So much to do, but where to start ?

Greetings all,
Been trolling this site since December.
Thanks for your advice so far on my hot water (or lack of it).
Bought 11 acres (probably 8 acres worth of grazing), West Melton area in Jan this year. New at this farming lark, lots and lots to learn. Babysitting 2 x 18 month old steers. own 6 x ewes (2 preggy ones) and 1 x wether destined for the freezer. I'm thinking that the previous owners didn't do much with the pastures. Will take on board all the advice about fertilizer etc already in these forums.
I'm a shift worker, and there's so much to do on the block to bring it to it's best. Who needs sleep???
Come Christmas I want to have a pet goat, and a pet kune kune. Would appreciate any advice on having a pet kune kune, ie, housing / sty and food requirements. I'm told they dont root, and can't handle the cold, true???
I have a smallish paddock (maybe 25 x 70 m) that i want to have as an orchid. Can anybody recommend some fruit trees suitable for Christchurch climates? Tried and true please, can't always trust what the books say.

That's all, just love this LSB site. So much helpful advice, theories and opinions.
Thanks
Linda
( & a labrador, 2 cats, 3 frogs, 17 tropical fish, 3 guinea pigs, 2 rabbits )

Hi, Linda -- welcome to the site!

KK pigs do fine in the winter, just need plenty of deep bedding, and if they don't have good grazing, they need either baleage or hard feed or both (ours get boiled barley and baleage in winter).

Goats need more than one goat, ideally, and make sure your fences are good! Their herd instinct is really strong, which is why you need at least two. They can still be excellent pets, even with two together. If they are reared together, they will behave like siblings, and be quite close, as well as being close to you.

That said, pigs area also better with at least one other for company, especially in winter, when they bury themselves in the straw and keep close for warmth. Younger KK pigs will root, but it's nothing compared to a longer-snouted pig, as their shorts snouts aren't able to root much. We've been breeding and rearing them for about 10 years now, and we notice that the young ones will root a wee bit when they are a few months old, but this behaviour stops after they are a few months old. They really don't do much damage at all.

Talk to the folks at Southernwoods in Templeton - they should have bareroot fruit trees available now, and they are fairly good with their advice. You'll need a lot of soil amendment with your planting in West Melton - the soils can be pretty lean there (have several friends who live in West Melton, including several goat friends who are happy to help!).