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The Farm
The farm is a working farm and as you would
expect is a bustling and busy place. All through the year there are
many activities going on which any guests at Regilbury Farm Holiday Cottages
are more than welcome to watch. We have 60 dairy cows (Holstein
Friesians) which are milked twice a day. We also have 75 sheep, beef cattle
and dairy young stock; also 6000 free range chickens!
As the year starts we have calves being born and around the end of January
the lambing starts so cute little lambs aplenty! There are many
natural events happening at the farm which we cherish. In January on
cold, clear nights you can here the courtship of foxes in the evening as the
vixen screeches her discontent at her male pursuers and males bark out their
territories. In March the Rooks have the first mouths to feed of the
new year. Then as the first green burst through and the Blue Bells
usher in the spring we eagerly await the first swallow, and the end of a
long winter is in sight.
Then the most amazing dawn chorus welcomes in each day and the birds begin
their annual race to reproduce. As the spring progresses we move the
animals back into the fields from their winter housing and the busy summer
starts with silage making, hay making, straw, and planting and harvesting of
all kinds. During this time of new plenty we see the young of the new
year with badgers, foxes, Roe deer and even Barn owls all plentiful and
regular sights, especially if you choose to go badger watching in the
evenings. As the summer progresses we shear the sheep and the lambs go
to market, the crops ripen and the build up to winter begins.
In the autumn we harvest our maize for the cows to eat over the winter.
We also collect apples from our orchard and make cider as our family has
for the past 200 years. You are more than welcome to try some of the
cider, but be careful it is quite strong!
As the year continues and autumn turns into winter, we again bring the cows
into to their winter housing and wait for the return of over-wintering birds such as the Fieldfare and
Redwing from Scandinavia. As the winter progresses we snuggle in by the fire and await for
the cold crisp nights and clear days of mid-winter and warm company of the
Christmas Season, then the cycle begins again... |
