Vagueness and the Aftermath - A sporadic diary

[Tractor]

Ive probably missed the answer to this some where, but why do you still buy horses?
Is it to train them and sell them on for a profit?
As i presume you have no practical us for them anymore?
Just curious really.

[RED-DOG]

Ive probably missed the answer to this some where, but why do you still buy horses?
Is it to train them and sell them on for a profit?
As i presume you have no practical us for them anymore?
Just curious really.

Do you mean me in particular, or Gypsies in general?

[Robert HM]

 

Appleby for starters.

[Tractor]

Ive probably missed the answer to this some where, but why do you still buy horses?
Is it to train them and sell them on for a profit?
As i presume you have no practical us for them anymore?
Just curious really.

Do you mean me in particular, or Gypsies in general?

I was really meaning you, as I can understand quite a lot of Gypsies still use horses for transport which i pressume you dont anymore.
And living near Stow I still get to see lots of Gypsy Horses and Carts that are used for transport.

Ps- just logged onto Ble Sq, concetrate on that, my answer can wait!

[phatomch]

i used to be a game farmer raising 110,000 asorted birds until i was 21

See! I never knew that. There must be a good story in there somewhere. Details please

To tell the truth Mr Red, I spent most of it working solidly. Generaly working 7 days a week upto 18 hours a aday.


My last estate was in Billingshurst, my estate backed on to sotherbys i was there for 2 years and almost single handed raised 110,000 assorted birds from eggs from the pens through the incubation period into poults (6 week olds) I only had help from the owner of the estate when it came to wing clipping/beak clipping and for crating them up for delivery to the gamekeepers.

Ill try and remember any story's worthy of this thread but to be honest it was up at dawn and drag myself to bed 19 hours later.

I was rearing 80,000 ring neck pheastants, 10,000 english partridge, 15,000 french partridge, 3,000 duck and 2,000 guinnea fowl.

Along with this is was incharge of the bosses flock of Bristish Bleu du maine  that he used to show, so we had around 20 of these and all the work that goes with it, and 3 horse's.

I can tell you that I only had 2 days off each breeding season so I worked 9 months 7 days a week upto 18 hours a day. Anyone guess why I quit?

[RED-DOG]

i used to be a game farmer raising 110,000 asorted birds until i was 21

See! I never knew that. There must be a good story in there somewhere. Details please

To tell the truth Mr Red, I spent most of it working solidly. Generaly working 7 days a week upto 18 hours a aday.


My last estate was in Billingshurst, my estate backed on to sotherbys i was there for 2 years and almost single handed raised 110,000 assorted birds from eggs from the pens through the incubation period into poults (6 week olds) I only had help from the owner of the estate when it came to wing clipping/beak clipping and for crating them up for delivery to the gamekeepers.

Ill try and remember any story's worthy of this thread but to be honest it was up at dawn and drag myself to bed 19 hours later.

I was rearing 80,000 ring neck pheastants, 10,000 english partridge, 15,000 french partridge, 3,000 duck and 2,000 guinnea fowl.

Along with this is was incharge of the bosses flock of Bristish Bleu du maine  that he used to show, so we had around 20 of these and all the work that goes with it, and 3 horse's.

I can tell you that I only had 2 days off each breeding season so I worked 9 months 7 days a week upto 18 hours a day. Anyone guess why I quit?

Wow! That's a story in itself. Incredible to think that one man could cope.

Did you raise everything in pens, and did you do any predator control?

[Tractor]

i used to be a game farmer raising 110,000 asorted birds until i was 21

See! I never knew that. There must be a good story in there somewhere. Details please

To tell the truth Mr Red, I spent most of it working solidly. Generaly working 7 days a week upto 18 hours a aday.


My last estate was in Billingshurst, my estate backed on to sotherbys i was there for 2 years and almost single handed raised 110,000 assorted birds from eggs from the pens through the incubation period into poults (6 week olds) I only had help from the owner of the estate when it came to wing clipping/beak clipping and for crating them up for delivery to the gamekeepers.

Ill try and remember any story's worthy of this thread but to be honest it was up at dawn and drag myself to bed 19 hours later.

I was rearing 80,000 ring neck pheastants, 10,000 english partridge, 15,000 french partridge, 3,000 duck and 2,000 guinnea fowl.

Along with this is was incharge of the bosses flock of Bristish Bleu du maine  that he used to show, so we had around 20 of these and all the work that goes with it, and 3 horse's.

I can tell you that I only had 2 days off each breeding season so I worked 9 months 7 days a week upto 18 hours a day. Anyone guess why I quit?

[/b]
There was no rake back scheme??

[phatomch]

Yeah we had 8 huge outside pens for the laying birds, I would start collecting the eggs from mid feb onwards. After incubation as day olds they went into the inside pens with electric heaters, at 2-3 weeks they would be allowed into the out side runs then put back at night. At 6 weeks they where packed up and shipped out.

We had a double tiered barn so that the top floor was the young uns then they came downstairs for the outside runs. The ducks where kept at the bottom of one of the hay fields next to our lake. It was a very good set-up they had spent alot of money so that it could be run by as little staff as possible.

As for predator control I would go out around twice a week for foxes but I also had a series of wires and traps that I used to check twice daily, along with bird traps around the laying pens. About once a week I used to take the local butcher and pub landlord out for a day shooting, fishing on the estate and I used to let them go ferreting and use a field for lurching away from the sheep, and they kept me in beer and fresh bacon,sausages and chops

[RED-DOG]

About once a week I used to take the local butcher and pub landlord out for a day shooting, fishing on the estate and I used to let them go ferreting and use a field for lurching away from the sheep, and they kept me in beer and fresh bacon,sausages and chops

Lol. Now that's an "Old school" arrangement.

[phatomch]

Yeah the landlord also used to take any of the lambs that  did'nt meet up to the show sheep, before I turned up the boss just used to crick the necks as soon as they came out as it was'nt worth feeding them if he was'nt going to show them. I said right ill have them and I kept them as a bonus then sold them off to the pub.

That pub was great if it was meat you could say 40% came off my place from the game birds the pigeon and the lamb in the winter.

[RED-DOG]

Yeah the landlord also used to take any of the lambs that  did'nt meet up to the show sheep, before I turned up the boss just used to crick the necks as soon as they came out as it was'nt worth feeding them if he was'nt going to show them. I said right ill have them and I kept them as a bonus then sold them off to the pub.

That pub was great if it was meat you could say 40% came off my place from the game birds the pigeon and the lamb in the winter.

How long ago are we talking here Phat?

[phatomch]

I finished 10 yrs ago

[RED-DOG]

Do you ever see them now? (The landlord and the butcher I mean)

[phatomch]

I started in the buisness just as a beater for Lord Romseys estate then as a Loader for Lord Cowdrey who used to shoot with a 9 shot semi auto 12 gauge.

Then I did one year at Sparsholt whilst still beating/loading every weekend for the Romsey estate, then I did 1 season at a small family run gamefarm in the New Forrest then moved the following season to a huge 150,000 farm in East knowle over near Exeter then to my final site in Billingshurst for 2 yrs.

[phatomch]

Do you ever see them now? (The landlord and the butcher I mean)

No, I just left one season and my friend was joining the casino for a job he needed some morale support and after working so much I was getting bored with my 3 months off, so I thought I would just give this casino thing a try for 2 months earn a little money and keep myself busy, I could still go shooting every weekend and I was finished by 5pm and I somehow never made it back to the farm.