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The Country Smallholder Magazine - August 2025

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In this issue

MAKING THE DREAM WORK
How to take the first steps towards getting your own smallholding

How to rear goat kids
Make your own fruit leather snacks

Understanding native Hornets and Stag Beetles
Feeding Pot Bellied and Kune Kune pigs
Playing with tractors

Bluetongue Movements Checker tool launched

It provides specific answers for movements in the UK

2 mins

New plans from the UK Government to safeguard animal welfare standards welcomed by the RSPCA

Commitment to not lowering food standards in trade deals

2 mins

Taking the first steps in smallholding

Don't wait until you are about to make a move, you can start right now!

5 mins

Leicester Longwool sheep - lovely to look at and laid back!

Helen Babbs finds out about one of the rarest British longwool breeds

5 mins

Preserving Fruit as a leather provides tasty fruit snacks all year round

Hugh & Fiona Osborne grow as much of their own food as possible and to ensure tasty foods all year around, they use lots of preservation techniques. Fruit leather is an easy technique to produce tasty snacks from fruit for many months to come

6 mins

The Joyful Chaos of Baby Goats

With the stress and anticipation of birthing now a weight off your shoulders, you may think that it will be smooth sailing ahead. I am afraid, however, that the hard work is only beginning, as you pit your wits against the madness of baby goats.

2 mins

Think it's Haemonchus? Don't panic-test first to be sure

SCOPS (Sustainable Control of Parasites in Sheep) is encouraging farmers and the wider sheep industry to stay alert and informed as Haemonchus contortus - commonly known as Barber’s Pole worm - gains more attention across the UK

2 mins

Farmers voices wanted in vet-led ewe vaginal prolapse study

TWO experienced sheep vets are launching a new project to find out more about how farmers manage and treat vaginal prolapse when it occurs in their lambing ewes.

1 mins

The apples of his eye

Richard Bradbury visits Chiltern Heritage Orchards

4 mins

From Scrums to Squats

How Peter Eccles Found New Purpose on the Farm

6 mins

Look to Lincolnshire to get really good value for your money plus plenty of open space in a rural area

Our regular column about the best places for smallholder living

2 mins

The history of Silver Laced Wyandottes in the UK

And why it’s vital we keep them going... says Grant Brereton

5 mins

eBay's egg ban ruffles feathers

A sudden shift in eBay's policy has left UK bantam breeders lost, with sellers like Carolann Pirie struggling to navigate the fallout. Cara Wheeldon explores what this means for backyard breeders, rare breeds, and poultry passion projects.

5 mins

Cluck and carry on

Sue Cook returns with another side-splitting glimpse into the lives of her bantam brood. Full of wit, whimsy and winged wisdom, this light-hearted follow-up celebrates the joy of chicken keeping in the most delightfully absurd ways.

3 mins

Terrors In The Coop

The Hidden Threats Facing Backyard Chickens and How to Beat Them. Nettex offer some solutions to a perennial problem

3 mins

Are we seeing the end of male chick culling in the UK?

Technology can now tell the sex of chicks in eggs – a practice known as in-ovo sexing

4 mins

How to recognise and control internal parasites

Victoria Roberts BVSc MRCVS says you need to take action to avoid ill health and even fatalities

2 mins

Consider keeping one of sixteen breeds of British rare breed ducks

Rare Breeds Survival Trust Chief Executive Christopher Price looks at a selection of the UK's rare native duck breeds.

3 mins

Egg binding- a backlog

Egg binding can be a major concern in layers, Paul Donovan investigates this serious health issue.

8 mins

Poultry slaughter is an important subject for smallholders

Hugh & Fiona Osborne firmly believe that processing chickens for meat and \"the cockerel question\" are subjects that deserve mature consideration by smallholders

4 mins

It's harvest time on the farm again

Henrietta Balcon goes wild this month with a rabbit dish

2 mins

The bountiful brassica is versatile and generous

But Andrew Oldham says you need to get sowing now to get the best yield

5 mins

Preventing Afterswarms

Claire Waring describes steps to stop casting if you have lost the prime swarm

6 mins

Playing with tractors - how a work horse became multi-purpose

Liz Wright looks at the changing role of vintage, veteran and classic machinery with even the modern tractor coming out to play

3 mins

Bringing In the Sheaves

Farming and smallholding practices have altered over the past century or so. Some have been subtle, others less so — and many brought about by technology and legislation. In another of his monthly series, Jeremy Hobson continues to outline just a few of them.

2 mins

Read all Stories from The Country Smallholder

The Country Smallholder Magazine Description:

Publisher: Kelsey-Media

Category: Animals-and-Pets

Language: English

Frequency: Monthly

The Country Smallholder is aimed at the ever-increasing UK audience interested in living a cleaner, greener, and more sustainable way of life. From people already living on a smallholding, to allotment owners; from those with a couple of acres of land, to those aspiring to get more out of their garden or even window box. With 73% of UK residents claiming to want to live more sustainably post Covid, The Country Smallholder has something for everyone.

Every issue will carry; free vet advice; helpful practical features on all aspects of smallholding, from keeping chickens to crop rotation; information on poultry, pigs, sheep, goats, cattle, and alpacas; rural crafts; property; small tractors and machinery, as well as keeping readers up to date with all the latest news and innovations.