Animals-and-Pets

The Country Smallholder
Keep it Local for Livestock Welfare
Megan Perry of the Sustainable Food Trust, examines why small abattoirs are essential for farmers, smallholders and all those who value local food production
3 min |
April 2023

The Country Smallholder
A Common Interest in Rare Breeds
Rare Breeds Survival Trust Chief Executive Christopher Price celebrates people, places and their livestock
2 min |
April 2023

The Country Smallholder
Wot no tomatoes?
Why smallholders are uniquely positioned to weather the supply chain storm. Liz Wright follows the ever-changing issue of food supply.
6 min |
April 2023

The Country Smallholder
Wildlife watchers needed this spring
Volunteers needed to record garden wildlife for nationwide 'Living with Mammals' survey
2 min |
Spring 2023

The Country Smallholder
Early-nesting birds... catch the worm!
Getting off to an early start, the RSPB give you the species to look out for on and around your smallholding
2 min |
Spring 2023

The Country Smallholder
Building Resilience in the Gardener: A Change in Mind-Set
Extract from The Climate Change Garden by Sally Morgan & Kim Stoddart Published by Cool Springs Press £18.99
1 min |
Spring 2023

The Country Smallholder
Spring into action and join our Egg Club
Are your spring chickens laying more eggs than you know what to do with? Well, that's music to our ears, and to the ears of the hens waiting to be rehomed by us.
2 min |
Spring 2023

The Country Smallholder
Spring into hen keeping
Lisa Mancell, National Coordinator from Farmgate Feeds, gives her advice on how to get started with hens
3 min |
Spring 2023

The Country Smallholder
Successful Hatching in an Incubator
Fiona & Hugh Osborne guide you through how to get the best hatch rates from your incubator.
6 min |
Spring 2023

The Country Smallholder
Nottinghamshire is not all Robin Hood but is also usefully situated in the middle of England with much to offer
Welcome to our regular column all about the best places to buy a country smallholding
3 min |
Spring 2023

The Country Smallholder
Taking stock of your flock in the spring-body scoring and shearing
Joy Whitehead also prepares for the Show season during this busy time of the alpaca year
4 min |
Spring 2023

The Country Smallholder
Pets or pests?
Continuing her series for novice shepherds, Liz Shankland explains the highs and lows of playing foster parent to motherless lambs.
4 min |
Spring 2023

The Country Smallholder
Watery Mouth Disease in lambs
Lamb Health Report from APHA
2 min |
Spring 2023

The Country Smallholder
How to avoid bringing infection in to your flock or herd from incoming stock
Sophie Cranfield, Westpoint Vets, Horsham discusses managing the risks when buying-in animals to add to your existing livestock
3 min |
Spring 2023

The Country Smallholder
Breed Focus: Ouessant Sheep
Helen Babbs finds out about the world's smallest sheep breed
5 min |
Spring 2023

The Country Smallholder
Native Breeds for Modern Needs
Rare Breeds Survival Trust Chief Executive Christopher Price examines the place of rare breeds today
2 min |
Spring 2023

The Country Smallholder
Preparing Goat-Kids for Life
Tamsin Cooper considers techniques based on natural behaviour
5 min |
Spring 2023

The Country Smallholder
Harvesting rainwater
Last year saw the UK's highest-ever temperature only a few miles from us at Coningsby, Lincolnshire 40.3C!
7 min |
Spring 2023

The Country Smallholder
When the going gets tough, the smallholder needs to pause and take stock
Jack Smellie shares her secrets on surviving the difficult days and living your dream
3 min |
Spring 2023

The Country Smallholder
Cold snaps have not been enough to remove fluke risk for cattle and sheep, warn industry experts
Although, as forecast, cases of disease due to liver fluke have remained relatively low so far this winter, there are reports of both acute and chronic disease in some areas of the UK.
1 min |
Spring 2023

The Country Smallholder
Planting The First Seed
Could you be involved in the Wildlife Trusts recently launched scheme?
2 min |
Spring 2023

The Country Smallholder
Fancy a career change?: Free practical forestry training courses made available
Coppicing is just one of the skills you could learn on a free course
1 min |
Spring 2023

The Country Smallholder
Cost of living to hit farm business margins in 2023
High inflation and the impact of the cost of living on consumer demand will continue to impact farm business planning in 2023, according to the latest AHDB Agri-market Outlook.
1 min |
Spring 2023

The Country Smallholder
Gardeners invited to help the RHS solve the mystery of the giant willow aphid
The RHS is calling on gardeners to send in sightings of the giant willow aphid (Tuberolachnus salignus) to help learn more about this elusive species and the ways it interacts with garden plants.
1 min |
Spring 2023

The Country Smallholder
Time to grow your own cup of tea for a truly British cuppa!
Michael Wale reaches for his allotment shed kettle and reports on home grown tea
4 min |
Spring 2023

The Country Smallholder
NFU say Urgent action needed to secure home-grown food supply
Government faces a stark choice: back British food production in order to secure a homegrown supply of sustainable food or risk seeing more empty shelves in the nation's supermarkets.
1 min |
February 2023

The Country Smallholder
British Wool praised for wool prices
British Wool has been hailed as an example of collective marketing and praised for its success in improving prices for UK sheep farmers.
1 min |
February 2023

The Country Smallholder
RHS make predictions for 2023
As we head towards 2023, the nation's 30 million gardeners can look forward to flourishing houseplants, bountiful herbs and a multitude of ways to help the environment says the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS).
2 min |
February 2023

The Country Smallholder
Look out for Potato Day!
For heritage varieties and a huge selection, Potato Days up and down the UK are back this year.
2 min |
February 2023

The Country Smallholder
Animal Behaviour?
Two welsh ponies interacting but are they fighting or playing?
3 min |