Many of you have asked how all the animals here are coping in these extraordinary conditions. A lot better than the heroic farm staff that care for them is the short answer! All of the cattle, bar a few hardy young beef, are housed on deep straw inside, but need constant room service from Lesley, James, Teo and Daz who deliver silage, hay, oats and beans, fresh bedding and sometimes water too if the pipes freeze up. And what goes in has to come out, so there is an ongoing rota of manure scraping and mucking out as well. The pigs by contrast are all outside, snuggled up in their arcs with plenty of straw for warmth. They are a bit like us, well, very like us really, and tend to stay indoors much more than usual, venturing across the frozen ground to feed, drink and pee. They also love to play on the rafts of straw that we build up outside their arcs, which also act as giant door mats to clean their feet before they go inside.
All of their water pipes have been frozen for weeks now, which means that Chris and his team have to cart water in a bowser to them all twice a day. That’s a huge, cold job on top of an already hectic routine. Every week of the year around 8 sows will give birth, and 8 weeks later those piglets are weaned and go into fresh grass paddocks, which soon get pretty muddy at this time of year. Then there’s the serving of sows to arrange, the selecting of pigs for slaughter, the moving of arcs and fences….
So it’s the staff here that I would like to salute this Christmas. They constantly make every effort to make sure that all our animals have the best life possible, even when they themselves are cold, tired and hungry! It’s an amazing contribution, and if you are at Eastbrook, taking a walk around the farm (you are always welcome), or in the Royal Oak enjoying the roaring fire, do say ‘hi’ to any of them that you meet, and let them know that you know what heroes they are.
Ps You can tell them by their rosy faces.
Pss Happy Christmas
