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[Sweeny] Tha na trì ceud gu leth chearcan ùr agam a’ tòiseachadh a’ breith agus cha bhi e fada a-nis gum bi mi a’ reic nan uighean air feadh an eilein. ’S e seo a’ chiad cheum sa phlana agam a bhith na mo chroitear làn-ùine agus bith-beò a dhèanamh a-mach às an lot.

[Sweeny] Tha adhartas air a bhith ann co-dhiù. Beagan adhartais. Tha mi a’ creidsinn gur e a’ chiad rud a rinn mi ’s e, uill tha an fheansa seo air a dhol an-àird airson na cearcan a chumail a-staigh ann an seo. Chan eil i buileach deiseil, an ìre mhath deiseil. Ach a-staigh san taigh-chearc tha cùisean a’ dol math dha-rìribh, tha mi a’ smaoineachadh. Tha fios a’m dè tha mi a’ dèanamh a-nis. Tha siostam agam ’s tha a h-uile càil ag obair. ’S àbhaist dhomh a bhith gan cruinneachadh turas no dhà anns an latha ach chan eil uimhir dhiubh ann aig an àm-sa den bhliadhna.

[Sweeny] Tha seòrsa de thrioblaid aca ri breith anns an àite cheart.

[Sweeny] Chan eil na cearcan buileach air seatlaigeadh fhathast agus mar sin tha iad a’ breith air feadh làr an taigh-chearc.

[Sweeny] Chan eil fhios a’m dè dh’fhàg iad a’ breith a-staigh anns a’ chòrnair seo ach tha an còrnair seo a’ còrdadh ri tòrr dhiubh so tha mi a’ creidsinn gu bheil mu leth-cheud ugh ann an seo an-dràsta. Chan eil seo a’ cur dragh orms’. Tha e furasta gu leòr. Chan eil e cho furasta nuair a tha mi air a bhith ag obair fad an latha aig an àm-sa den bhliadhna nuair a tha thu a’ tighinn dhachaigh ’s e dubh dorch’. Chan eil sin cho furasta idir ach feumaidh na h-uighean a bhith air an cruinneachadh co-dhiù. ’S e an aon rud a th’ air a bhith beagan nas fhasa bho bha an inspection agam ’s e rud a thuirt e gum feumainn feeders a bharrachd fhaighinn so fhuair mi còig feeders eileso tha sin tòrr nas fhasa. Chan eil e cho labour intensive tron t-seachdain ...

[Sweeny] A-mach à sin.

[Sweeny]... a bhith a’ slaodadh suas pocannan feeding stuff ’s rudan mar sin.

[Sweeny] Tha mi dìreach a’ dol a thoirt sùil luath timcheall an àite a dh’fhaicinn a bheil an còrr air an làr. Chan eil uimhir ann aig an àm-sa den bhliadhna. Tha mi air na solais a tha seo a chur a-steach. Dìreach air bataraidh càir a tha iad a’ ruith agus tha iad air eadar-dhealachadh a dhèanamh. Tha iad air na h-uighean a chumail aig an aon ìre ach chan eil mi a’ smaoineachadh gum faic mi tòrr uighean a h-uile latha. Chan fhaic mi suas gu trì ceud ugh san latha gu, ’s dòcha, deireadh an Fhaoillich no rudeigin mar sin. So tha mi dìreach a’ faicinn trì no ceithir uighean eile thall ann an seo.

[Sweeny] Na nest boxes, chan eil e cho cudromach a bhith gan togail tron latha idir airson tha iad sin gu bhith an ìre mhath glan ach ma thig thu a-nall ann an seo ... mur a tog mi iad tric tron latha tha iad a’ fàs salach mar sin. Chan fhaodainn sin a reic ann am bùth. Dh’fhaodainn fhathast a reic at the farm gate mar a tha an lagh ag ràdh. ’S e an aon rud nach eil furasta ’s e a bhith a’ glanadh a-mach an taigh-chearc. Tha sin a’ toirt mu, chan eil e ro dhona, tha e a’ toirt mu uair a thìde. Chan eil e a’ còrdadh rium a bhith ga dhèanamh ach tha mo bhràthair Martin, bidh e a’ tighinn a-steach gam chuideachadh cuideachd agus bidh sinn a’ dol troimhe gu math luath. So a-mach à seo an-dràst’.

[Sweeny] Ged nach eil uimhir dhiubh ann ’s a bhithinn an dòchas, leis gu bheil iad fresh agus gun deach am breith gu h-ionadail tha fios a’m gum bi iarrtas mòr orra.

Chaidh am prògram seo, An Lot, a chraoladh an toiseach ann an 2015. Le taing do MacTV.

[Sweeny] My three hundred and fifty new hens are starting to lay and it won’t be long now until I’m selling the eggs throughout the island. This is the first step in my plan to becoming a full-time crofter and making a living out of the croft.

[Sweeny] There’s been progress anyway. A little progress. I think that the first thing that I did was, well this fence has gone up to keep the hens in here. It’s not completely finished, nearly finished. But in the hen-house things are going great, I think. I know what I’m doing now. I’ve got a system and everything works. I usually gather them a couple of times a day but there isn’t as many at this time of year.

[Sweeny] They’ve got some sort of problem laying in the correct place.

[Sweeny] The hens haven’t completely settled yet and so they’re laying all over the hen-house floor.

[Sweeny] I don’t know what’s made them lay in this corner but lots of them like this corner so I think that there’s about fifty eggs here just now. This doesn’t bother me. It’s easy enough. It’s not so easy when I’ve been working all day at this time of year when you come home and it’s pitch black. It’s not so easy at all but the eggs must be gathered regardless. The one thing that’s been a little easier since I had the inspection, the thing he said was that I needed to get more feeders so I got five other feeders so that’s much easier. It isn’t so labour intensive during the week ...

[Sweeny] Out of there.

[Sweeny]... to pull up bags of feeding stuff and things like that.

[Sweeny] I’m just going to take a quick look around the place to see if there’s anymore on the floor. There isn’t as many at this time of year. I’ve put these lights in. It’s just on a car battery that they run and they’ve made a difference. They have kept the eggs at the same stage but I don’t think that I’ll see lots of eggs every day. I won’t see up to three hundred eggs in the day until, perhaps, the end of January or something like that. So I just see three or four other eggs over here.

[Sweeny] The nest boxes, it’s not so important to collect them during the day at all because they will be fairly clean but if you come across here ... if I don’t collect them regularly during the day they get dirty like that. I couldn’t sell that in a shop. I could still sell it ‘at the farm gate’ as the law says. The one thing that isn’t easy is cleaning out the hen-house. That takes about, it’s not too bad, it takes about an hour. I don’t enjoy doing it but my brother Martin, he comes in to help me too and we go through it quite quickly. So out of here just now.

[Sweeny] Although there isn’t as many as I’d hope for, since they’re fresh and laid locally I know that there’ll be great demand for them.

This programme, An Lot, was first broadcast in 2015. Courtesy of MacTV