Saddleback Weaners

Ready 4th September at 8 weeks old.
Wormed and vaccinated £50 each
Tel 01670 789827 / 07599718578

Internal stable partitions
Galvanised steel frame and bars
Hardwood ply lower panels
Makes two loose boxes 10′ x 12′
Additional brand new door and side panel (approx 6′)

Pair of blue plastic horse jumps and one jump pole (unused)

Mike Wilson  01434 382561 / 07900400808

Rising Sun organic farm raises rare breed Berkshire and Saddleback pigs. This informal course is aimed at people new to pigs and who are interested in keeping a couple for their own consumption, or for anyone who just loves pigs.  Tea and coffee are provided but please bring a packed lunch, plus weatherproof clothing and wellies.

To book, please contact the Rising Sun Countryside Centre on: 0191 643 2241.

Have you ever wanted to know what the bird you can hear is? Or which butterfly you see when walking? Or find out if there are red squirrels near to where you live? Now you have the opportunity.

Groundwork North East and Northumberland County Council are delighted that the Northumberland Biodiversity Partnership has decided to carry out a BioBlitz on the Ashington Community Woods site on May the 21st and 22nd.

A BioBlitz is all about volunteers, scientists, naturalists, wildlife enthusiasts, school groups, students and members of the public working together to find as many different species as possible within a specific natural area – all whilst racing against the clock!

As part of the celebrations for International Year of Biodiversity the Northumberland Biodiversity Partnership is joining the national programme of BioBlitz events that are being run around the country.

“It’s a rare opportunity to bring together a team of specialists with a variety of expert knowledge to get a unique snapshot of the wildlife of a particular area,” says BioBlitz organiser, Elaine Jaggs, of the Northumberland Biodiversity partnership. “Recording wildlife is vitally important to our understanding of the natural world and we would be delighted if you could come and join the BioBlitz team to discover the variety of wildlife that is present on your doorstep.”

We will be starting at 13:00hrs on Friday 21st May and finishing at 13:00hrs on Saturday 22nd May and throughout the event experts and enthusiasts will be carrying out surveys for a wide variety of creatures including: mammals, insects, butterflies, birds, moths, plants, reptiles, trees, amphibians and bats. Experts will be on hand to identify photos of wildlife brought in on camera photos or digital cameras.

You can get actively involved in recording Ashington Community Wood’s wildlife by taking part in one of the BioBlitz event’s free activities:

Friday 21st May
13:00 -15:00 Wildlife Safari (Booking Essential)
Explore Ashington Community Woodland with staff from Northumberland Wildlife Trust and learn the necessary skills to make accurate ecological records. This will include learning how to grid reference a sighting and the additional information that should be gathered as part of your wildlife record.

13:00 – dusk BioBlitz Base Camp (Drop in event)
Visit the event marquee and talk to members of the BioBlitz team about the wildlife in Ashington Community Woodland. Look at some of the weird and wonderful specimens that have been found and view the video footage that has been captured by the WildPlaces project. Most importantly come and tell us your wildlife sightings so we can add them to the total.

20.30 – dusk Bat Walk (Booking Essential)
The Northumberland Bat Group will be leading an evening walk around the site to look for Bats. You’ll also be able to listen out for owls and be in with a chance of spotting other mammals. Bat detectors will be supplied.

Children must be accompanied by an adult at all times.

Saturday 22nd May
07:00 – 08:00 Guided Bird Walk (Booking Essential)
Join the RSPB on an early morning stroll around Ashington Community Woodland and learn how to identify its birds by both sight and song. Binoculars will be supplied if you don’t have your own.

08:00 – 13:00 BioBlitz Base Camp (Drop in event)
Visit the event marquee and talk to members of the BioBlitz team about the wildlife in Ashington Community Woodland. Look at some of the weird and wonderful specimens that have been found and view the video footage that has been captured by the WildPlaces project. Most importantly come and tell us your wildlife sightings so we can add them to the total.

11:00 – 12:30 Wildflower and Lichen Walk (Booking Essential)
Join Janet Simkin, a wildflower and lichen expert, on a stroll around Ashington Community Woodland to discover the variety of plants that can be found.

Children must be accompanied by an adult at all times.

The BioBlitz base camp will be set up at the entrance to the woodland via Lintonville Road. Meet here for all activities and to talk to BioBlitz staff and volunteers.

The BioBlitz is just one of a number of events taking place in Ashington Community Woods this year. Through Groundwork North East’s Ashington Community Woods Project, funded by the Big Lottery and Natural England there are a number of opportunities to get involved from health walks, woodland activities and volunteering opportunities to simply exploring the site

If you would like to get involved or to book a place on one of the activities contact the biodiversity coordinator at mail@northumberlandbiodiversity.org.uk or telephone 0191 2846884 or if you would like more information on activities in Ashington Community Woods or to learn more about volunteering opportunities please contact Peter Downes on 01670 514876 or email peter.downes@groundwork.org.uk.

Cancelled due to the weather. We apologise for any inconvenience.

A Veterinary Talk by Alistair Johnstone BVMS, Cert. V.A. MRCVS of Minster Veterinary Practice. Sunday January 10^th 2:30pm at Ponteland Leisure Centre. Open to non members.

This is a talk telling us about courses on Poultry that they will be providing in the local area. With all the changes in legislation it will be good to get up to date information.

You are making NO commitment to any courses or signing up for anything by listening to this talk.

They are offering a comprehensive programme of courses and events designed to meet the needs of Smallholders with poultry in the North East region, funded by LandSkills NE.

The courses are aimed at all Smallholder producers and poultry keepers who have all types of poultry. Thye will enable producers to improve their knowledge of keeping poultry and recognising disease conditions earlier and more effectively than before.

The veterinary led courses included within the programme cover the following topics:

• Disease Recognition
• Common and Current Disease Conditions
• Notifiable Disease
• Biosecurity
• Welfare, including the recent legislation
• Vaccination and Medication administration
• Poultry Handling
• Housing Issues
• Vermin and Pest Control
• Health and Safety

They deliver talks to small groups to encourage good interaction between all attendees. Venues are selected which are convenient for the participants and including local farms to enable delegates to apply their learning in a practical setting.

The cost of the modules is good value as they have secured RDPE LandSkills funds in several regions and are also investigating potential sponsorship to further reduce the course fees.

They are aiming to launch the courses in Spring 2010

By listening to the talk you are not signing up or committing yourself to any of the courses.

Thursday December 3^rd 2009 at 7:30pm

Could members who have not returned their menu choices please do so as soon as possible, thanks.

Thursday December 3rd 2009 at 7:30pm

Could members who have not returned their menu choices please do so as soon as possible, thanks.
Start Time: 19:30
Date: 2009-12-03
End Time: 23:30

Scaly leg is another problem which birds suffer from, especially older birds. They can be treated by rubbing with methylated spirits or paraffin. Grit should be available, even to free range birds, to help with digestion

Orpington

The Orpington originated in the United Kingdom, it was developed in the nineteenth century by William Cook from the village of Orpington. Croad Langshans, Minorcas, Langshans and Plymouth Rocks were used to create this new breed. The original breeding objective was to come up with a chicken with excellent laying capacities, and this was successful. The first Orpingtons were black, followed at the end of the eighteen eighties by White and Buff. An Orpington from that period did not look the same as the present breed. The modern Orpington can no longer be compared with any breed whatsoever. The Orpington is a big heavy breed with a profusion of rather loose feathers. One of the most frequently bred Orpington varieties is the Buff. This is a beautiful warm light yellow colour, but it can soon fade because of the sun and the rain so it is important to protect the birds with a run with bushes and trees for shade and covered area to shelter them from the rain.

Welsummer

The Welsummer originated from the Netherlands, named after the village of its origin, Welsum on the river IJssel and was a mishmash of “mongrel poultry” and standard breeds, the Orpington, Malay and Brahma are mentioned. In its country of origin, the breed is found only in the red partridge variety, which is considered to be the true colouring. Welsummers are renowned for their beautiful large dark brown speckled eggs. They can be kept in a closed run, but thrive wandering around free, foraging for themselves, gathering most of their own food.

Avian Flu

Following cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) in wild birds in Dorset, on 10 January 2008 a Wild Bird Control Area and a Wild Bird Monitoring Area was declared around the place where disease was confirmed. On 5 March, the Wild Bird Control Area was lifted and as of 27 March the remaining Wild Bird Monitoring Area and associated disease control restrictions, including housing have been lifted. However, all keepers of birds should remain vigilant and practice good biosecurity.

Defra Helpline 08459 33 55 77

Solid Cabbage & Main Crop Potatoes Pack in dry straw not touching in frost free building…..will keep until April

Apples Wrap each one in newspaper and store in a shallow tray .Do not store next to potatoes … will keep until March

Marrows and Pumpkins Cure in the sun before storage and store in suspended nets in an unheated room in house. Will keep until April

Onions Cure in the sun then tie on to a string and hang up,or use old stockings or tights tied at the toe and knotted between each one. Start using from the toe end…will keep until April

M.J.