It’s also […]
August: A Month of History, Heat and Happy Herds
Wow — what a month it’s been. Alongside the usual rhythm of hen feeding, cleaning out, checking, and egg collecting, we’ve found ourselves enjoying our sheep and cattle rounds more than ever. And with good reason. A Rare Privilege: Grazing the Glebe (or Culverhay!) At the end of July we were granted the rare opportunity […]
July Update
July has been a month of slow‑burn projects finally coming good, unexpected abundance, and a few small victories that make the long days worthwhile. A New Home for the Hens After far more hours, head‑scratching, and “quick jobs” than we ever intended, our large hen trailer is finally finished. The girls have moved in and […]
Western Farm June Update
Add Your Heading Text Here We’re getting quite weary of doing rain dances after another month of dryness – our ground resembles something close to the Sahara desert, and after a hay crop that yielded less than half of last years we’re getting increasingly worried about our winter fodder situation. However it’s great to see […]
Western Farm May Update
Wow! What a scorcher May has been! I could sum up May in just a few words: Stress! Shearing and lack of grass! Thankfully we’ve solved the latter due to the help of some wonderful people – they know who they are, and currently our sheeps are on their holibobs a bit further away, thanks […]
Western Farm April Progress
Grader fun (I’ll spare you the eggy puns this time!) April has seen us edging closer to getting our producer number for our eggs that will enable us to sell beyond the farm gate – we’re now having email conversations with the egg marketing inspector who will need to come and inspect our setup in […]