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Our Life at Denbury Farm Blog 30th July 2017

After a night of heavy rain we woke to find a flock of fifteen Canadian Geese on the hill in the horse field. It could have been that they rested overnight in the field because of the heavy rain. When I first noticed them they were grazing but they didn’t stay long after we had seen them and flew off to the southwest. 

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Our Life at Denbury Farm Blog 29th July 2017

We have three type of deer visit Denbury Farm. The Red and Roe Deer regularly come, in fact most days we see them in the valley and very often also at the Badger feeding area. Most nights this week I have seen a Red Deer hind eating the corn we put down. The Badgers take little notice of them, but the fox doesn’t usually stay around to long. Since the Red have been feeding we haven’t seen much of the Roe, only once this week.

This year we have seen more Red than we have for a few years. There are many herds on the Quantock Hills and Exmoor that are very close to the farm. Some of those who have been watching the webcams for many years may have remembered seeing a large herd rutting in the valley many Autumns ago.

The other deer we have visit is a Muntjac Deer. A  week ago I saw one in the valley, it would have been the first I had seen for many years. Before I realised it was a Muntjac I started to look for a Roe Deer hind believing it to be a fawn as it was so small, it was a fair way away from where I was working but I soon realised it was a Muntjac by it being a more reddish colour than a Roe. It hadn’t noticed me working on the webcam and stayed around grazing for a good ten minutes. We are very lucky having the wildlife we have at Denbury Farm.

 

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Our Life at Denbury Farm Blog 27th July 2017

At our Granddaughter Lexi’s  school every year at about March time they have a competition for the children to get the longest carrot and the heaviest potato. The two years ago she participated and Lexi had the heaviest potato. Unfortunately as usual for me I only glanced the letter from the school and instead of the carrot being the biggest it needed to be the longest. Lexi had the biggest but not the longest. This March gone her potato wasn’t very heavy and although we had a very long carrot, by the time that it was due to be taken into school it had gone rotten, and Lexi wouldn’t take it in. She didn’t do well and it was no help to hear Lexi’s teacher say that the parents at the school were very competitive. That was a challenge I couldn’t ignore.

Latish May we started to take up the challenge and purchased a few large growing seed potato’s called Kondor and a small packet of giant carrot seeds. We purchased a good few bags of the best bagged soil, various potato and carrot fertilisers and other items that I was told would help in our quest to grow some monster. LOL

Lexi helped to plant a few carrot seeds and after they had started to shoot we planted them in the containers as in the photo. To get longest giant carrots they need to be grown in a high tub in the hope they will grow long. The potato’s are easier to grow in a containers as you need to take reduce the amount that are growing under the soil to one potato per plant, then all of  the goodness the potato’s are getting go into a single potato. Mrs Farmer did that yesterday. The photo is of just a third of what she harvested. We ate the rest last night, they were very tasty. The four potatoes plants were planted at the end of May from just four plants, so we go a lot of potatoes. She left a few of the largest to grow we hope into winners. We are keeping our fingers crossed.

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Our life at Denbury Farm Blog 26th July 2017

I don’t reckon it will be long before the Fox Cubs will be leaving their parents and start looking for their own territory. Not many make it on their own, especially dog fox. Many will not survive to their first birthday and will die one way or the other before they are a year old. The Vixen fair a bit better, but many of those wont survive either. Many will be shot. A lot will be hunted and ripped apart by hunting dogs and a lot will just not manage on their own.

Obviously we see fox on the farm and around where we live, but other than at their breeding times in the spring and part of the summer, very often we won’t see a fox for weeks and we actively encourage and look for them. There are also no organised hunts in our area that are keeping the fox numbers down. I well believe there are more urban fox than those in the countryside.

We do at times loose a chicken or two, and have seen a fox take one. Last year a holiday guest saw out of their cottage window a fox kill a chicken. They ran outside to frighten it away, but were to late. The fox left the chicken. 

When those who support hunting preach that fox hunting controls vermin and keeps their number down to manageable numbers, they are preaching rubbish. Nature will control their numbers.  Some hunt employees have been caught keeping cubs and young fox to release just before a days hunting. Other have been caught digging fox out of their dens or send terriers down badger holes where a fox has gone into hide. They wouldn’t need to if there were that many around.

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23rd July 2017

Another surprise this morning with the arrival of an other baby Llama (Cria). Really wasn’t expecting any more for another couple of months. We now have 10 Llama, a lot more that I wanted. It was good for our holiday guests as it had been born within an hour of them seeing it with its mother still cleaning it.

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22nd July 2017

Just a quick update. We have taken Kez twice to be mated. Although Benson her boyfriend has been very keen, no mating had taken place, it was a bit too early. We sent blood away last Wednesday for progesterone test to see what part of her cycle she is in. The readings were low but we still took her to see Benson as Tass was riding her and we didn’t want to take a chance that we would miss any chance of a mating and getting Kez pregnant. Another blood test was taken yesterday (Friday) and the results were phoned to us today at 1.30.pm.It was good news, Kez is ready for mating today and tomorrow. Mad dash to finish cleaning the holiday cottages for our new guests that arrive a 4.pm so that we could get over to Benson as soon as possible. To Mrs Farmers surprise the roads were clear and being that the journey of about 10 miles is mostly on holiday routes it was a fast journey.
Initially Kez and Benson were pleased to see each other. Benson knew straight away his luck was in and straight away he tried to mount Kez. I don’t know what Kez was expecting, but for sure it was not what Benson was going to do and she wasn’t having none of it, pulling away and wanting to get back into the car as quick as possible. A big disappointment for Benson as it meant that Kez would have to artificial inseminated. The Ai was done and Kez will go back on Monday to be done again. Now it is a case of keeping our fingers crossed.    Photos is Benson and Kez

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19th July 2017

We have just got back from the vets after taking Kez our German Shepherd for blood to be taken for a progesterone test to check the levels to see what part of her mating cycle she is in and when she is liable to ovulate, so we can have her mated. We tried to mate her in March but it was a bit hit and miss without a test, so this season we are not taking a chances. On saying that it could be we have missed it. If we haven’t the test will give us a good idea of when she ovulates and if we need to test again. The test are very accurate and the results we will know tomorrow. We are keeping our fingers crossed.

Tass our other bitch was from Pup another dog we had bred but she did not get pregnant. We subsequently found out that the dog we were using was not fertile. It was a shame for up to Tass she was the fourth generation, all have been great dogs, being very kind and loyal. Tass is now getting on for twelve, as she didn’t have puppies we had to purchase Kez. Kez is also a very kind and a loyal dog. Everyone who knows oue dogs believe she is related to Tass. She has taken our two new miniature Dachshunds puppies as her own as has Tass and the pair of them mothered the two puppies from them first being introduced.

The dog we hope to mate Kez with is Benson a white long haired German Shepherd. He has the same temperament as our German Shepherds. Very kind, loyal and no malice. If she has puppies we will keep one to carry on to after Kez. I will let you know the results of the test.

 

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17th July 2017

Over the many years we have lived at Denbury Farm we have always had Buzzard nesting. Although we have looked high and low we have never found a nest. They build 2 or 3 nests and will use them in alternative years. Last year they were nesting very close to the farm house in the wood. We saw both the parents and their young hunting the valley. The fledgling very often on a post waiting for their feed. This year they are at the other end of the valley nesting deep in the woods at the top of a high tree. the parents can be seen using the thermals to soar high in the sky and hovering above seeking rabbits and vermin to feed themselves and their chicks.

Over he weekend friends visited to check out our wildlife. They often come and give us interesting sightings. On searching the wood they came across this years nesting site. The parents gave the location away for instead of trying to distract them in the wrong direction as they were very noisy trying to get the chicks to leave the nest. Yesterday afternoon we spent an hour  to find the nest searching the area they had seen them. This time the adults were flying above calling out to distract us. It worked, after an hour we gave up and waited in the adjacent field in the hope they would go back to the nest. It didn’t happen. This evening  we heard the chicks calling. Chances are they have not fledged.

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16th July 2017

The Badger feeding web cam has been very busy over the past few months. A Vixen with 3 cubs has been feeding there. They wait to pounce on the food as soon as it has been put down. The Badgers have been coming out to feed very late so to make sure they get some of the feed we have to put it out a lot later. We have only seen 6 Badgers this year although over the past few weeks its been only been 4.
Unfortunately there has been no cubs this year, it does happen some years and it could be with the visiting fox family they are living in a satellite sett to keep the cubs out of any danger of the fox family. Also visiting the feeding area is a big dog fox who tries to chase away every other animal feeding. The badgers usually manage to keep him under control. We have also had a lot of deer visiting the feed area this year, it has been since we started to put corn feed down. It has mostly been Red Deer, but now and then the Roe Deer come where it was always the Roe.

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14th July 2017

I am going to do an update for those people who have been watching the web cams for many year and remembers the Diary. Thornton as you can see by the photo is still going strong. He must now be getting on for ten years old as is his sister Truffle. All the sheep are partial to ginger nut biscuits that some of our holiday guests spoil them with. We still have Mr Turkey (Christmas that Mrs Farmer doesn’t like me calling him) Gilbert the Quinea Fowl Mr Turkey best friend. Mr Cochinton their friend died of old age last year and a very colourful cross breed cockerel Toddy now make up the gang of three inseparable bachelor boys. Our pair of Llama are now nine and we still have four horse Breeze, Sprite, Bliss and Suzzie. We have several exotic animals other than the Meerkats that now number 20 that over the weeks I will tell you about. So as you can see Denbury Farm hasn’t changed much other than an increase in numbers.