Wanganui couple

Hi All,
We are hoping to be back on our small farm in Wanganui in a few months. We are in the process of re-building after our home was lost in a fire last year. We currently run cattle – no sheep as we are too busy with our jobs for that. Once back at home I would like to get a few chickens and a daisy cow going then maybe get a dozen calves to rear. We are trying for a baby at the moment and I can not imagine anything more perfect than taking a new baby out to get fresh milk/cream from the daisy cow, stop in to pick up a few eggs from the chook run, pick some fresh fruit from the orchid, then grab some spinach and herbs from the garden before heading back to cook up breakfast...ahh, I can’t wait!

Welcome to the site, New Beginnings, and sorry to hear about the fire can understand how excited you must be to be heading back onto the land

Hello!

I am also really sorry to hear about the fire. That must have been horrible and devastating. It sounds like you are making some great new plans and I too like the sound of your breakfast walk!

Have you considered putting in a domestic fire sprinkler system in your new house? For rural properties they make a lot of sense. For many rural house fires, because of the speed of the fire and the distance to the property, the fire service really can only put out the embers to stop the fire spreading to other things. The cost depends on the house size but can be very roughly from $2000-$10,000

Hi newbeginnings and welcome to lsb

Good luck with your fresh start and the baby-making [}][]

Cheers
Kate

Hi newbeginnings, it's an exciting time for you. I just want to say that although your breakfast walk sounds romantic and lovely, I'm sitting here with my nearly-4-month-old daughter FINALLY asleep on my lap, with my eyelids feeling rather heavy, wondering if I'll have the energy to cook dinner tonight or whether once again that will be my hubby's job when he gets home from work. Since my daughter was born at Christmas, I've not had more than 4 hours of sleep in a single stretch, and I'm more than a little tired! (She is getting better - we've identified a few allergies and life is improving), but all I can say is don't overcommit yourself! I'm in the process of selling up my pigs, and I've let all my breeding groups of chickens run together so I only have 1 pen of chickens to feed instead of 4 (and often DH has to do them himself after work), and I've dried off all my cows, simply because at the moment it's all I can do to survive the day with the baby, get some washing done etc. (And for the record I'm not a lazy person, I'm just very very sleep deprived).
So I guess all I can say is don't overcommit yourself when your baby is new! You need to be able to give them your full attention if they need it. Not trying to be a downer, but just thought I'd let you know how my romantic ideals turned out not to be quite so easy!

Ditto what piglet has said, and remember that farms are very, very dangerous places for children. Some die in drains, some in electric fences, others by motor vehicles, and most get injured by the tame (or wild) animals. I know my cows, and they know me, but I have a couple that get dangerous when they have a new calf. I can tell my 19 and 21 year olds to keep out of the calving paddock, but I would have had difficulty getting them to obey when they were younger than about 7 yo.

Hi guys and welcome to the site also. My first words of wisdom to any new farmer is a negative but one that most on here will agree with ... do not under any circumstances EVER get a hand reared Ram. They can be lethal - especially with children. Other than that - have fun!

I like the Ansair bodied MAN Midi that Tranzit CityLink Wanganui have got there