Archive for the ‘Chickens’ Category
Delilah (back) and Matilda exploring their new home
As promised here are the new occupants of our homemade chicken house – Delilah and Matilda. We decided to go back to the place we got our original chickens from as they offer a number of different hybrid breeds of chicken, and they are relatively local. We’ve broken away from our previous rule of buying a pair of the same breed and picked out a Black Rock (Delilah) and a Warren/ISA Brown (Matilda). We were nearly tempted to get a third, but if these and the current two lay as well as they should, four chickens is plenty for our needs. Read the rest of this entry »
Trying it out for size
Another year starts and another project begins! Looking back at last year’s blog entries and thinking back to previous Januarys, this time of year always seems to herald the start of a new project. Last year it was building log stores and preparing for pigs, and 2010 had us putting up fencing for the arrival of our first animals – chickens. And the start of 2012 is no different with us preparing for more chickens, which will boost our depleted numbers. Read the rest of this entry »
Whiskey & Ginger sunbathing
It seems the fears we had that we would end up with a run full of elderly non egg-laying chickens aren’t going to materialise. In the last week or so the last two of our original four hens both flew up to chicken heaven. Read the rest of this entry »
Why are the best ones always furthest away?
The end of October is usually the time for us to harvest the apples from our one dessert apple tree. In fact this was one of the first things we did when we moved here almost three years ago, surprised to see the apples still hanging into November. We don’t know what variety the tree is (the previous owners told us their son had planted it from an apple pip), but it tastes okay and importantly they store very well. My records show we were still eating them in May! Read the rest of this entry »
A bountiful harvest!
The first frost of the autumn has been forecast for this week, so to avoid a repeat of last year we decided to pick all the peppers now. We didn’t realise quite how many we had, as pepper plants have a surprising amount of foliage that disguise all the green peppers. The sweet peppers I’m cutting up and putting straight in the freezer, and they can be used directly in stews and soups. The chilli peppers we freeze whole and then cut them up as we need them. I’m also on the hunt for a recipe for a chilli sauce, as this would probably use up a large quantity at once. Read the rest of this entry »
Coffee (right) and Cream (left)
Our depleted chicken numbers didn’t last long – we’re now up to five. We fancied getting some chickens that lay blue eggs and the two choices are Araucanas or Cream Legbars. Cream Legbars actually have some traces of the Araucana gene in them, and as blue eggs are a dominant trait anything that crosses with it will lay a blue egg. Read the rest of this entry »
Rum in happier times
We’ve had a bad start to the week. Yesterday, we decided to dispatch Rum, one of our Black Rock chickens. She hadn’t been well for the last week, and yesterday she could barely stand up. We gave her one last check over to make sure we hadn’t missed anything like a stuck egg or any swelling but found nothing, so decided to do the deed there and then. Read the rest of this entry »
Lush new grass...but for how long?
I don’t know where the time has gone. May is always a busy time in the garden, but it seems more so this year. I think the main reason is the amount of watering I’ve had to do. This dry weather couldn’t have come at a worse time for gardeners when lots of seeds are relying on damp soil to germinate. Our water butts (including our two 1000 litre tanks) had almost run dry, until a few days ago when we at last got a deluge of rain. However, even with a few hours of rain the soil was still pretty dry underneath. It looks like the dry spell is coming to an end (at least in this part of the country) and we’ve had a few days of rain. Read the rest of this entry »
This year's crop in the making
It’s been a busy few weeks. The start of spring means things are starting to happen in the garden, and there is a flurry of activity at the potting bench. The recent warm weather has seen shoots appear where they should and shouldn’t have. So it’s now the start of the battle against the weeds and slugs to make sure the garden is as productive as it can be. I usually start my morning rounds off now with a slug hunt, some of which are fed to the chickens, and the rest are given a salting. As long as I keep up the routine for the next few weeks I should be able to keep the worst of the slugs at bay. I’m also leaving a few strategic pieces of wood and rotten vegetables around the place, as the slugs will hide under the wood once the sun comes up, and also gravitate to the smell of the rotting vegetables so can usually be found in its vicinity. Read the rest of this entry »
What can we find here?
The chickens have been on top form recently, continuing to give us eggs right through the cold snap and into the new year. However, we mysteriously got 5 eggs today (although 2 of them were soft-shelled). We can only assume that Ginger, who always lays soft-shelled eggs, was trying to lay a double-yolker and it came out as 2 eggs instead!
The chickens continue to be a source of pleasure, but they have become a bit of a pain and a danger to themselves in the garden. They’ve now learnt that whenever I get the spade out goodies may be available. So today they were trying to “help” me dig in the polytunnel, and getting very excited when I put down a layer of well-rotted maure, full of all sorts of worms and wiggly things. I expect another 5 eggs tomorrow!