Surrey Homes | SH16 | February 2016 | Wedding supplement inside

competition
win an overnight stay for two
people in the 5 star exclusive
Maiden’s Tower at leeds castle,
with a full cooked breakfast
Visitors never forget their first breathtaking vision of Leeds Castle
in Kent, rising majestically from the moat as it has done for over
900 years. With 500 acres of beautiful parkland and formal gardens,
daily activities, free flying falconry displays, special events and year
round attractions, Leeds Castle is one of the best days out in Kent,
you will want to come back time and again! Open all year, there is
something new for everyone to discover every day. Your admission
ticket allows you to visit as many times as you like across a whole
year.
Leeds Castle is also an idyllic setting for the most romantic of
weddings whatever the season. The choice of historic venues and
packages will be tailored to meet your requirements by the team of
experienced Wedding Co-ordinators. From your initial enquiry to
the day itself, a superb level of service will be provided to ensure you
have the perfect wedding at “the loveliest castle in the world”.
During its 900 year history, Leeds Castle has been a Norman
stronghold, the private property of six of England’s medieval queens
and a palace used by Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of
Aragon. More recently, the castle was an elegant early 20th
century playground for the rich and famous, as Lady Baillie, the
last private owner, entertained high society down from London
for the weekends. The Maiden’s Tower is a 16th century stone
building that was used for weekend house parties in the 1920s. It’s
now a glamorous self-contained venue perfect for your wedding
ceremony, evening celebrations and overnight accommodation. For
more information visit www.leeds-castle.com/Weddings
For your chance to win an
overnight stay for two people
in the 5 star exclusive Maiden’s
Tower with a full cooked
breakfast, just answer this
question: ‘Who was Henry
VIII’s first wife?’ Enter your
answer with your contact details*
in the online form at www.
wealdentimes.co.uk/competition
or post to: The Leeds Castle
Competition, Wealden Times, 21 Stone Street, Cranbrook, Kent TN17 3HF by 19
February 2016. There is no cash alternative and the prize must be taken midweek
by March 2017 *All entrants’ details will be passed on to Leeds Castle and Wealden
Times Events. Please let us know if you do not wish your details to be passed on.
W
e started calving at Christmas and now, as February
approaches, we’re almost half way through. We should
be finished by the end of the month – apart from the
stragglers – and at Coopers Farm there always seem to be one or two.
On many farms, these out-of-step girls wouldn’t be allowed.
Labour is one of the most expensive costs of running a beef suckler
herd and during calving the stockman needs to be on 24-hour call
– and get up at 3am to check all is OK. So, not surprisingly, steps
are taken to ensure the whole herd calves in a tight block of about
six weeks. This includes some simple and obvious measures like only
letting the bull run with the cows for two cycles (six weeks) but it
also pays to have a youngish herd.
When people discover we are livestock farmers the two questions
we are most frequently asked are: a) what time do you get up in the
morning? (answer: not as early as most) and b) how long do farm
animals live? This is more difficult to answer. A cow is capable of
producing a calf well into her mid-teens but as she ages it takes
longer to conceive – often not the statutory two cycles – so she will
be culled in favour of younger models. I should, I know, adopt such
a sensible strategy and, when I’ve been doing that 3am shift for two
months, I always swear I will. But somehow those favourite cows
always seem to get the benefit of the doubt and a few more weeks
with the bull.
While the cows are nearly done and dusted, we’re just getting
ready to start lambing in March. The scan man has been to PD
(pregnancy diagnose) the ewes. Like a human scan he simply rubs
the camera under their belly (though the sheep version seems to
work through wool). A dot is then sprayed between the shoulders
if they are expecting a single, above the tail for twins or a strip across
the rump for triplets – vital information when you have a tricky
birth and need to know how many lambs are involved.
We also have to go shopping for all the necessary bits and pieces
such as iodine navel sprays, castration rings, colostrum powder,
bulbs for the heat lamps, lubricant jelly, latex gloves, dried milk,
bottles and teats. The list goes on and on. And finally we need to
get the lambing shed ready; lots of deep clean straw and individual
‘mothering up’ pens where the ewe and her lambs will spend the first
24 hours or so just to make sure everyone has got the hang of the
mother/ baby bond.
All that will then remain is to bring the ewes in. When the rams
went in with the ewes in November they were fitted with a harness,
known as a raddle, that holds a block of coloured wax between their
front legs. As they mount the in-season ewe they leave a waxy mark
on her rump and, as the colour of the wax block is changed after 18
days, it’s possible to know the order in which the ewes will lamb.
The shepherd, my husband Adrian, is every bit as sentimental in
giving the ewes plenty of opportunity to conceive, so the rams stay
in longer than six weeks and he’ll be getting up in the night well into
May – when at least it should be heavenly weather!
Follow Jane on Twitter @coopers_farm
Fables
From
The Farm
Jane welcomes more
calves and prepares
for lambing
Congratulations to Shona Brown who wins the January competition for a
comedy night, supper, an overnight stay and breakfast at The Bell in Ticehurst.
103 www.wealdentimes.co.uk