East Essex Smallholders Chitchat

Problems reading this email?       Check Your Ewes After Lambing       Keep a close eye on your ewes after lambing. Watch out for the signs of Mastitis, a painful condition affecting the ewe’s udder. Check any ewes that appear lame on a hind limb, or who seem reluctant to feed their lambs – butting them away when they try to suck; it may be a sore udder that is causing them to behave this way, and if the lambs are left hungry you should consider bottle-feeding. See our DVD 'The Breeding Flock' for information on conditions that can affect ewes post-lambing.               Things to do this month! May is another busy month. The days are lengthening and there have been some beautifully warm days to help the growth in your vegetable plot. The warm weather can bring early cases of flystrike though - so keep an eye on your flock. There are lots of useful seasonal tips on our website. Here are a few: Avoid turning lambs out onto pastures that carried lambs the previous year. Check your hen coop regularly for eggs, if left too long it may encourage egg pecking or eating – and once the habit is formed it’s very difficult to stop. Your pigs will enjoy a daily ‘grooming’ session with a stiff brush. Hoe in the morning so the sun desiccates the uprooted weeds, and water in the evening when the heat of the day is gone. Keep up with all your smallholding tasks with our comprehensive guides to sheep,chickens, pigs and the vegetable garden. Just click on an image below.                     New on our Website Article of the Month Lambing 5 - The Growing Lamb Moredun Health Bulletin Neosporosis: a major cause of reproductive failure in cattle Green Farm Diary The joys of Spring, lambing & new chicks NADIS Health Alert Non-parasitic skin conditions in sheep Advice from Hush Farms Trailer Training - be confident in manoeuvring your vehicle and trailer Recipe of the Month Asparagus Frittata with Soft Cheese and Chives                         Feedback We really appreciate getting feedback from our customers - your views on our DVDs, suggestions for articles you'd find useful / helpful, and how you initially heard of us. You can leave feedback by emailing us - see the feedback page on our website. Real Smallholders Do you have an interesting story about your smallholding? How you achieved your dream, or the variety of livestock you have? Maybe you have new products you would like to promote. We'd love to feature you in our 'Real Smallholders' section. Just email us, and we'll send you details of what to include in your story. Weekly Bulletins Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for weekly smallholding news.

---

Click to view this email in a browser  If you no longer wish to receive these emails, please reply to this message with "Unsubscribe" in the subject line or simply click on the following link: Unsubscribe

---

The Smallholder Series Green Farm Blackwells End Hartpury, Gloucestershire GL19 3DB UK Read the VerticalResponse marketing policy.