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The Country Smallholder Magazine - April 2025

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In this issue

Let’s go and live in Wales
Exploring a truly rural county that plays host to the featured property which has so much potential

Donkeys are different
A vet discusses recognition and prevention of colic plus details of free webinars to watch on all aspects of health and welfare

The nutritious nettle
Good for you in early spring and great for making a tea for your plants

The ever versatile native breed pig can also help your land

Rare Breeds Survival Trust Chief Executive Christopher Price looks at how native pig breeds can act as 'ecosystem engineers' on a farm or holding without becoming 'architects of destruction'

4 mins

Why the study of deer poo in North Wales could shed light on the future of woodland conservation

A team from Bangor University conducted a study amid a growing concern that increasing deer populations are negatively impacting the health and regeneration of UK woodlands.

2 mins

Sheep Dairying-when sheep are triple purpose livestock

Helen Babbs visits a farm to find out how it's done

5 mins

Alpaca know how at a glance

Doug Steen of Teesdale Alpacas explains why he devised the Alpaca Infographic and how

3 mins

How to help keep your livestock free from infectious diseases

Catriona Benson says there are many ways to help protect your animals

3 mins

What Mob Grazing is and how it can work even on a smallholding

Well known to Archers fans on BBC radio 4, this system is gaining momentum. Wade Muggleton finds out why

5 mins

Chicken secrets

Owning chickens comes with more surprises than you might expect. From daring escapes to bedtime demands, these feathered friends are full of quirks. Cara Wheeldon shares the lessons learned from years of poultry keeping

2 mins

Best beginner breeds

Ready to start your flock this year? From personality to practicality, here's a list of the best bantam breeds for beginners researched by Cara Wheeldon

3 mins

Which is best for you, an incubator or a broody hen?

Breeding and hatching chickens is very rewarding. You could use an incubator and brooder plate, or go down the route of using a broody hen, but which is best for you? Fiona & Hugh Osborne guide you through the choices.

6 mins

Let the hen do the work of rearing chicks

As the breeding season approaches, Grant Brereton makes a case for hatching the natural way with broody hens...

8 mins

Poultry Genetics - is it for me?

Like many people, I always wondered how the genes in poultry were inherited.

2 mins

Birthday to celebrate

How the humble hen rose to being the UK'S fourth most popular pet

5 mins

Flocking together brings benefits

This month, regular columnist Paul Donovan looks at the benefits of keeping chickens with other animals.

8 mins

Impaction Colic - what, why and how to avoid

Anna Harrison BScHons BVScHons CertWel MscIAWEL MRCVS and Honorary Vet to Donkey Breed Society, explains

5 mins

Grow-your-own ornamental edibles

Lee Senior says its surprising how so many plants can be both delicious and dramatic!

6 mins

How to look after your bees

Claire Waring's step by step guide to a colony inspection which depends on the weather, this time of year

6 mins

Suffering April showers, because we want flowers in May

Agricultural journalist, smallholder and editor of Ford & Fordson Tractors Magazine Jane Brooks, joins us for her regular look at the world.

4 mins

Dry cured farmhouse bacon, cut thickly, is food that puts top restaurants to shame & it's easy for smallholders to make at home

Hugh and Fiona have been curing & smoking their own bacon for years. It’s something to try with great caution, because after tasting it, they couldn’t go back to shop bought bacon!

7 mins

Heading for the hills: City girl who became a proud farmer ...

Talking to Cora Cooper, the latest person to be interviewed for Farmstrong’s podcast Blether Together, is the gift that keeps giving.

5 mins

Read all Stories from The Country Smallholder

The Country Smallholder Magazine Description:

Publisher: Kelsey-Media

Category: Animals-and-Pets

Language: English

Frequency: Monthly

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.