SURVIVING THE WEEK FROM HELL

🎙️ This week on The FarmHer Files: Maria Left to Run the Farm Alone… 😅🚜

In this episode, Maria shares the reality of being left to deal with the farm while her parents take a well-earned break....

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hello and welcome back to another episode of the Pharmafiles with your hosts, Happy and Maria. Welcome to another week of chaos with your favourite podcast hosts, Mina.

SPEAKER_01 0:31

Did you guess? Yeah. Already introduced ourselves, but oh well.

SPEAKER_00 0:36

So this week again, we're just gonna have a little catch-up. We have had some very seem to love the catch-ups, though.

SPEAKER_01 0:44

Like it's like we're little buddies. You know what's going on in our life, we don't know what's going on with yours. Feel free to ever voice note back with what's what you're doing.

SPEAKER_00 0:53

I love it when they voice note us.

SPEAKER_01 0:56

To be fair, I love any sort of voice note. Do you know what I sent someone like a five-minute voice note last night? I was like, oh my god, that may as well be a podcast episode.

SPEAKER_00 1:04

Quick, give me some money for that. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:06

Literally, I was talking, I was just like literally word vomiting, and I was like, bless her, she's got a bit of a listen in a minute. And it's just like I think this is at like half eleven at night.

SPEAKER_00 1:16

And I was like, I can see that coming before you even said it.

SPEAKER_01 1:19

I can feel it in the Yeah, and then I was like, Oh, I think I'll go to sleep after that because that w that was draining too much. I've had enough now. Goodbye. Literally, everyone at the minute, I'm messaging them. Like, I messaged um someone who has or is a worker um to do with valet breeding, and I messaged him with a voice note being like, I'm so sorry, it's a voice note. I'm just I'm just fed up and messaging all day. Like, I need to just voice note my problems. Yeah. Because I was asking for advice basically, and I was just like, I'm sorry, is this a problem? Blah blah blah. And I was just like, just needed to get it out rather than typing it. Because I just don't like things coming across the wrong way. Did you get some good advice back? He ended up ringing me. Oh she needs some extra help. I think he knew that I was not up for messaging, so he was like, just give me a call, and he rang me, and he was like, I'll FaceTime you when um the time is right for both of us. Because this was at like seven o'clock at night, and he was like, I'll show you what what you need to be thinking about. And I was like, Thank you. What was it about?

SPEAKER_00 2:23

Um I feel like we're all wondering at this point.

SPEAKER_01 2:26

I had no, so we had had a running joke basically about the red soil not coming out of the wall, my valets. I can imagine that. So being from where we are, we have red clay, like mud basically, it's literally like well, it's clay. Um, so therefore, when it goes on the sheep, it is carnage. Um, that stuff stains white bed sheets. You cannot get it out.

SPEAKER_00 2:56

So then I don't know if you've been going from mud to white bed sheets.

SPEAKER_01 3:00

I'm gonna be honest, it's the dogs. Okay, all right, forgive them. So if the dogs go on and like you get any red mud on there or anything, or Scott's clothes, anything like that, you just can't get it out. So I'm there like, oh my god, how am I gonna get this out of the sheep? Like, if you know valets, you know they've got to be like pearly white, and I'm there like, how the hell am I gonna get this out? So it's been a running joke between us both, being like, How's the red sheep? Um, so anyway, I sent him a picture to basically say I brushed out their fringes and I got the red mat out. Oh thank god. Yeah, so what was the trick? There wasn't there wasn't really a trick. Yeah, so um then what was the other thing? I was panicking about halter training.

SPEAKER_00 3:44

Oh, so in the last episode, or one of the last episodes, you said you weren't gonna hold a train.

SPEAKER_01 3:50

So I'm not, but uh I saw a video from I know a lot of the breeders down south, they hold a train, and then I saw somebody else was halter training that I don't believe did before. Anyway, I saw one of their videos of them walking their sheep like a dog, basically. Basically, long story short, they have dog collars, so you literally walk them like a dog, and I was looking at it and I was like, oh my god, am I gonna be the only one with unholter trained sheep? And then so I was panicking about that. I'd spoken to other people as well, and I was just like, I'm just panicking slightly, so I don't want to be the odd one out. Not that it's part of the criteria of showing valet, and basically the T's and C's are down to the valet society, so therefore it's not in the society that you need to hold to train them. So then I I was like, should I be panicking about it? I don't want to look like I'm the odd one out, I don't want to get penalised for not training my sheep, but at the same time, I know it's not part of the criteria. So I'm like, I was just in a bit of a like you know when you get yourself in a fluster?

SPEAKER_00 4:58

Yeah, don't know where to turn.

SPEAKER_01 4:59

Yeah, and I was just like, Am I doing the right thing? Am I doing the wrong thing? Should I speak be spending all my time fretting about holter training rather than doing little bits that actually help the sheep? And I'm like, no, focus on the sheep and the quality of the wool rather than halter training. And yeah, anyway, I he said don't worry about it. That's very short. There you go then. Yeah, so we ended up speaking about a thousand different things and yeah, just gonna have a FaceTime just like that.

SPEAKER_00 5:26

Five minute conversation ended up into a two-hour. Well, no, actually, it was only like 20 minutes, but don't call me expecting to get a good, like, good fast call because I so sidetracked.

SPEAKER_01 5:36

Actually, you did. You did have a quick phone call from me yesterday. Well, you phoned me.

SPEAKER_00 5:41

Yeah. I think I was the one that ended the phone call as well. And you followed on with yeah, I've got some shoot to do anyway.

SPEAKER_01 5:47

Yeah, no, you rang me just about a couple things, and I was just like, uh I had to be like really like not abrupt, but I was a bit like okay, is that it? Cause uh I'm in the middle of doing sheep sort of thing. But to be fair, you didn't.

SPEAKER_00 6:01

I was running out the door anyway. You did it to me the week before. I did. Yeah, I called you, then you asked another question, then I asked another question, then it just went from there, didn't it?

SPEAKER_01 6:12

Maria Did you want to tell the listeners where we were last week? Do you know what? I refrained from actually posting anything on social media. I was so ready to feed you to the dogs.

unknown 6:27

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 6:28

I forgot. I was literally gonna feed you to them. So this actually leads on to the subject of today's episode, which is the absolute storm we had last week. I know, what carnage. Um so my parents were away on a cruise. Um, I don't know why Abby just didn't read my mind, you know?

SPEAKER_01 6:46

Hold on, hold on. So we only filmed two episodes the last time we were here. So Maria knew that there was no episode.

SPEAKER_00 6:54

But Maria Sililli thought the last episode was coming out last Monday, just gone.

SPEAKER_01 7:02

You hadn't calculated that it wasn't three weeks worth. Yeah, basically.

SPEAKER_00 7:06

Well, I thought we had had another week left on the last last recording. Yeah. And then we'd have two more. So I solidly thought we had got the week covered where my parents were on a cruise, and me and my sister were left alone with lambing sheep and calving cows and sheds that all needed to be cleaned out and things that needed to go in the ground.

SPEAKER_01 7:25

So I'd like to clarify, me and Maria often won't talk because we catch up when we see each other. Um and then so basically we can go the whole week without talking and almost a month, isn't it? Yeah, and I'll get a message that day being like just leaving, or what have you. So I hadn't heard from Maria. And then it messaged me like two o'clock though. Because I was a bit like, well, this isn't like Maria, but I also don't want to be like, where the fuck are you? But where the fuck are you? So I was there, had my hair curled, I was ready, actually.

SPEAKER_00 8:02

Yes, stop, I feel bad.

SPEAKER_01 8:04

And um actually I've rang you once and you didn't answer, but we won't talk about that. Really? Yeah, I didn't get it. Oh, I'm sorry. Well, I did wonder that. That's why I rang you the second time because I was a bit like, what if she's dead? Like, what if she's had a car crash? I did almost die that morning. Well, I'm not being funny. I needed to chat you could have been on your way, but not told me, and had a car crash. And what do I do? What do I do? So, yeah, I rang Maria like, hi, is everything okay? She's like, Yeah, how's things with you? And I was like, Yeah, good. Um, by chance are you on your way?

SPEAKER_00 8:45

No, why? I was like, um, I was literally mixing up lamb smoke. I literally left this is how busy last Friday was. I literally had ran inside from the pouring blooming rain, and I was mixing up lamb smoke, and then you phoned me, and I was like, I was literally like this. I was like, hello, how are you? The funny thing was, um, I think you were injecting something as well. Yeah, so I had I was doing injection, I literally had mixed the milk, then we carried on the conversation. I walked through to the next room where we've got our locked medicine cabinet, unlocked it, took out an injection. I was like, Abby, how good are you at quick maths?

SPEAKER_01 9:25

No, I was expecting some sort of like equation, but actually it was just I had to divide it by four.

SPEAKER_00 9:31

Yeah, this is how crazy the day was, though, because I couldn't even think of that. No, I know. Like my brain was gone, I was brained out by that time.

SPEAKER_01 9:38

Yeah, so it was like, that's fine, it didn't matter. Um, so then I was like, when it got to Monday, I was like, well, we'll wait and see if anybody says anything. You guys didn't say nothing. They just expected from Yeah, they weren't even shocked by this point. So I was like, right.

SPEAKER_00 9:55

We tend to get a message midweek from a few people saying, where was Monday's episode? Or I missed Monday.

SPEAKER_01 10:02

Yeah, like I got some personally, but not on the on the group. So um, not on the socials page for Farm Herophiles. So anyway, I didn't feed you to the dogs, but I have now fed you to the dogs.

SPEAKER_00 10:14

Thank you. Um, I'll feed myself to the dogs. We got quite a few messages from our listeners not being very happy with my accents the other week. Did see that? And the jam cream scenario. Right, anyone that voted that jam didn't go on the bottom.

SPEAKER_01 10:31

Also, can I clarify? We were winning cream over jam, and then you shared it on your story and then it changed. So it's only because your Cornish followers then saw it and went and voted. So we really won. We really won. Wait, let's. You could have shared it to yours. No, but I wanted to leave it down to the actual listeners, not your Cornish old folks.

SPEAKER_00 10:55

Cornish old folks, is that what you think of us? Yes. DJ Pasty, I hope you're changing your mind right now. Have you heard the way she's speaking about us Cornish? Have you seen the state of her? I have got a stained top that has a bit of salad on it. And what is is that cowpoo? What did you wheat to be? That's my daughter's Wheat of Bix on my heart.

SPEAKER_01 11:20

Oh look, it's like cowpoo. So let's catch up. What's your week been up to? Um what's your week been up to?

SPEAKER_00 11:28

What should what should we been up? What have I been up to this week? Um, so it all started um last Friday when my parents left. And then the mayhem just began.

SPEAKER_01 11:40

Well, where did they go? What were they up to?

SPEAKER_00 11:41

They went to a cruise around. Now should they be quarantined? No, they weren't on that boat.

SPEAKER_01 11:48

Just checking, just checking.

SPEAKER_00 11:49

I would be the first to lock them away.

SPEAKER_01 11:51

They're used to being in with like no, I don't want to say they're in with used to being in with rats and mice, but bacteria. Yeah. They've seen a rat or two probably in their time.

SPEAKER_00 12:03

Um yes, so they went on a cruise, they went to Amsterdam, saw some lovely tulip fields. They came back with the most beautiful handmade wooden tulips. Really, really pretty. Um, and they had a really good time. They went with my grandparents. Um, my grand's been a bit poorly at the minute, so it was really nice for them all to go away together. Um, so this is my mum's side of the family, and they had a really good time. We were getting lots of updates, lots of sun in their pictures, and I thought we have had the most torrential rain I've seen in a very long day. A lot of rain. I don't think we've had that much, but then the next day it's the complete opposite. It's just hit mess. We had that thick of fog that I was driving in a field, I drive through four or five times a day. Bam! It would have been four or six. It was that bad. I did almost hit a sheet at one point as well. After I checked all the RSPCA, come and get her. I didn't hit it though. Um, it was that bad that after I'd gone round the Lambing sheet field, I was like, where the hell is the exit? Where is the hedge?

SPEAKER_01 13:11

Oh no, where am I?

SPEAKER_00 13:12

So I just had to keep driving until I could find a hedge. And once I found that hedge, it was that bad I didn't even know which hedge I was at until I had like a car go and I was like, ah, main road hedge. Lovely. Straight through the hedge. Then obviously the same happened in the calvin Calfia, went out and checked them late at night. It wasn't even daytime either. But if it was, get the drone out. I don't think you'd be able to see where it was either.

SPEAKER_01 13:36

So what? Scott, I had to film him the other week. It probably was that week actually. What with all the mist and the fog? No, it was fine. It was rape and he was spraying. I don't get the drone up by choice. I don't. It's Scott's usually asked me. And I'm there and he's asked me to film him in this field. I've gone. I've gone. I can see the sheep. The drone has gone straight over to the sheep. Zoom it around, check the sheep. Like I had checked them that morning, but I was just like, just make sure everyone's alive and well. So I did a little pound round for a little bit of footage. I got told off. I was like, can you film me spray? And I was like, oh, fine. What does he use it for? What drone footage?

SPEAKER_00 14:20

Advertising for the for his business. Or nothing. Just pure pleasure that goes straight in the wank bank. Really? Because I was thinking, he doesn't advertise his contracting very much.

SPEAKER_01 14:32

Um I put it on I put it on my tick. Well, so I do the drone footage and then he asked me to edit it. So I have to put it to some music, and there's no point going to that effort and not putting it anywhere. So it goes on my TikTok and goes on their Facebook page just purely because it needs to go out there. And um, yeah, that's pretty much the only reason like I do So it does go towards the farm advertisement. It's an absolute waste of my time. I couldn't really think of better things to be doing.

SPEAKER_00 15:05

So if you don't see Abby in her fields for a very long time, you know she's checking the sheep from her drone on the sofa. Do you know what? If it wasn't for the hills, I actually would, I think. I genuinely not connect because of the hills.

SPEAKER_01 15:17

Yeah, so you block out signal. Obviously, it won't go through the hills. So you need a higher house. Okay, I'll pop it on top of a mountain next term.

SPEAKER_00 15:25

Yeah, and then you can carry on. Yeah, be fine. Go about your day, cooking your sour day, drying your flowers, whatever else you do with your day. Don't do either of that, but yeah. I don't live a wholesome life like you do. There's not much time for wholesome at the moment. No. So I did cook some bread at like one o'clock at night the other day. What? It's the only time we have.

SPEAKER_01 15:49

Go to bed, honey. Go to bed. Then when I wake up in the morning, I thought, oh, that's so nice. Yeah, but I could just see Samuel taking a massive chunk out of it. Like Don, don't eat. I got some saffron cake on the side.

SPEAKER_00 16:02

And I came in and I was like, hmm, there was a lot of that missing. Samuel was literally going, going, um, om nom nom nom om nom and just eating it without even any hands. Fair. You didn't give him a full. It's his own Yeah, your own doing, to be honest. Would have been about five, six o'clock in the morning he'd done that. Fair. Just like a little mouse at night. Fair. Samuel is my man. Looked everywhere for my khaki's the other day. Um, my gran and auntie were over as well, and they started looking in the freezer because at this point we were like, it is nowhere. I have misplaced it. This is a Samuel mission that has happened here. Um Matthew started looking in the field where the sewage goes, like just nearby that, see if he could see it anywhere. You not got an air tag? On my keys, no, because they've never gone wonders before.

SPEAKER_01 16:57

Well, you've seen mine. Yeah, mine definitely has an air tag.

SPEAKER_00 17:01

Um, yeah, literally check the washing machine, the microwave, the dishwasher, the fridge, like everything. I even had my hand in the toilet. My toilet is bleached today, so it's not that bad. Um checked out on the farm, everywhere, and then I went to put my I've been wearing dealers because it's been quite like muddy but warm. Yeah, exactly. Um went to put my boots on randomly and I thought that bloomin'. It's the key ring that has a little stabby bit on it, went into my foot, and I thought, there we go, we found the keys. So Samuel's two, three, three.

SPEAKER_01 17:42

So sorry, we're going on a rant now, completely gone off subject of you being left alone for a week. It was part of the week. I had a young, I had a family that I used to babysit for, three kids. This was back fairly near the start of me babysitting for them. I reckon the youngest was about three. She wasn't fully chatty, but she did her bit. And I was actually at my dad's and I got a phone call from the kids basically being like, we've lost our rabbit, like their rabbit was everything, it was house-trained, it was it did go outside to sleep, but it would come in and it was house-trained and what have you. Like the love of their life. Anyway, the rabbit's gone missing. The rabbit is called lettuce. Don't ask, don't ask. I think that's really cute. Nothing to do with me. So, anyway, we have searched everywhere, everywhere. And anyway, so obviously, could not find the rabbit. We admitted defeat. That was that. Anyway, I don't know what happened. I can't remember whether India said something or they found it. She had gone, the youngest child of about three, she was definitely still in nursery. She had gone and put it in the play oven. She had put the full-blown rabbit in the oven. But like her little play worm. Uh obviously, we didn't think.

SPEAKER_00 19:11

Let me just clarify. This three-year-old had gone and taken their beloved pet rabbit and shoved it in the oven.

SPEAKER_01 19:19

At least it wasn't the real oven, I guess. But yeah, yeah, so go to show kids are a breed of their own. But you can imagine what that got that conversation was like. Yeah, yeah, I could. But the funny thing is, she knew everyone was going around looking for it. And she probably didn't funny. She did not bother to say I put it in the oven.

SPEAKER_00 19:41

Well, I asked Samuel a few times. I was like, Have you seen my keys, buddy? And he was like, Yeah. And I was like, Okay, can you show me where they are? And he'd lead me by the hand, he'd go, Dunno, I'll walk off again. They're little shits. I think they love the game of hide and seek too much, they're too committed. Or do you think they genuinely forget? Yeah, there's a lot of things that happen in there.

SPEAKER_01 20:04

But I think her nursery type teacher had a conversation with her, being like, Did you know it was in there? And she was like, Yeah. So it was like, Oh, this is worse than we think. Yeah, I I do wonder. Yeah, wait till Samuel's put in, I don't know, your dog in the play ever.

SPEAKER_00 20:22

Oh, dog's got no chance. Or Samuel's, I don't know who's got no chance, actually. Yeah, but at least a dog you to hear. Oh, I don't know. If Mallie's stuck somewhere, she won't tell you. Well, she's not. If someone comes into the yard, everyone knows, like the next parachover knows. Um, very, very vocal dogs that we've got, um, which is quite good. I don't want to change that about them. I like the fact that they're dogs, they make us aware. Um, but yeah, if you shut her in the lambing shed, or if you shut her in the car, or if you shut her wherever, you won't hear her, even when you're looking, she won't even scratch a door or anything.

unknown 20:56

What is it?

SPEAKER_00 20:56

Unless you don't want her to escape. No, she would just wait. She'd be like, Alright, come in to get me. Yeah, I'll sit here and wait patiently then. Yeah, literally. Just relies on us too heavy.

SPEAKER_01 21:08

Back to where you were. Your parents went away. You couldn't see where you were going.

SPEAKER_00 21:12

So day one, day two, day three, all good, really good. Um, got all the animals checked, everyone was really well behaved, nothing too untoward, few lambing sheep, um, cow looking like she's starting to calve.

SPEAKER_01 21:26

Um, didn't they?

SPEAKER_00 21:30

It was pretty good. Um, it wasn't nothing I would complain about, nothing that I thought they're not doing that again. I enjoyed it, I thought it was good. Okay. Um and then Ali's cleaning out sheds and everything else. Then it came to day four. Day four, we had a cow calving. All good. Me and Allie walked room from the field. The bull was being a bit of a he's young. He was being a young bull. Um, playing with us a bit as like we're walking down the field, like jumping high, head down, and we're thinking. This could get a bit dangerous in a minute, but it's alright at the moment. We're handling it. Um, so get past all that. The ball's fine after that. Um, walk her down, then the cow goes, Oh, I really want to stay by the troughs. She is pushing at this point. There's two feet out about knuckle length out, so not too far.

SPEAKER_01 22:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:18

For a cow calving, you wait until it's like full leg out, and then you expect the head to come. The nose. Um yeah, so it's still quite a way off. Um, and then she just refuses to move. She's just staying there, not moving at all, with this calve coming out of her, and we're like, is it gonna move? Um Ali tries pulling the calf, not pulling, pushing the calve up, uh the cow up, sorry, um, into the yard. Finally, after about 20 minutes, we get the cow and calve into a pen. She's still calving. Um, then every time we go and check on her, she turns around so we can only see her face. She knows what I think. She knew what she was doing. Yeah, she knew what she was doing. She didn't want us to see. Obviously, it's quite a ponderable situation for her to be in. Um, so we left her alone 20 minutes, came back, had a little look, came back again 20 minutes, came like all good, then done five minutes, Cav was outstanding, all good.

SPEAKER_01 23:19

Bloody lovely.

SPEAKER_00 23:20

Perfect. Then I go into the lambing field, and there are a swarm of crows overhead, literally on the fences, flying up, on the gates, on the grass, like waiting for us to exit the field. As soon as we leave the field, they just swarm on the alive lambs that are walking around.

SPEAKER_02 23:42

Oh no.

SPEAKER_00 23:42

They're not crows, they're um the ones with the big, horrible beaks. What, like rooks? Yes, rooks. The rooks literally came and attacked the lambs. Lost about five lambs that day. So I as soon as I realised what was happening, I literally moved them into the silage field. I was like, I don't even give a shit right now for going into the silage field. Um, then I rang my dad so I didn't get in trouble. I was like, you're right if I move the sheep into the silage field because I've already done it. No, I didn't say that, but I was like, um, Gran told me I better ask you before I do it. But I've done it anyway. Stop painting me out here. Sorry. Um and he goes, Yeah, if if it means that they're gonna be able to do it. Did you actually say spring before or after? After what what is that?

unknown 24:29

After.

SPEAKER_01 24:30

What what was that?

SPEAKER_00 24:31

I've done it after.

SPEAKER_01 24:33

I knew you would.

SPEAKER_00 24:35

Um, but I think it was because the up in 10 acres, our top field, um, it's actually 11 acres, bit of a weird name for an 11-acre field, isn't it? Um so 10 acres is planted full of corn. Obviously, the birds like the seed, they're going down to get it. Um, and then I think whilst they're in the waiting room ready to get some more seed, they're going, oh, next door, have some lovely meat there we can have. Yeah, that's a bit more tasty. Yeah. And then I think that's why they came. So I moved them to the field on from that, which is only just connecting to the cornfield. And we haven't had a problem since. That's good. I did bring our You could go home and they're all gone.

unknown 25:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:13

I did bring our man that comes and shoots for us. And um, I was like, hey, could you come ASAP and help us, please? Yeah. Um, I think we need some warning shots in the air right now. We know, but um it only takes to do one and leave it there. Yeah, that's that was the plan. I asked him to tie one on the gate. Yeah. Um, for anyone that's not listening, if a rook or a bird or not listening. I hope they're listening. Not knowing what we're on about. Sorry, that was so bad. Um for anyone that's not knowing what we're on about right now, it's um birds hate it when they see another bird of their type dead.

SPEAKER_01 25:48

They'll stay away from it, um, because they kind of know they're in danger.

SPEAKER_00 25:52

Yeah. So um, that's why if something like that happens, you want one dead and you want one on a gate or just in the field or anywhere. The shed. Yeah. So they won't come in the shed. Yeah. So um that was the plan. Um unfortunately, our shooter was really poorly that day.

SPEAKER_01 26:08

Oh, so did you carry your aftercare?

SPEAKER_00 26:11

I sent Matthew out. I had the kids.

SPEAKER_01 26:13

Oh, yeah. Um, yep, Samuel, come on!

SPEAKER_00 26:16

Come on, my lovely. Um, yeah, he just sent a few warning shots up. Um that's that done it. Well done. Our shooter came the day after, sorted the problem, and we're all good now. Well done. So I've popped them back into the field they were originally in. No, and board Leicesters that were in that. No, no, no, borderless. Oh, of course they're separate, aren't they?

SPEAKER_01 26:36

Because of MV.

SPEAKER_00 26:37

What a no secret about my board Leicesters. They're all dead. No, I'm Jake. No. I warned you that they die. They're not dead, none of them are dead. Um I've snuck them into my neighbour's garden.

SPEAKER_01 26:52

Why do I have a feeling you told me this?

SPEAKER_00 26:54

I did. I told you just before I was gonna do it.

SPEAKER_01 26:56

Were you on the phone? Yeah. Was it the time that I quickly hung up? Well, not hung up on you, but I've got to.

SPEAKER_00 27:01

No, it was the longer convo.

SPEAKER_01 27:04

Oh. Well, I've also.

SPEAKER_00 27:07

The grass was very overgrown.

SPEAKER_01 27:09

Well, why not?

SPEAKER_00 27:11

If they're in need of a bit of a lawnmower situation, yeah, they've eaten out all the ivy on the hedge. Beautiful. They found some loads of glass bottles. They love ivy. It's a natural wormer, isn't it? D wormer. Yeah, so they kind of like eat it as and when they need it.

SPEAKER_01 27:28

That's quite good.

SPEAKER_00 27:29

Yeah, so um done they've done the gardening for them, but they're due out now.

SPEAKER_01 27:35

To be fair, I've um separated out my ewes and my lambs this week. Okay. So mine are seemed to go. Yeah. No, I needed to do it before Devon County, so it've been weaned off. So I've got a group of ewes, old well, shearing ewes and older ewes. Got a field of lambs. There are one mother and lamb in there that you met last week. Not last week, the last time you came. There's one girl. Basically, I did put her into Ram. She still hasn't udded up or anything. No. So I either don't know whether she's just not in LAM, which actually is quite good because she'll be then timed right for next year, or she's still not quite there yet. She's not bagged up at all, but admittedly she bagged up really last minute last time she lambmed. But she looks pregnant. She looks pregnant, but I don't know whether it's because she's had two sets of twins before that she just looks like she's quite low. Do you say she's already lambed?

SPEAKER_00 28:35

No, this year or last year.

SPEAKER_01 28:37

Last year. Um last yeah, so I'm gonna show you how it's quite obvious that they have pregnant when they're pregnant, aren't they? Well, I'm gonna show you. She looks in lamb.

SPEAKER_00 28:53

Yeah. Okay. She's either really fat or she's in lamb, but that's a weird area to hold fat for a sheep.

SPEAKER_01 28:59

Yeah. And definitely a valet.

SPEAKER_00 29:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:02

So anyway, she's gone outside now. We've given up. That's fine because it's warmer weather. Well no, she's experienced llama, so I'm not worried about her. Um, she did need help last year, but that was because she was so big. Yeah. Um, with a set of twins. Um, but the field I've got them in, there it's basically somebody else's couple of acres. How many acres would you say it is?

SPEAKER_00 29:28

Six? Would you say I wouldn't say it's that much? Five I won't say Are we on about the one up above the beautiful property?

SPEAKER_01 29:37

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I wouldn't say that maybe I'll go four or five. Okay, I was gonna go three. Um anyway, so they're in there. The owners are aware of the situation anyway, so they said they'll just call me if they see anything odd. Um, but like I said, she's a fantastic mum anyway, so I'm not really worried. So we might have more to come. Guaranteed she'll lamb at Devon County, like while I've gone to Devon County. Um, and then all the lambs are in there with them, so and then I've got all the rams back at the farm in the stables.

SPEAKER_00 30:12

Nice. Yes. I bet you've got lots of people interested in buying.

SPEAKER_01 30:17

It's a bit busy, a bit busy on the ob messages at the minute.

SPEAKER_00 30:20

So um you need like a PA for the month.

SPEAKER_01 30:23

Yes, yes. So um, but you came and saw my Rams. You saw my sheep last time you came down. Yeah, they were a little bit excited.

SPEAKER_00 30:33

I said to Abby, I went, uh, that one wants to headbutt me.

SPEAKER_01 30:36

And you kind of like shrugged it off as if like Lenny's really good, he's got a heart of gold, and I basically revved him up a bit too much. He got too excited with the situation, and then decided to headbutt me.

SPEAKER_00 30:50

So Abby like really confidently ran off because I was like, No, that ram is gonna headbutt me. And like I wouldn't usually mind if a ram headbutted me, but if I were to hit him in the head to stop him, to like snap him out of it. It's a solid head, it's a solid head because of the horns. Yeah, and I thought, either way, this is gonna hurt me a lot. And he's I think he's 110 kilos. Yeah, and like Val because of their horns, Valet's heads are huge.

SPEAKER_01 31:15

Yeah. And anyway, he just he's like I said, got a heart of gold. But basically, if you rev him up too much, which unfortunately I'm not I did um he got a little bit excited.

SPEAKER_00 31:27

Yeah, so you like ran off with him, didn't you, to try and get me out of the gate? I don't know if that was planned, but that's what I took it as. Yeah, so you got out and then I dealt with it. And then you walked away as if it was fine, that and then he went for you again, didn't he?

SPEAKER_01 31:40

Yeah, so I had to like walk backwards just so then because if I turned around, he would have gone for me because he thinks it's a game.

SPEAKER_00 31:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:46

Um, so I just sort of walked backwards with my like head in front of him, like Lenny, can you just stop? Because he just he just wants to be there with you. Like that was not a there with you, that was a I want you on the floor. No, but like when I go and feed them, like he's always first to come, he's always first for a cuddle. He was just playful. See, like now when they're at the stables, I'll literally sit on the floor with them, like yeah, horn height. So I'm he's got a heart cold. I'm not worried about him in the slightest.

SPEAKER_00 32:16

No, I'm not saying you should be, I just thought it was quite comical. But if I do run, he does. He finds it funny.

SPEAKER_01 32:21

Yeah, he thinks you're fine. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:23

Game on.

SPEAKER_01 32:24

Yeah, he's like, if you're running, I'm head button. It's a game. If I catch you, I've won.

SPEAKER_00 32:30

When we first got Blue, our dog, border collie crossed beagle, really weird mix. He was a we his we're his third home. Um, when we first got him, if you ran, he'd bite your ankles because he thought game on fair.

SPEAKER_01 32:45

I might do the same thing.

SPEAKER_00 32:46

If you run, I'll bite your ankle. Of course you bloody would. I don't put it past you.

SPEAKER_01 32:51

No, but it is weird what they think is a game and what's a but in all fairness, sheep do headbutt each other as a bit of a just a game. They do. Like, yes, obviously sometimes they're border kind of thing. They do it to fight at the same time, but they also just do it as like, oh my two little ram lambs, they were going at it. Were they like it wasn't much going on because like I said, they're there any lambs, and um the next oldest who's just over a year old, like he was trying to get in the middle to like break him up, and it was just so sweet to watch. I wish I videoed it. That is so cute. I know. So potentially still a couple more lambs to come. If she's in lamb, I think she's twins. Yeah, I think she's single.

SPEAKER_00 33:38

Yeah, it could be either. It's been quite a while now.

SPEAKER_01 33:40

But she's not bagged up at all.

SPEAKER_00 33:42

She should have lamb by now. I did leave her for six weeks. Yeah, I was gonna say the Ram still this time. It's fine. Guessing game, we'll have a guessing game. We do, I still can't believe it's on your second year lambing. Surprise, yeah. Mental, isn't it? I feel like you've had valleys for years.

SPEAKER_01 33:58

Ages. I know, and I think other people think that. Yeah, but I'm still very new to it, and that's why like when people message me being like, Have you got any breeding stock that's to sell? Blah blah blah. I'm like, I'm barely even there myself, like I'm still building my flock.

SPEAKER_00 34:15

Yes, but then I suppose you've been in the situation where you can enable that, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 34:20

But like I said, it's just very hard when somebody is like, Have you got anything to sell? And I'm like, Well, no, because I've only bought stuff I want to keep for myself long term, therefore, anything I'm breeding back through, obviously I want to keep for myself to get my numbers up.

SPEAKER_00 34:34

So then you really start to struggle, like you've got no breeding stock to sell currently, but yeah, but then you'll get to a position eventually where you're happy with the numbers you've got and yeah, you just sell the best of the best. Yeah, so wait like two years down the line to see if you want to keep or not and then sell from there.

SPEAKER_01 34:54

Yeah, numbers are getting up there, so it's fine.

unknown 34:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 34:57

How many are you aiming for? Um depends on how much land I get to to roam with. What would make you content? What number I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 35:08

The number I lambed was lovely this year. But was that 30? 12? 12 in one lot, but actually I could probably go up to like Sometimes I just think if you're doing it, you may as well like do 20 or 30.

SPEAKER_00 35:22

How many do you have altogether that land this year?

SPEAKER_01 35:26

I had 12 that lambed, plus the two extras.

SPEAKER_00 35:29

Why did I think it was 30, or was it a 30 including?

SPEAKER_01 35:31

No, I I've got like 36 sheep or something at the moment. Maybe that's what I'm making me think then. So then that's what I'm saying, like, may as well just get on and lamb 30 sheep.

SPEAKER_00 35:40

Yeah. Just do it all at once.

SPEAKER_01 35:42

I have to have some commercials next.

SPEAKER_00 35:45

That'll be quite difficult though to manage.

SPEAKER_01 35:47

I just want some orphan lambs. Some orphan lambs. I've got everyone says oh, they're difficult and hard work, you've got to feed them. And I'm like, I got all the time in the world.

SPEAKER_00 35:56

Your garden's quite good as well. Definitely have some lambs in there. Scott would say not.

SPEAKER_01 36:02

Luckily, it's not Scott's garden. When it is Scott's Garden, we've got a problem. Never moving, just so I can always call it my garden. My garden, it's mine. Yeah. It's fine. No, I don't know. Sometimes I do think orphan lambs would be fine.

SPEAKER_00 36:18

Just get them up to a certain weight and it sounds like a good idea at the time. When it comes to it, you'll be like, uh get an automatic feeder.

SPEAKER_01 36:30

It'll be fine.

SPEAKER_00 36:32

They'll just raise themselves. Pretty much. Yeah, just put some nuts out when you feel like it. Pretty much. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 36:39

Simple as that. No, but there's occasionally like bits of grazing that Scott's got in certain fields. But I wouldn't put my sheep, my pedigree sheep on those certain bits of land. Rough. Yeah, a bit weedy, bit a bit boggy.

SPEAKER_00 36:58

Sheep will eat weeds. A bit boggy. A bit boggy. Your breed of sheep might not be used at all.

SPEAKER_01 37:02

I also get very funny about the safety of my sheep in case. Not that valet are often stolen, but they have been stolen. Yeah. I've known of them being stolen because they're value, but I would try to think if some of mine got stolen at the price they're worth.

unknown 37:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 37:20

They're in short though, aren't they?

SPEAKER_01 37:21

Obviously, I know it doesn't replace the animal. That's what I'm saying. So that's why I always like the stuff that's closest to me to be the valet. I wouldn't like stuff on other farms that's valet sort of thing. Yeah. So yeah, that's why I'm really lucky. Like with the lambs being so close to that house, they're safe there. So they get biscuits all the time, so it's fine.

SPEAKER_00 37:42

I still don't know how you get your sheep to eat biscuits. Have you tried yours yet? They couldn't care less. What biscuits? We've tried ginger nut, we've tried digestive, so we've tried rich teas, we've f tried um what's the other one? Hobnobs. Um custard creams, yeah. Come on, come on down.

SPEAKER_01 38:00

So what else happened? So you've lost some lambs.

unknown 38:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 38:04

You had a cat, one calf, two cows calved. Um the white park I picked for breeding three years ago. Um, she lambed for her second time this year. So in our first year of picking them for breeding, we don't put them at ball, they're just running with the herd. Yeah. Um, so she she lambed. I said she lambed, didn't I? She calved this year. Um, and her calf was huge, like the leggiest thing I've ever seen in my life. Um, so she's got a really good calve. Um went both flots went to suck straight away.

SPEAKER_01 38:40

Boy, girl.

SPEAKER_00 38:43

One of each. White Park had a female. Oh, right, yeah. Yeah. Um, and then the other one was called Brindle, the one that calved first. She's another one.

SPEAKER_01 38:51

So you name all yours then.

SPEAKER_00 38:53

We've only got about 35 breeding cows. The rest we do as stores. Um, so our numbers with cow are between the one and two hundred mark. Yeah. Um, so these 35, they this one of them's 18. So they do kind of get a net or a reputation or something. Do you write on their radar tag or just them? No, just know them. Um, like I said, there's only 35, they're all mixed breeds. Um, so no one looks the same particularly like each other.

SPEAKER_01 39:22

I think we've got the only problem I've got this year, they all look so good that they all look so similar. Yeah. So Courtney like I sent a video and she's like, oh my god, who's that? And I'm like, I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 39:35

Um, yeah, so we've got we've got a fewer names. We've got my two pedigree registered Herefords and the pedigree registered bull, we were all set up for pedigrees, and all they've ever done is bull calves.

SPEAKER_01 39:49

Sorry. Something that's come to mind. Deadline is the 15th of June for borderless to register them. Yeah, I know that, yeah. Lovely job, just wanted to check. Yeah, all good. Sorry, it just came to my head that you needed to register them and it came up on my Facebook. Why that's so weird. I know, and it said like deadline, and I was like, oh my god, does Maria know that? And I saw it last night, so I was like, I don't need to pay.

SPEAKER_00 40:11

It's not like the dead deadline, it's the deadline before you have to pay to register. Do you guys do that?

SPEAKER_01 40:17

We have to pay either way.

SPEAKER_00 40:19

Oh, really? Yeah, I'll um do it as free if you do it before the 15th. Yeah.

unknown 40:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 40:25

I can't watch it with society so far. I I think it's a very warming one.

SPEAKER_01 40:30

On weather well, you don't have to DNA tests yours, do you? No. So we do. That's more the problem. So you can register like a weather for free, um, but like you because they need a DNA test, and Rams need a DNA test. So that's why ours probably cost yeah, a lot more.

SPEAKER_00 40:51

Yeah. Well, I think in like when it comes to a board Leicester, I think you're either talking pedigree or it's a crossbreed. Yeah. Um whereas with a valet because they're also pets as well. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 41:02

I mean just in it's such a close-knit sort of DNA lines.

SPEAKER_00 41:07

Yeah. So I I think the DNA testing is warranted.

SPEAKER_01 41:11

Yeah. Yeah, that is very true. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 41:14

Right. Shall we sign off for this week? We will, absolutely. Um, before we go though, um, we have got three or four left in the Proud to Be Farmers hoodies.

SPEAKER_01 41:26

I think there's only I think there's two of each, two on the red, two on the green. Um, I can't remember what sizes, you'll have to check the website. Um, I will get a restock in ASAP, but get one while you can. The normal hoodies and tops are fully in stock, but you guys decided to use your discount code on those last week. So get one while you can. Um at thefarmafiles.com. There you go. Right. We will sign off for now, but we will see you next week. Bye for now. Bye.