I started keeping chickens in 2006 when my other half drove me down to Wadebridge, Cornwall, to a farm selling point-of-lay hybrid hens. We came home with six lovely, slightly concerned looking girls. I was sold on chickens before we’d even clambered up through the dusty hayloft of the farmer’s stone barn to choose the hens; I was incandescent with excitement when we reached home and discovered an egg
(already!)beneath the Speckled Maran. Oh, the joy of a warm, perfectly smooth, fresh egg.
My interest grew at what my husband probably considered to be an alarming and certainly inconvenient pace; I bought more chickens within weeks, then an incubator and fertile hatching eggs until, within a few short months, we had 46 birds of a bewildering variety of rare breeds, 22 of which were young cockerels
(why I was so surprised at this particular turn of events I’m not now entirely sure as the law of averages meant it really was a likelihood) all learning to crow at once. And
this level of excitement well into adulthood. You’ve only got to visit smallholders' forums on-line to realise that I’m not the only one with a tendency to collect livestock…some folk are seduced by the intelligence of pigs; others fall fowl
(sorry) of ducks; some people can’t seem to live without a goat or two.
It gets a grip, it really does.Now that I watch my young son, who has definitely caught the bug, I can see quite plainly that animal husbandry provides pleasure, a sense of calm and simplicity that are often lost in the business of modern life. He knows the names of each breed, loves the variations in egg colour and wanders round the garden like Old Macdonald with a long suffering chuck under each arm. He is quite simply a happy, happy soul when he is in contact with animals.
With spring now on the way it is time to look towards the
Easter holidays and book our camping pitches and what better site to visit than an active farm campsite where you
(come on, admit it!) and the kids can get hands-on down on the farm.
Active Farm CampsitesSome of these farm sites are among the most popular in the UK, with a large number of pitches and a full range of facilities and activities on offer.
Stowford Farm Meadows, set in the beautiful undulating hills of North Devon just a short drive from the fabulous beaches along that famous coastline, is set in 500
(this is no typo) acres of carefully managed farm land. Stowford Farm’s ‘Petorama’ is an on-site animal attraction, far more impressive than your usual pets corner, allowing kids
(and bigger kids) to get up close and personal with calves, goats, lambs, pigs and piglets, ducks, chickens, rabbits, gerbils, guinea pigs, chipmunks, rats and a tortoise
(phew!) With informative displays and talks about egg development and hatching
(they have an incubator – I’m excited!) children will be delighted and learning at the same time. There is even ferret racing in the summer months
(bets on!), with scheduled falconry and sheepdog displays in the high season.
What’s not to love?!Other active farm sites are famous. Ask a child where Adams Farm is and they’re likely to point at the flatscreen mounted on the wall.
Cotswold Farm Park offers camping on Countryfile's Adam Henson’s rare breeds farm, with 50 herds of rare and endangered breeds living in the picturesque Cotswold countryside. Children can have hands-on experience of the smaller
(don’t panic) animals and you can always use your young’uns as an excuse to cop a cuddle too.
A must for Spring and Easter camping would be at Stubcroft Farm in West Sussex
Stubcroft Farm a highly ecological working farm campsite with years of happy camping behind it. Farmer Green
(No, it’s his real name, honestly) shown here with armfuls of lumptious lambs told us that lambing is expected to start this year from 20th March; visitors to the campsite are welcomed into the working life of this successful farm.
Or perhaps you’d prefer a smaller, more secluded site?
Pleasant Streams Farm Camping may be small but it is perfectly formed and they too are celebrating Easter on site this year. Jo, at Pleasant Streams Farm explains,
“Easter is one of our favourite times at the farm. Everything is bursting into life after the long winter; chicks, ducklings and spring flowers galore. So to celebrate Easter this year we're doing a great big Easter Egg hunt on the farm on Easter Sunday, free to all the children staying on the farm for Easter Weekend! Come and celebrate the end of winter and enjoy spring in Cornwall. You can come camping or stay in one of our Vintage caravans Poppy, Fern and Billy Blue." Whilst you’re there, give Rodney and Delboy, the farm’s two miniature pigs, a back scratch from me.
