Latest Newsletter

Never ending cycle at Moon Ridge

There is a definite freshness to the air in the mornings and the days are shortening fast, so after a beautiful summer, Autumn is just round the corner, very late this year hardly any trees have lost their leaves yet even after all this stormy weather The deer in the park have been rutting, the bucks have made a mess of the fences this year as they removed their velvet, a little repair work is much needed .The billy goat has gone in with the nannies ready for March kidding. The Australian species still don’t seem to have their timing right as there are baby joeys in the wallaby pouches, I expect they will start to venture out around mid-winter; the black swans have started displaying to each other, they and the Cereopsis are normally down on eggs by Christmas

As I write this DEFRA are due in tomorrow to do their yearly blood test for the avian flu survey, a random selection of geese will be selected. Until recently quail were tested as well , however it was decided they were low risk , ours being a closed flock for over ten years and not in contact with wild birds . The testing should only take an hour or so I hope the paper work taking about the same of if not longer. Although extra work for us, we think it is good that DEFRA are still be vigilant. (Been and gone now all test results were good)

Back to the here and now we are still getting reports of red mite infestations from customers so please be vigilant. The smite products ( we stock here) and use our selves, treating all our stock and boarding chickens with the product as well as using in all housing and nest boxes seems to very effective and we have had great positive feedback from customers that have used it .

There seems to be a terrific crop of hedgerow fruit this year this year, acorns included which our deer, pigs and goats love. If you have goats or sheep just be cautious of acorn poisoning we find it better to let the animals have access under the oak trees constantly so that they build up a tolerance by eating them as they fall rather than letting them into the pasture once the acorns are on the ground with the resulting over eating .

Sales

We have an excellent choice of point of lay chickens here, all of the usual breeds which now include the speckled gold and brown leghorn as well as blue egg layers. We have a great mixed batch here at present and will have a reduced batch late November , after that we are not due the full range again to early Spring so please if you are thinking of waiting until the New year for your POL you will only have a very reduced selection to choose from.

We have a good mix of Domestic Ducks, Silver apple yards, Cayuga’s, Khaki Campbell, Aylesbury, Black East Indians, Muscovy’s and Indian Runners and some pairs of Call Ducks.

Quail, Italian, Japanese and Golden giants.

Peafowl and Guinea Fowl are very late this year, we have guinea fowl keets and peafowl will follow later, though we still have the odd male Indian blue and pairs of pure white from last year’s hatch.

We  have the best selection of wildfowl  in the south west , plenty of Carolinas , Mandarins , Ruddy Shell ducks , Black swans and a wide array of the more unusual , please call Merv for any wildfowl enquires either on the land line after 7pm or on his mobile 07891 329538 to discuss your requirements . Or email info@moonridgefarm.co.uk with your wish list.

Domestic geese, we have a special offer on breeding groups of Grey Chinese. Here at Moon Ridge we have our 2011 hatched proven breeds of our own closed flock of Embden Toulouse birds , originating from the ‘legarth strain’ and consistently turning out good numbers of large table geese with excellent conformation and meat to bone ratio. If you do not require them for the table they make excellent lawn mowers, great for orchards and meadows they are a steady goose but will raise the alarm when startled, laying lots of eggs per year starting about mid-February. Both the Chinese and Embden are offered at £100.00 per breeding set one male and three females. Please call /contact us in advance if interested.

Wood Chip for Sale

Many of you already know that we have mountains of wood chip for sale at the front of the farm. It is self-service, bring your old feed bags (£2.00 each filled up) Dumpy bags (£10.00 each filled) Car trailers (from £12.00 depending on size) and help yourself, shovel provided. If you think you will need a hand or a loader for large loads please call ahead and we should be able to help you. Great at keeping pens and paths mud free and also great for mulching in the garden!

Opening Hours

During January 2014 we are going to reduce our opening hours just for this month. We will be open by appointment for boarding chickens checking in and departures.

All sales will be on a strictly appointment only basis. January is our quietest month and this will allow us some much needed time on the rest of the farm. This information will be posted on the website but this is just forewarning people that we will not be open our set hours. Come February we hope to be open as normal.

Geese,

The last of this year’s goslings will be added to the main group after testing, it is then time for their autumn worming treatment prior to fattening for Christmas, this year we are using a wormer additive in the feed. All our breeding stock gets wormed at this time of year and I’d advise everyone to do the same, a good clear out of parasites prior to winter, and as the temperature drops the speed of re-infestation is much reduced.

Anyone wishing to fatten their own geese for Xmas can still contact us as we have a limited number of birds we can spare, anyone wanting an oven ready goose for Christmas is advised to book early as we are fattening less this Christmas.

Christmas Trees

We will be harvesting Xmas trees for the third year this Christmas. They will be very competitively priced and anyone who books and pays for their goose before 1st December will get £5.00 off their tree. (Voucher will be sent/given to you) All our Christmas trees are grown and harvested from our farm. We plant lots each year, it is what keeps us busy in January and is hard work when the ground is frozen! They are mainly Norway spruce variety with a limited supply of Blue Spruce, prices start from £10.00 per tree. They will be for sale from 4th December.

Pygmy Goats

Wonderfully tame , lead trained pygmy goats are ready for sale from Weds 6th all de-budded and looking for new homes , must go to other goat homes or go in pairs , females £250.00 and castrated males £150.00 . Remember you will need a County Holding number in order to keep goats you can get this from DEFRA. New photos will go on the website on Wednesday

Social Media

Moon Ridge Farm have a Face Book page and are on Twitter, it is the quickest way of communicating news and events at the farm, however small so if you are interested in the goings on here, want to be the first to know when we start hatching, when we have new breeds here, changes in opening hours or special offers just follow the links at the bottom of the page. Thank you.

 Lastly

Thank you for reading this newsletter, it has been sent a little later then intended , Merv wrote it out prior to half term , but as always little office based work can be done when the kids are home and I am still getting to grips with Mr Chimp mail here! So better late than never. Keep an eye out for Xmas happening via Facebook and or Twitter as we hope to add to our special offers nearer the time, we keep getting asked for Christmas treats for the poultry so I need to do some investigating…..

Best Wishes for a Happy End of Year

Kate, Merv and the Moon Ridge Team.