Hello from Cavan

sanje · Hello from Cavan

Just found this website via RC and am delighted.

Moved here 6 years ago from Blighty and don't miss it one bit. Love the irish life and weather(!). We, me hubby and 4 very young children, youngest being 4mths live in Cavan and gearing ourselves up for the good life. The garden has been going for 2 years and so far the veggie produce has been very good and the slugs and the weeds! Am dreaming of chickens and pigs and dogs but taking our time getting organised and with the kids being very young we don't want to overburden ourselves too soon. I'm really thrilled to find this website so I know I'm not the only one who wants to live the good life and feed their families well. Would love to know whether there are any regulations for smallholders, I can't seem to find any information on the Teagasc website so any help on that one would be much appreciated.

blowin

Hi sanje , and welcome to the forum Very Happy

You are definitely not on your own !
The Q about regulations for smallholders is quite a broad one but it is also the main reason this forum was set up -- so that we can separate some of the facts from the myths then compare our experiences in dealing with them .
I am no expert but this might kick it off :-
Public Liability : Not a regulation , but quite an issue if some are to be believed . As I understand it , if an uninvited person chooses to cross my land , trips over a bit of wire I left there ( eg half-way thru a fencing job ) and injures h'self then I can and probably will be sued for damages .
Managing the land -- chemicals / fertilisers / weedkill -- restrictions where you might expect them to be eg proximity to waterways etc , plus possible constraints if you enter a govt funded scheme eg REPS . Virtual prohibition on casual movement of farmyard manure as far as my place is concerned but I think that may be to do with the particular scheme I opted for .
Nature / bird conservation : Hedge cutting not permitted between ( b*gger , I've forgotten ) ??? 1st March and 31st Aug ??? Can anyone help me out here ? If not , please remind me and I'll look it up .
Fowl -- I seem to remember that regs apply once your flock exceeds 30 birds anyway but, of course, there are all sorts of actual or potential measures to do with Avian Flu . I am carrying on pretty much as normal ( other than preventing their access to standing water eg pond ) but you might do well to watch this space , as they say , before getting too many .
Animals -- I might get into trouble for saying this but the Irish don't seem to "do" pigs on a smallholding basis so this is a slightly grey area . I am not very clear about goat registration & movement either altho I have an official publication on the subject . Anyway , your local DVO ( Dist Vet Office ) will issue you with the necessary Pig Herd Nbr if you can track down the right person ; I have given up asking about Goat Herd Nbrs ; an official from somewhere actually turned up in person to see where my ( 16 ) chickens live ; Flock (sheep) and Herd ( cattle ) nbrs are no problem .
Regs around feed , hygiene, vet checks and suchlike largely depend on the intended end-use of the animal , and how many you have .
While I do rather bang on about how difficult it is to find anything out I must admit that there are plenty of very useful , free , publications available . But what we really need to know is what actually happens in real life ! Strangely it all seems to work out . Most of the time anyway
Laughing

Sorry to bore you to death on your first visit . It's just that I am a bit of an insomniac . You can switch off . I can't Laughing

gai

Hi sanje welcome aboard. You're doing the right thing by taking your time. We also started off with veggies and gradually moved on into other areas of smallholding. Taking time is the only way to ensure that you've researched what you're getting into and that it works for you and your family.
There are some regulations out there, the Department of Agriculture website can sometimes be useful http://www.agriculture.gov.ie/ (it seems to be down at the minute). For everyday advice you can't beat asking those who already have experience of the thing. We found advice from RC forum members to be invaluable, hopefully the same thing will happen here. Also getting to know your neighbours and taking advice from them can help. I must point out though that most Irish farmers tend to view us smallholders as not being quite right in the head.
Blowin has covered a lot regs in his post but there is actually no minimum number of poultry before you have to register. Anyone keeping even a single chicken, hen, duck, turkey or goose must register with the Department of Agriculture. I've actually been asked twice by Department officials who've been here on other matters if my birds are registered, luckily they are.
Good luck with the good life and keep us posted.

sanje

Thanks for your replys and help. It will take me a while to research this properly in between managing hubby, kids and garden! Will get on to speaking to the right peole about the chickens. Thanks again. Sanje