Spring at Knowle Farm

We are very lucky to have both our own lambs, just a couple of weeks old, and a family of wild Canada Geese with one day old goslings living on the farm with us. They are all enjoying their first days with some well timed dry and warm sunny weather.

Well done to all parents involved!

Knowle Farm is one of "10 Best UK Family Farmstays" - The Guardian

We are very flattered to have been named one of the top 10 child friendly farm holidays in the UK in The Guardian on Saturday January 9th, and the only one to be included from Devon.

We're also featured on The Guardian website (we're about halfway down the page):

http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2016/jan/09/top-10-family-farm-stay-holidays-uk

The full text reads:

"Toddlers and pre-schoolers are well- looked-after here: there’s a walk-in rabbit and guinea-pig enclosure, a “racetrack” with ride-on toys, and a play barn with ball pool for under-fives. Parents and older siblings won’t feel too hard done by, with a tennis court, games room and swimming pool with picture windows and outdoor decking overlooking miles of south Devon countryside. The village of Rattery, with its 11th-century pub, is a 15-minute ramble away. Five cottages sleep between three and eight."

N.B. The final sentence is slightly wrong - we do in fact have six cottages sleeping from two to eight!

Freedom

We have just adopted six hens that, up until now, had spent their entire lives living in tiny indoor cages. They are so cramped and so bored that they resort to plucking each other's feathers out, making them look like this. Unfortunately this is the reality for around half of the UK's egg laying hens.

These six are just getting used to their surroundings here at Knowle Farm, before being let out to be fully free range. For the first time they will be able to walk on and eat grass (yes, they like eating grass!), socialise properly with other chickens, and explore the ground for bugs and other treasures.

In a few weeks their feathers will regrow and they'll be unrecognisable. They will also continue to lay eggs, except these will be far tastier than any they laid in their old cages thanks to the natural diet they'll be enjoying.

If you have a garden with a little bit of space, and fancy giving some of these girls an amazing new home (and if you like the idea of being thanked with delicious, free, eggs), then visit the website of the brilliant British Hen Welfare Trust.

Piglets

We are very happy to welcome Fred & Dinky, two Kune Kune piglets, to Knowle Farm. They are around 10 weeks old and are settling in to their new home. Once they are a bit bigger they will join our existing Kune Kune pig, Rasha.

Thanks for the posts!

Thank you Bev, Paul and Amy for your great photos from around the farm.