In this issue

TURF WARS The campaign for a peat-free future.

‘RADDLING BLACK SHEEP ISN’T SUCCESSFUL!’ Our new smallholder diarist starts.

Study Finds That Ranging Behaviours Impact On Problem-Solving In Chickens

Chickens have different personalities, a new study has suggested. This finding, which will hardly come as a surprise to most keepers, was published in Biology Letters in what the researchers believe to be the first study of its kind.

2 mins

Turf wars

#PeatFreeApril is a new month-long, industry-wide campaign that has been launched to get smallholders and gardeners to go peat free. Sally Morgan reports

4 mins

The ‘seaweed breed'

Adam Henson divulges why the unique North Ronaldsay sheep is leading the way in terms of methane research

2 mins

'Raddling black sheep is not very successful for obvious reasons'

New diarist Paul James is a doctor in a busy NHS hospital, but home is a smallholding in Derbyshire complete with sheep, poultry and a Welsh Mountain pony called Malty

6 mins

‘We suddenly seem to have a problem with most of our boundaries'

With plenty of escapees, plus some unwanted visitors, poultry diarist Julian Hammer finds that the fencing at Rose Cottage is in need of some TLC

5 mins

An idiot's guide to lambing

Newish sheep-keeper Mike Fry reveals what the textbooks don’t tell you when it comes to welcoming little woolly bundles into your smallholding life

5 mins

Delightful Dorpers

The British Dorper, a true all-round breed, seems to have everything a smallholder could want, but UK numbers are very low. Charlotte Cooper visits a Derbyshire breeder who has gone to the other side of the world in her bid to create the perfect sheep

5 mins

Trials not tribulations

In the final part of his mini series on training a sheepdog, Dudley Edmunds says why not consider moving on to the next level by taking part in trials with your canine superstar

7 mins

Western wonders

Queen Elizabeth I was a staunch advocate of Ryeland wool, while the last of the original Portlands to be sold at market 100 years ago were so poor that they barely received a bid. Tim Tyne looks at the fascinating past and present of both breeds

5 mins

In the buff

In his series on birds that breed true, Grant Brereton looks at the various buff varieties, one of which has a very special royal connection

4 mins

Read all stories from The Country Smallholder

The Country Smallholder Magazine Description:

The Country Smallholder is aimed at the ever-increasing UK audience interested in living a cleaner, greener, and more sustainable way of life. From people already living on a smallholding, to allotment owners; from those with a couple of acres of land, to those aspiring to get more out of their garden or even window box. With 73% of UK residents claiming to want to live more sustainably post Covid, The Country Smallholder has something for everyone.

Every issue will carry; free vet advice; helpful practical features on all aspects of smallholding, from keeping chickens to crop rotation; information on poultry, pigs, sheep, goats, cattle, and alpacas; rural crafts; property; small tractors and machinery, as well as keeping readers up to date with all the latest news and innovations.