Nesting

"April is the cruellest month, breeding

Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing

Memory and desire, stirring

Dull roots with spring rain." (TS Eliot)

It's certainly been a cold and wet month: February was reported as the sunniest on record. April undoubtedly was the dullest, dampest and coldest on record. We long for summer; for warm evenings and balmy days. The daffodils had an awful time of it - constantly battered and bashed, brown before they turned really yellow. The lilac is waiting to flower; no use expecting the bees to pollinate on these cold damp days.....

Around the patch I've seen broken (mostly blackbird) eggs but no sign of fledgelings. All, most likely, killed off by the sudden bursts of extreme wet cold between relatively warm micro-spells.

The swallows returned at the beginning of the month and are slowly building nests but as yet show no signs of laying and 'sitting'. The ducks have only recently started sitting on their clutches and, as it takes 28 days for their eggs to hatch, they must know a thing or two. Two wh0 started sitting a fortnight or so ago have, uniquely in my - albeit short - experience, given up and deserted their nests.... they too must know something the Weather Girls don't tell us..... The other night, which was quite a cool one, one female was quacking indignantly outside the Poultry Palace long after I'd shut everyone else up. I had to let her in or risk waking the entire neighbourhood.....Clearly she'd decided it was too cold to remain outside on her nest for the night......And yet swans in the south of the country have hatched signets earlier than ever in the previous 600 years of records......

We've also been eagerly watching Ginger. Two weeks ago it looked like she was 'due' to give birth 'any day now'. And we've been observing her, and saying that, ever since. Today she sems more likely to give birth 'any moment' than ever. She's been 'nesting' and trudging around in the mud; almost as if she's hanging on. Seems so cruel to see her so heavy and 'almost due' and yet not quite. The forecast is for warmer weather this weekend... perhaps she knows a thing or two too..... perhaps we're just impatient, or ignorant..... or both.

But I wish she'd put our minds at rest and get on with it......!

Going to be a Gundog! .. continued

A fortnight passes very quickly in the life of a would-be gundog. Since the last training session we've been "playing" a lot of ball games to stimulate a little more enthusiasm in the task of retrieving. And I have to say that Gunner really loves fetching the ball - from anywhere and as often as one cares to throw it...... He's also been very good in all his retrieving lessons and, as ever, has done everything asked of him. Out hunting he's learning to stay closer and hunt more thoroughly; he's not once run off or ignored the whistle, or any other commands for that matter. Last week we came across a family of seven hares romping in the fields. It was a wonderful sight to see: my guess is they were a young family from the way they were 'boxing' and chasing and playing hide & seek. We do see a lot of hares around here, particularly at this time of year, and frequently in two's and three's but I have never seen seven in one group. Gunner sat, as commanded, and watched them - bolt upright and very excitedly but not in any way straining at the lead. When the hares finally loped off we hunted across the field with Gunner obviously picking up their scent but not once attempting to follow the line. I think he's brilliant.

So when Rory asked yesterday, as he always does, "How's he been" I told him all that.

And off we went to run through our paces at the farm - again.

First off, though, we had a bit of a demonstration by Rory and a young black Cocker spaniel bitch - to show us how to do it. Gunner and I watched. Me fascinated. Him? A bit confused if anything! Her whole manner was so hyper-active and whizzy that it was almost frightening!

Putting her back in the truck after the demo Rory commented that she was "a little off-colour today" but hoped we'd "basically got the idea" of the level of enthusiasm he was used to in his dogs!

Well - it was a bit daunting.

Anyway, we then continued with our session. In short, Gunner did everything asked of him but in the way I've now come to expect him to behave when Rory's about: lacking in confidence and slightly hesitant. On the negative side, he was less than enthusiastic about thrown retrieves. On the positive side, he stayed very close when hunting and was very positive with the 'memory' retrieves.

"He's got me totally flummoxed" said Rory finally. "I just can't get inside his head. Memory retrieves which most dogs find difficult to learn, he does easily; thrown retrieves which most dogs find jolly exciting, he appears to find totally disinteresting. He's bold enough to go into any density of cover or nettles with no urging needed yet appears to lack confidence! It's all back to front!"

Comes to something when the trainer is stumped.

"Every now and then" continued the man "there's a spark but it just gets so quickly extinguished. I have never come across such a laid back spaniel!"

I think" said I "when we finally get Gunner out into the Field and the real world of hunting and shooting, the penny will drop, the confused "what am I doing this for? look will disappear and he will show his true colours. He's just going to be the bestest Gundog ever". Rory smiled.......

Next session will be on home territory. I need to discover whether it's the man or the place that is inhibiting the dog.

Meanwhile, we've been given some exercises to stretch Gunner's memory and, hopefully, stimulate continuing interest.

Gene genie

Ginger and Mangel's ancestors originate from different countries (Hungary and Austria) so their offspring have a very diverse mix of genes. Mangel is a pure bred Swallow-bellied Mangalitza and Ginger derives from a Blonde/red cross. So lots of different genes between them. Mixed genes often produce very attractive children. Hence the pretty piglets Ginger produced in her first litter! (See the first two pictures!).

She and Mangel will continue to breed, for as long as they have the inclination, and we shall have no worries about the quality of their offspring.

However, the future is a different matter altogether.

Line breeding allows for mating father with daughter and cousin with cousin. But you can't keep doing that indefinitely. Eventually, the genes 'wear out' and weaknesses develop. It is thought that this may be one reason why the original Lincolnshire Curly Coats died out. Eventually new genes are needed. Planning for that eventuality, we have imported some 'new' genes.

These four chaps trotted over from the other side of the country, arriving in the middle of last Saturday morning. They are two pairs of a boar and a gilt each from two separate litters; all are descended from Curly, the only pure blonde Mangalitza boar brought over to England from Hungary by Tony York in 2006. But they have different mothers.

Therefore we now have some pure Blondes to add to our mix of Swallow-belly x Red/Blondes.

These chaps have a slightly different look about them as the second pair of photos show. They are just a month younger than our home-breds but even allowing for that are a little smaller and 'narrower' with slightly smaller and more upright ears. At the moment they are the colour of paving slabs but will gradually turn more blonde as they mature.

They were tired out and hungry after their journey so slept for most of the first 24 hours following their arrival. However, they've 'woken up' now and are just as friendly and interested in chewing boots and jackets and hands and trousers and anything else they can get their snouts attached to. I think they have great promise for the future. They won't all be staying at the RectoryReserve but those that don't are destined for homes in Lincolnshire thus furthering the cause of the curly coats in these parts.

Hello; my son I presume?

She's done it again.

When we did 'breakfast' for all the menagerie on Saturday last there was a satisfying "chrup, chrup, chrup' coming from the Broody coop. Sure enough, when I lifted the lid, there was Daffodil in maternal splendour fussing around her little brood of two. By Sunday the two were three and by Monday the little ones were allowed out of the nest - for a few short minutes. Word got round very quickly; all the hens rushed to see and admire. Hot on their heels came Rusty. In no time at all he was prancing about and crowing. "My son; welcome!" if cockerels say that sort of thing. He's probably right about two of the chicks but the third one is definitely not his!

The little black chick can only be Solo's, who was a great deal slower to come round and admire. Having said that, he then spent much of the day sitting on top of the broody coop!

The ducks, meanwhile, are having a much harder time building their nests. We've found clutches of eggs in 'unsafe' places outside where the ducks are likely to be had by Charlie Fox if they sit on them. We've also had a number of incidents of ducks trying to overnight in the horses' stables; Ritz was most indignant and shoved one out of his box and the other ducks soon realised when the dogs appeared that there was not much peace to be had there either.

And just tonight, after we'd shut up all the poultry (I thought) and were giving the horses their supper, up pops Lancer with a duck between his jaws, that "look what I found under the hedge" expression on his face and his apprentice (Gunner) hot on his heels!

So, we are currently investigating the possible purchase of a special duck coop which could, maybe, resolve the situation........

Gunner to Gundog - the continuing tale....

So... he will never be sharp enough for Field Trials (and if he were he'd probably be unbearable to live with) but he's going the right way to be a good hunting companion.

It's always dangerous to admit to your trainer that you've had no problems since the last session but that's basically what I did. "He's done everything I've asked" I told Rory "and nothing wrong that I can tell". "I suppose the only small thing is that when he brings a retrieve back to me he has a tendency to put it down at my feet rather than to my hand. But that's something we can work on."

"OK" said the man "Let's go off to the 'farm' and see how we go".

Remembering that last time Gunner was distinctly disinterested in retrieving anything, our first task was to prove that this state of affairs would not be repeated.

Rory picked a patch of (extremely) rough field and sent us off saying - "Show me what he can do"!!!!

Striding out to the midst of the rough patch, Gunner closely to heel, I gave him the sit command. He sat. Lead removed. Dummy thrown about 15yds down-wind. Gunner instructed to fetch. He fetched , brought it back to me, put it down at my feet. Oops. My fault, not his. Repeated 'sit' command. He sat. Repeated dummy throwing in a different direction. Given the instruction, Gunner retrieved and gave to my hand. Much better. Repeated the exercise once more. Same result. Good dog. In each case he was much more interested in looking about him and trying to suss out if there was anything really interesting lurking in the long grass. Nostrils twitching and ears perked. Given the surroundings, therefore, he did jolly well.

"Pop him back on his lead, drop the dummy, walk on a distance and send him back for it" instructed Rory.

At home, this is his showpiece. He's worked up to going back about 15o yds and round a bend so he had no qualms about going back 20yds or so to show Rory.

Again, he wasn't as sharp about it as he is at home, but that's not surprising in strange territory.

"Well done" said Rory. "He's done everything you've asked him even though he clearly was more interested in the rest of the world"!!!

So off we went to 'hunt' around another very rough and boggy field - and by this time it was chucking down hail and sleet and snow and anything else that was up there. Wonderful.

Gunner's hunting was excellent. His handler was the only one in the wrong. I let him go too far away! I pushed him on too fast.! I didn't let him hunt the ground before I trampled all over it! I gave him confusing instructions, on occasion using my voice instead of my whistle and vice versa - and that was all in the first 100 yds!

Popped dog back on lead whilst some misunderstandings - on my part - were cleared up and off we went again.

This time, all was successful. Whilst not setting the world alight, Gunner was perky and thorough (and by the end thoroughly soaked too!).

"OK" said the trainer. "Let him get ahead of you, give him the 'sit' command, throw the dummy out and send him to retrieve".

Gunner was a star. He sat instantly on the whistle, looked at me, watched the dummy go and when I gave him the command - he looked at me even harder! "What's so darned exciting?" he seemed to say. "Fetch!" said I and he shot off like a bullet, looked for the dummy, found it and charged back to me. Gave me the dummy and sat, expectantly......

I looked round to find my Trainer gripping his sides with laughter.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing at all" he managed to spit out "But when I said last time that you needed to show more enthusiasm for the task I didn't realise you'd take it so much too heart. In the previous field" he continued "you conveyed a sense of jolly hockey sticks and cheerleader rolled into one. Clearly it's worked because even Gunner was absolutely stunned at the last one!"

"Oh" I mumbled, more than slightly abashed.

"So I think he's got the message now and you can afford to be a little more subtle with him"!

All in all though, when we'd finished our session - and by the now the sun was literally shining above again - Rory expressed himself well pleased with the progress made in the previous fortnight.

Homework? We continue in the same spirit - me a little less 'over-the-top' and try and test him out against some rabbits to establish if he is truly steady to 'fur'.

More in a fortnight.

Gunner to Gundog? Continued............

Another fortnight gone by... and back we go to Rory the Trainer for the next episode in the life of the would-be gundog. After our last session the main question going through my mind was:-

"Would Gunner enjoy himself and show his true colours?"

How did we get on? The highs. The not-so- highs. Where do we go from here????

Watch this space to find out the detail.......

Of Pepper, piglets and Pilot

Known as "The King of Spices" pepper was an important part of the spice trade between India and Europe as far back as Greek and Roman times. However, it remained largely unknown in Western Europe until the Middle Ages during which time the Genoese and Venetians monopolized sea trade routes and hence, also, the sale of pepper and other spices. It was only during the late 15th century that knowledge of pepper truly flowered in Europe, thanks to the period of exploration which began at that time.

Thanks to the continuation of that spirit of exploration, (embodied in Tony York's pioneering trip to Austria and Hungary) we have become very familiar with Pepper over the past year. We've come to appreciate depth and variety of character as well as warmth and entertainment that Pepper affords. Hot and spicey, particularly if rubbed the wrong way, we know that Pepper can also be 'gentle and cuddly'. Tomorrow he leaves us to join Wurzel in the great Sty in the Sky. We'll miss him but the memories, as they say, will linger.

And it looks like it will not be too much longer before Ginger delivers her next brood; she's looking decidedly pear shaped and Mangel is paying her all sorts of kind attention. We estimated that the little ones were due at the very end of April but we could be surprised once more. She's been making 'nesting' gestures in the arks and, with a choice of three now, it will be interesting whether she goes for her original small one again or not.

On the subject of offspring, meanwhile, the ducks continue to waddle all over the place looking for safe havens for their eggs. Garbo and one of the drakes finally decided to fly off to a quieter place. There are a few ponds around the local fields so I half suspect they may have moved out to one of those. But the others seem determined to stay within sight of the pountry palace and the home pond. It gets a bit hairy because Lancer, particularly, keeps a wary eye out and 'retrieves' any that stray too far away. Until now Pilot, on the other hand, has tended to look the other way whenever he sees them. So imagine our surprise yesterday afternoon when we saw him trotting past the window with a duck firmly between his jaws!

One should always be wary when an animal behaves uncharacteristically.

I rushed out and found him just putting the finishing touches to his 'hidden treasure'. All I could see was a - rather startled - little duck peering out from the dirt and leaves where he'd buried her under the Cotoneaster tree!!!! Reprimanding him sharply, I scraped away the blanket and gently picked up the poor little thing. She was gently chirping to herself (do ducks pray?) and was only a little bruised - probably from where Pilot had made her fit into the hastily dug hole. Water being the best therapy for ducks, I returned her to the pond and am pleased to say that she is only a little bit hobbly today. Perhaps she'll stay safely at home from now on................