Coatesville

[NEW ZEALAND] [AUCKLAND REGION] Coatesville is a rural community about 30 kilometres north of Auckland in New Zealand. Land useage is primarily farmlets of about 4 hectares (10 acres) each. Cattle and sheep are the major stock types carried and horses are also popular for recreational purposes.
The property runs a small flock of Perendale (Romney/Cheviot cross) sheep which supply all our meat needs. These are shorn twice a year for wool to spin for our own use and also to produce a clip for sale off the farm.
Because the land is available we are able cultivate all our vegetable requirements. Fruit grown includes citrus, apples, pears, peaches, plums, kiwifruit, grapes and a range of nuts.
The production of meat, fruit and vegetables enables us to be virtually self sufficient.

[HOUSE NORTH] [HOUSE EAST] [LAND]
House from north side House from east side Land from rear of house
The house is situated on a ten acre block of land and is constructed from weatherboard on timber framing with internal plasterboard linings as is common in New Zealand. This form of building, which is akin to a clinker (lap strake) built boat, makes for a very dry and comfortable house.
In the mild Auckland climate only minimal insulation is needed. Fast growing eucalypts are grown to produce firewood for winter evenings.		 The grassed area around the house is kept in control by allowing the sheep to graze it about once a month. By selecting shrubs and bushes which are unpalatable to them we can achieve a balance between tidy lawns and an absence of lawnmowing. This view is from the rear of the house looking towards the southwest. The vegetation is grass with some predominately kanuka bush and exotic pines.
Most of the original forest cover was cleared in the late ninteenth century for grazing and little of the original totara, kauri and other native bush remains. The land is of poor quality and is mostly yellow clay with a thin topsoil which needs phosphate fertiliser for higher production. The land shown here is not fertilised but runs only about five sheep to the acre.


[LAMBS] [SHEARING] [DOGS]
Lambs Shearing Border Collies
Lambs at about twenty weeks old. These will be carried forward and shorn at about one year. Females (ewes) will enter the breeding flock whilst males (wethers) will be put on the best grass to be finished for meat.
Lambs are drenched for internal parasite control each month until about six months old and adult sheep twice a year. All are given pour on treatment to prevent blowfly strike in the warmer months as required.		 Sheep are generally shorn twice a year in the humid Auckland climate. If not the fleece becomes cotted and flystrike will be a serious problem.
Shearing is one of the most demanding tasks in farming as it needs skill together with great endurance on the part of the shearer. As part of the operation the shearer must physically move about 250 sheep weighing about 60 kilograms each from pen to board - a total of 15 tonnes in the course of a day. My tally is 100 sheep a day so I have a long way to go!		 Every farm needs a dog! These are long haired Border Collies, not the superior short haired breed used at a professional farming level in New Zealand. However they naturally herd sheep and their extremely high intelligence makes them useful helpers.
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