Weekend Chickens and the joys of a weather "app"

Forest Hill's noisiest chicken - Tallulah!

Sometimes I bloody dislike those chickens! Right I'm the first one not to have a lie-in but seriously, 7am on a Sunday morning and you are not going to be best popular with husband or neighbours when all the girls start screeching.

Not an alarm call, just that really annoying noisy clucking cum half strangled squawk that got me out of bed to both see what the matter was and stop the wretched din. And the problem causing this poultry furore? That would be Harriet using the nestbox that Tallulah wanted to be in. For goodness sake you would have thought that Tallulah could have at least used the nestbox next door but no, she stood there screeching at the top of her voice, Nigella joining in just because she could and Harriet answering them back. Letting them into the garden solved the problem however after all that din we only got one egg. 
As I said, bloody chickens.

By odd coincidence I took some video of the girls feeding off a corn cob stuck on a skewer and dangling from a wire. A bend in the skewer has been a new addition as it twirls the corn around and keeps the girls amused for considerably longer than previous. It's alway good to do at this time of year as corn is so cheap however I do realize it's not doing anything for the girls egg laying abilities and girths. Oddly looking back it was almost a year to the day since I last videoed them doing this very thing.

Chasing the corn

RainAlarm failed to tell me about this

Much can be said of the Great British summer, for I remember it well and sadly finished in June. The past week has been the normal cycle of rain, sunshine, heavy rain, glimpse of sun, very heavy rain, vague daylight, monsoon. 
In a moment of apparent or indeed abject stupidity I downloaded an app for the iPod called RainAlarm - what a wonderful waste of time.
Firstly due to the constantly inclement weather it doesn't stop pinging and telling me that there is precipitation 4.3km away, 4.2km, away, etc. Of course what it's not telling me is that I am soaked to the skin while cleaning the chickens out and it doesn't seem to realise that the heavens have actually opened up over me! Why no monsoon warning for SE23?

Still, we can but cherish the moments of sunshine and warmth and rejoice in the fact that at least all the slugs and snails that are reproducing rampantly in these moist climes are providing a veritable feast for the girls. Lets hope it provides the edible stimulus for laying more eggs!

Harriet - all she wanted to do was lay the egg.

Three years of chickens and Hens in the City

Goodness me - how time flies when you are having fun/keeping chickens.

It's now three years since Harriet arrived in our lives, closely followed by Ruby which means that its also three years since I started this blog - heavens, that's longer that a Katie Price marriage!

The one and only Ms Harriet Princess Ping Pong McEllis

In some ways it really doesn't seem that long ago since we got the chicken run shortly followed by the Silkies, Harriet and Lottie, the first occupants however they were followed the very next day by the Sussex bantams Ruby, Cybil and Margot. I recall with great trepidation the first time that we let them out into the garden.

A rare photo of Ruby NOT moulting

I have no idea why we ever thought we had to worry. After three years we have gone through the process of hatching and loss, arrivals and departures. The garden has developed into an area of plants that can generally withstand the girls once they are established though the lawn does need areas re-turfing each year. 


The girls do an excellent job at demolishing slugs and snails though this year they did wipe out the lettuce faster than the aforesaid molluscs! 


There is no doubt that the greatest joys of the chickens are the eggs. Glorious in taste, there is absolutely no comparison to shop bought eggs to the eggy joys the girls produce. Although they are bantams and therefor bantam eggs we have found that the yolks (as well as being the most amazingly bright orangey yellow)are larger that those of a normal sized egg which could well account for the fantastic flavour. It really doesn't take long to get the hang of working out recipes with bantam eggs instead of the normal "recipes are based on large eggs" scenario. I wonder if the slug and snail diet makes the eggs tastier?  

Tallulah - her of the saggy bum 

Nigella - beware dogs and actually everything!

Poor Lottie passed away at a fairly early age. Cybil and Margot departed for a new life in rural Bedfordshire due to the fact that noisy early morning bloody chickens in the city do not go down well with the neighbours (and no, rural Bedfordshire is not a synonym for "in the oven")


So onwards to the next two lovelies that arrived. One is a partridge colour Silkie (I think she's a partridge colour? Do correct me if I'm wrong)called Tallulah. To say she was shabby when she arrived is an understatement however she moulted out into a lovely bird. She does have something of a dropped undercarriage and all the old poultry keeping books suggest that she should be straight into the pot however she's a happy hen and not a bad layer though she does turn out some very thinly shelled eggs. And of course Nigella the Destroyer. A silver Sussex (as was Cybil whom we had to move on) Nigella is full of attitude. On the positive side she takes no nonsense from the dogs and will quite happily chase Max. Unfortunately Max thinks that Nigella is playing so he takes his ball over to her so she can throw it! I have to say that I do love the Sussex bantam as a breed.


So still very happy with our "girls" and we are forever indebted to our lovely neighbours who are always more than happy to chicken sit when we are away. It was also lovely to meet Alan and Sarah in the park the other day, more fellow chicken keepers in our road. Hopefully at some stage I might get to upload some pics of their girls.


Despite the oddness of the weather and blight attacking lots of people outdoor tomatoes we are doing good, harvesting lots of fruit and veg. Tomatoes and outdoor ridge cucumbers are doing well, just planted out kale, calvo nero and celeriac at the allotment for winter crops and also just had our first chilli of the year - yup it was a right hot little bugger even though it was still green. Courgettes haven't overwhelmed us yet - you can always tell when there are too many as its straight to the glut crop recipe pages! We also have some really good squash coming on for later in the year. Just trying to fit in a last crop of Florence fennel as the first lot got too hot and bolted but think I'm too late.


So three years just went that'er way. Thank you for reading and your comments and all of those of you who contact me via facebook about the chickens (and don't forget the read the latest Max and Millie

Ruby after being severely "app'd" by my hubbie

July ramblings

True to say that a week was going to be far to optimistic in doing a follow up blog however I think that in current times five weeks is not bad going for me.

Enjoying a French evening

Summer as described in the prior update has now fizzled out, the scorching temperatures of earlier months has now returned to the norm of grey, moist and humid days, the occasional glimpse of sunshine equated with torrential rains. Needless to say it plays havoc with your tomatoes if you are growing them outside.

At the end of June we went out to Limousin to visit my sister and her partner who have very happily settled into the French way of life. While we were in the lovely little town of Le Dorat it really was exceptionally hot but glorious, the downside being that for a couple of nights sleep eluded everybody due to the heat and a bloody black redstart that insisted on calling at 4am for about an hour! All of our adventures are in husband's excellent blog, just click on the Max and Millie link opposite.


What I wanted to mention was how lovely and completely unspoiled the entire area is, for me it recalled country lanes in the Cheshire of my youth and a pace of life that somehow I think I want to embrace. Needless to say its not a fast process however I do feel that we shall be spending more time in Limousin.

While we were there we did visit a very large country market which not only had the most amazing selection of goods from stunning pre 1970's nylon leisurewear to mattresses, tripe sausages (which we accidentally bought and manfully tried to devour but failed miserably) but lots of stuff for the garden from plants to mini-tractors and livestock. You literally could by anything from a horse to a hen.

On the practical side of it husband wasn't overly happy with the way ducks, geese and chickens were dealt with, crammed into cages then boxes, dignity and welfare out of the window. It's a farming community with little time for compassion, in real terms it looked worse than it was in reality. Once you left the utility area however there was a good selection of fancy poultry, silkies seemed very popular, and lots of other odd pets. If you wanted to buy a chocolate labrador well you were in luck along with a good selection of ferrets, budgies and indeed all manner of creatures that were not going to end up on the table.

All in all it was a very interesting and fun experience though despite my general happiness at eating most things apart from celery I very much doubt I will be having andouillette (tripe sausage) again.


Recipe with eggs as promised in last blog is as follows and not only is highly seasonal but of course uses eggs. My sister made this for us (the cherry version) and it was delicious (and apparently from the Limousin anyway)
Cherry (or in this case, plum) clafouti
Firstly bear in mind that this is a kind of sweet Yorkshire pudding and secondly make sure your baking dish is big enough as if the batter is too deep it gets stodgy in the middle (not a bad thing but the idea is summer and not stodge)
You need a 22cm dish in which you put 2 tsp vegetable oil and get it into a hot gas 7 oven
In a big bowl mix 75g plain flour and 50g caster sugar (or more if the plums aren't ripe) then whisk in 5 bantam eggs (or 4 normal sized ones I guess) along with 250ml milk (full or semi-skimmed).
Stone and chop 400g plums, small plums got chopped into quarters so take it from there. You do need them cooked after all.
Once the oiled dish has hit the required temp quickly mix plums into batter then whip dish out of oven, pour in plummy batter mix then get back into oven asap!
Cook for approx 30 minutes - don't peek!
After the prescribed time you will have a lovely golden puffed clafouti which will collapse within 5 minutes but no matter as it tastes better after waiting around for 10 minutes.
Dust with some icing sugar and serve with cold cream - delicious

Needless to say you can use cherries. It also tastes great cold



Nigella

 The chickens have of course been feeling the seasonal desire to go broody. Harriet as reported, did eventually finish her spell only to be followed by Tallulah who I managed to persuade to finish slightly early, Ruby who got finished off within two weeks so hopefully all have now had a broody attack which will see them over the summer. All have gone into a huge moult apart from Nigella so the garden looks as if it is suffering the remains of a major pillow fight. We did have a most odd week when there were no eggs at all. At one stage I thought that maybe the eggs were being taken but no, laying resumed this week. It's odd not having any eggs!

Small snippets of information. Winter always causes a problem with trying to provide the birds with some greenery or forage. I know that they will do well on just pellets with the occasional scattering of mixed corn but I do like to keep the girls as happy as possible. I have just been reading about feeding them nettles in the winter. I know on various poultry forums there is always debate on nettles, some people say their chickens eat fresh nettles others say that the chickens never touch them. I have been looking into using nettles as enrichment fodder for giraffes of all creatures. Once the nettles have dried the stinging mechanism in nettles is deactivated and giraffes LOVE the stuff. A little research has revealed that if you go and collect your nettles (without getting stung of course), dry them out and bundle them up they can be used to great effect with your chickens and if you have the room and place to keep the nettle bundles dry you could store some for the months when greenery is at a premium. I am going to trial some but not sure quite yet how I am going to make some extra space in the already packed shed in the garden.

Ruby

Allotment is doing okay - of course failed on erecting the polytunnel again this year but with what I think is going to be another disaster with tomatoes I have to promise myself that it will go up this winter! Harvesting is early this year on various crops and we have in mid July already had some bumper crops of blackberries and plums. Have made two batches of bramble jelly so far and jolly delicious it is as well. The most amazing thing is that the jam actually set!

Okay - enough for now. Hopefully I will manage to do another update before Christmas.

Homes Wanted and Big News

Firstly if you read the last blog a full 24 hours ago you will know that Annie, the owner of Eggnog and the Borg (Shirl and Pearl the silkies) had a sneaking suspicion that Shirl could actually be a Stan. Well all her nightmares came true yesterday as when Eggnog was crowing as he should, well BOTH Shirl and Pearl joined in! Needless to say Bob and Barry as they are now known will need rehoming - they are great chickens - if you are interested in owning a lovely blue silkie cockerel (or two) do get in touch and I will put you in contact with Annie.

Now the Big News. As predicted yesterday, Miss Harriet produced an egg this morning!

As ever it wasn't a simple process but one that took Harriet an hour to decide where to lay. In one of the carrying boxes in the shed or in skylon which had new wood shaving and straw in? Back and forth and back and forth with much clucking to ensure the entire world was aware that she wanted to lay an egg. I was eventually ejected from the run while cleaning it out so Harriet could lay..........and 30 minutes later - result!

Of course, having gone through the entire stress of laying an egg a lady, and a chicken lady at that must instantly rush to bathe, theoretically dust bathe but in this weather?

"wot are you looking at?"

As ever, Harriet delights in finding mud and having a good old shake around, heaven's only knows how she ever managed to get white again but she does and after producing an egg she deserved it - well done Harriet.

"Daddy, I'm not really THAT dirty am I?"

2010

It's amazing that January is already half way done - most of the time has been spent whipping the huskies into a frenzy to get the sled going to transport me to and fro between work and home. Well watching the news you would think that's how it was. Sure its been snowy but isn't that what winter is about? A few inches of snow and transportation seems to collapse - the trains are bloody useless!

Anyway, I think the girls are glad to see the end of the all the snowy weather. Of course with snow on the ground even when they were given access to have a run about in the garden they were not having any of it and stayed resolutely in the run. Now the lawn is clear they are more than happy to run about on very soggy grass eating all the wild bird seed that has been thrown from the bird table and then revealed by the receding snow.

And no news - nothing really has changed. Ruby is eventually looking slightly better, lots of pin feathers now so not long until she is back to glorious normality. Saying that, in the condition she is now there is no chance of eggs from her for a while. Harriet on the other hand is fairly close to laying and I would be surprised if we didn't get an egg in the next week. She crouches as soon as she gets a hand any where near her, she is looking wonderful and lastly I would say she is eating really well but as her other name is "Pigsy" its hardly surprising, that silkie will eat anything! And Stella - still looking gorgeous and still being an orpington to the core and not laying a ruddy thing. Have to say she really is calming down a lot.

Its really interesting to note that last year we gave the girls lighting every morning so they could start feeding at 6.30am. As this entailed a right rigmarole of swapping lights, recharging batteries, etc this year we didn't bother. The girls seem fine however last year we have eggs virtually all winter and this year obviously not, the last egg being laid in mid November. Might revert to lighting up mornings again next winter to see if it really does keep egg production going.

To finish - a quick update on the chicks that left us in the autumn, and proper chickens they are now and we are so happy to still be in contact with the wonderful folk who now have them.

Sebastian and Doris looking splendid

Firstly Sebastian and Doris the speckled sussex bantams. Ros has sent us some great photos of them, both are looking marvellous especially Sebastian who seems to have grown into a very handsome chap - and looking at the pictures they look as if they are living in rural paradise!

Secondly Eggnog and the Borg (Shirl and Pearl) who went to Annie and Tim, again from south London suburbs to the beautifully green countryside of rustic Dorset. Now the kids were going in with an already established group of chickens and initially they did have a bit of a slight kicking however the Borg are happily settled in and Eggnog really does rule the roost and keeps his girls very happy according to Annie. Slight problem in that Shirl might be Stan so we will await further information.

Eggnog with Shirl and Pearl in the background

Okay, that's it - hopefully next update will include the joyous news of an egg!

Autumn and more chickens departed

And back to three chickens again.

The adventures of summer are now over, after an amazing Indian summer some proper autumn weather returned with blustery skies and the occasional heavy rain shower. As also reported in the last update the winter run has gone up for the girls and Eggnog but also came crunch time as Eggnog and the Borg had to go due to our winter carrying capacity so we were delighted that they have a wonderful new home in Dorset with Tim and Annie, friends of our lovely mate Tracey. We took all three down to Annie and Tim's last weekend, with Eggnog in the back of the car having a chat to us all the way down.

Below - Tim, me and Annie

Bit of a shock for Eggnog when he got there are although all girls in the run there were definitely some right bruisers in there (i.e. full size chickens). The Borg were really funny as all of a sudden they were Eggnog's best friend. In fact a few incursions happened though that's inevitable and its going to be interesting to see how young Eggnog takes over the flock (as he should do). Messages from Annie say that all is going well, still the occasional scuffle but all settling in fine.

After the departure of Sebastian who was number 1 gardening chicken, the loss of Eggnog who was number 2 has made cleaning up in the garden a bit of a lonely old task. Its very quiet when tidying up the borders with nobody at your side removing all the earth you just replaced and trying to dig out any newly added plant. Saying that its been a great experience hatching all the chicks out and watching them grow into lovely birds and we really will be doing it again though I think we will just stick to one or two breeds instead of the mixture we had this year.

Harriet, not the cleanest of silkies at the best of times with her wanton desire for mud bathing however of late she has got a bit of a mucky bum. She's not managed to completely clean up herself so it was time to intervene. Harriet is no stranger to the sink and a bath so madam got dunked! Of course only Harriet could sit there having her bum washed while she stuffed out on mealworms...... And sat on the towel while she had the hair dryer treatment (hair dryer especially purchased for the purpose as the two of us hardly have any hair left to blow dry!) At least she had a clean bum now even is she did go straight out and have a flap in the mud.

So back to three birds for winter. Harriet, Ruby and Stella (name changes failed and she is still Stella). The old birds are still laying well and Stella should be coming on line soon. She, Stella, is still a nutcase and terrified of most things however she is slowly coming around but its going to be a long haul I think. She does have the deepest and most lovely cluck and her colour is wonderful, just waiting for the tail to fill out a little for a prize winning hen :)

And finally, had a really busy day at the allotment. Managed to clear out three beds and planted up one with onions, shallots and garlic - aching bones but enjoying a glass of wine on the sofa after having had a good soak.

Somewhat late update and sad departure

How, how, how busy has life been!

Apologies (Mother) for not updating for a while but been away (work), very busy (work) very busy (chickens and repairing garden after chickens) and have also been lacking on allotment maintenance.

We also took the decision to sell some of the birds which I have to say was sad but realisation that a small garden cannot cope with eight chickens and the volume of chicken poo. Saying that the fertilisation the garden has received must have been a contributory factor to banana flowers so not all bad.

Sebastian of course had to go - suburbia cannot take a boy crowing in the morning and noises were already coming from the run in the morning. Not exactly crowing but a throttled croak - young man with his voice breaking, and his clucks were getting really deep. But so friendly and lovely..........anthropomorphism and me don't do deals but Sebastian would push the limits. Converted from chicken language here are some of Sebastian's favourite sayings:

• "I know you just kicked me out of the kitchen but I'm sure that means I can come in again"
• "I know you look as if you are really enjoying your tea and toast and reading the paper but it will be far more fun if I come and sit on your knee and try and steal the toast"
• "I know you are walking down the garden for some reason but if I get completely under your feet I'm sure you'll pick me up, give me a hug and give me some corn instead of those boring pellets"
• "Daddy, give me a treat, now!"

As Sebastian and Doris got on so well we decided to sell them together even though we wanted to keep Doris. We were really happy that a lovely lady called Ros bought them and hopefully we can do an update as we are really keen to see how they turned out as they were both very lovely looking birds. Have to say it was very sad to see them go but I'm sure they are going to have a lovely life.

Stella was up for sale however there was a big shock (though not that big for me) Eggnog really is a boy - I knew those wattles were too big for a girl - so Eggnog is up for sale :( and we are keeping Stella (who is still very shy but a stunning ginger/brown). Eggnog's colour is lovely and he is getting the lovely iridescent green in the black feathering. If you are interested in a very loving and lovely young black Orpington bantam for all of a tenner check out his ad and just scroll down the page until you see him https://www.omlet.co.uk/breeds/breeds.php?page=Orpington&menu=Chickens&submenu=Orpington

Also for sale are the Borg. They have become two lovely girls and more friendly and now join in all chicken crowd participation events apart from the kitchen raiding. It would be nice to sell them together however happy to split them if they are going with other chickens. Again scroll down the ad to find them https://www.omlet.co.uk/breeds/breeds.php?breed_type=Chickens&breed=Silkie

Harriet and Ruby go on as ever - both now laying and thankfully Ruby over her broody moment.

The garden is well and truly trashed however it is the end of the year garden wise so not long now until the winter run goes up and the plants and lawn get chance to recover and brace themselves for next year!

Chick Update

Not really chicks anymore but real time small chickens and all individuals in their own right (apart from the Borg but more them later)

To recap we got 12 fertile eggs and put them under our two broody mums to be - Ruby and Harriett. Hatching wasn't maybe as good as we had wished however we did 50% and a range of birds, 2 speckled Sussex, 2 Orpington bantams (1 buff, 1 black) and two blue silkies. Here follows themselves

Speckled Sussex bantam

Jason and Sebastian - truly lovely birds.

Jason is now we believe Doris, in fact 99.9% hen. Really lovely plumage but a bit shy as Sebastian and Eggnog are so forward (not to mention Ruby and Harriett).

Doris

Sebastian - Mr Bleedin' Independent himself. No fear what so ever, he happily jumps onto you in search of a treat, sits on your arm and actually enjoys being stroked. Down point is that he does get under your feet at times and has no problem leaping straight into the mealworm tub!

Sebastian - the Sebster

Orpington bantam

Black Orpington bantam: Eggnog - the ultimate chickenette. From point of death twitching fluffy blob to androgynous (praying a hen!!) gorgeously funny, iridescently black/green chicken. She engages, she chases and she want to get hugs. I say she in the most optimistic manner as we really are hoping Eggnog is a girl, she just has big wattles though fortunately the comb is not big at all. We LOVE Eggnog.

You can't get cuter than this - Eggnog

Buff Orpington bantam: Stan - well you can't call a girl Stanella so Stan is now Stella (however still will be called Stan for ages until we get the idea). Definitely a lady chicken Stan/Stella suffers similarly to Justin/Juliette in being overly dominated by the Ruby/Harriett/Sebastian/Eggnog domination syndrome, however......

Stella/Stan

Blue silkies

Satan children of foster mother Harriett. Originally Pearl and Shirl, now renamed the Borg. A single brain cell joins them. No interaction with humans. Food is all. Pointless running around is a second all. No personality (I'm sure it will develop when they move as they look to Harriett for everything). We can't even tell them apart! and we are very sure that they are both girls

So there we are - up to date as much as we can.

• The Borg hopefully are soon off to a new home
• Sebastian,though a cockerel will be staying here until he starts crowing as he is so lovely
• Stella and Doris will get more confidence
• Eggnog will not hate me too much when she gets wormed

Best of all it's been a great experience (if not occasionally fraught) so if you do have a virgin broody hen (sometimes having a cock in the city is just not possible) ((that doesn't sound quite right! )) do try and get some fertile eggs from a recommended poultry keeper - hatching chicks is GREAT

Late August Update

Poor ignored hens, I don't think they love us anymore. We've also ignored the blog - reason below

"Married at last"
(photo courtesy of Paul Batterham)

Well we did it - civil partnership - and then away in France on honeymoon for a week and now back to the real world. Needless to say the requirements and care of the chickens (and indeed the garden) have been ably taken care of by the Loxton-Ruffs, Isobel and Rob and head of garden chicken management, Jill and Patrick. Thank you all.

Ruby actually out of the nestbox

And how much have all the kids grown AND Ruby has gone broody again (just as she started laying dammit). Harriett has now gone out of "mother" mode and has returned to her normal self and lost some of the "dimness" she acquired as a brood mother as she has now started laying - thank goodness.

Good to have Harriett eggs again

It's great that we are getting eggs again be it few. Despite buying organic and free-range eggs they don't come anywhere near as good as the home produced offerings provided by the girls. Our eggs, even though from bantams, have larger yolks than "normal" eggs and there is no competition in the taste and colour stakes. Obviously eggs produced on a diet of slugs, snails, sweetcorn and woodlice with the occasional mealworm are absolute winners.

And to the kids, as I said, phenomenal changes. From gangly teenchicks to real small chickens. First day back at work and I'm knackered so I'll update more later this week but as a teaser below are (from the top) Jason (who needs renaming Justine), Stan (now Stella), Eggnog, thankfully ambigously named but heading to be a boy I think and finally the one we did get right, Sebastian.

Two weeks old

What a difference a week makes!

It's been a busy old week and I have been away for some of it so the chicks seem to have been growing at a most impressive rate.

Eggnog, although still the smallest, is doing extremely well and devoted to Harriet. We are dithering on what sex it is. Although Eggnog started out a boy in our minds I get the feeling that Eggnog may in fact be Tallulah! As you can see below, that chick has been eating lots!

The buff Orpington bantam has been named Stanley, as I am convinced he is indeed a male due to already visible and fast growing comb (please tell me if I am completely wrong here). Stanley is THE most independent of all the chicks and is quite happy to go off exploring the garden without mother hens in tow.

The silkie chicks - I personally think they are a definite for being named Laverne and Shirley (for those of you who remember "The Fonz" the names should be familiar http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laverne_&_Shirley ). They do everything together, are slightly dim (I think it's a silkie thing) and so hope that they are both girls as I would hate to lose either of them. Any comments back to the blog voting for Laverne and Shirley would be deeply appreciated.

Harriet with Shirley and Laverne

And then we get to the baby turkeys. What we think are the speckled Sussex are growing at an alarming rate. They are probably twice the size of Eggnog. They are always the first to the food and I am sure that at least one is a male if not both of them.

Speckled Sussex chick realising its got wings!

After the "confinement" the girls have undergone both incubating and the start of rearing, they have now had both a chance to spend some time in the "lawn run" and if we are about, free-range in the garden.

The "lawn run" was a quick internet purchase which in the guise of a guinea pig run seemed to suit the purposes of getting one of the mums and some of the chicks out onto grass and some peace from the other. However that proved to be impossible as Harriet and Ruby are joint mums so dividing them, never mind the chicks just didn't work.

The positive is that we can get all the birds out onto grass for a good scratch about and a hugely enjoyable dust bath (it's hysterical watching the chicks emulating Harriet and Ruby dust bathing, usually underneath the mums and getting kicked out on a regular basis, not that they minded) when we are not around.

Best of all is that when we are about we now let all the birds out into the garden. Still not quite confident enough to leave them alone as although Ruby as turned into a complete headcase if she thinks any of the brood are in peril I still feel a cat could take a chick. However if we are about they now all go out and love it.

Of course for ever positive there is a (slight) negative;

• Newly seeded lawn trashed and reverted to a dust bowl within a few days
• How quickly newly planted vegetation is removed in search of the occasional bug
• Physalis (Cape gooseberries) were outrageously victimised and eaten without mercy
• Borders instantly scratched out onto the paths

So bless them a couple of rules are now applied;

• chicken training - they now move easily between the lawn run and home run
• when free ranging, mums are not allowed on the borders
• when free ranging, physalis is seen as a legitimate target so that is a sin they are allowed
• Stanley does exactly as he pleases
• can chicken herding be classified as alternative employment? I love it.

All in all, could life be any better?

Allotment update to follow as I ran out of time.

Back home

Well the good news is that Eggnog is doing great!

Eggnog munching out in the lawn run

We have just had the most wonderful weekend in Devon with our dear friends Bunty and David. They are wonderful hosts though I fear our livers may disagree.

Also visited Paignton Zoo and met up with my great colleague and friend, Curator of Birds Jo Gregson. As ever I was very impressed with the work Jo and her team are doing, especially with cassowaries - here is a picture of one that I hope will soon be at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo.

Now that is an impressive bird!

We did take out time to visit Devonshire Traditional Breed Centre in Crediton http://www.dtbcentre.co.uk/ where I acquired three hopefully fertile buff Orpington eggs.

I'm not a fan of Bramha chickens but this lot were great - full of personality

It's still a lovely collection, the chickens and grounds were a pleasure to see and as ever the staff were great (Thank you Tracey for rushing around and getting fresh Orpington eggs)

If only I had a really big garden it would be FULL of buff Orpingtons

Back home and it was a pleasure to see the mums and chicks. It's been good weather in London over the weekend so some of the plants were a bit saggy but nothing that a good water around the garden didn't cure. Rob and Isobel had done an excellent job with the chickens though Harriet and Ruby had done an excellent job at trashing the run with the chicks.

Ruby on guard

First we got all eight out of the home run and into the lawn run - of course Ruby kicked off big time when we moved her chicks but once they were out on the grass they loved it. Slight problem in that the silkie chicks walked straight through the wire (well the gaps were a bit big) so a rapid job with some smaller wire soon secured the pen for the mums and chicks.

Harriet and Eggnog in the lawn run

So how are the chicks doing?


Eggnog is doing brilliantly. I have NO idea why we are calling him "he", I really want Eggnog to be a girl so fingers crossed. Still staying close to Harriet, Eggnog is now far more visible and he eats with gusto and is becoming a little mister independent.


The two silkie chicks look gorgeous and are fast as hell, they have got the idea of catching flies, just like Harriet - is fly catching a silkie thing?


The buff Orpington bantam is growing really quickly and had the fullest crop.


Most impressive are the speckled Sussex. They have grown faster than anybody, you can see the flight feathers already starting to form on the wings. They scratch about just like the mums and with the size of them I wonder if they are indeed bantams!


It was lovely to be away but it's equally lovely to be home.

Eggnog - it's a long story

Sometimes you wonder where your partner is coming from - seriously.

We have and indeed continue to worry about the little black Orpington bantam. It, although now a "he" in our minds, has ended up with the most unusual of names.

Aforesaid chick is black with small white stripes (though these have now turned yellow) so I instantly thought, in an alcoholic sense of course, that we should call him Guinness.

So innocently asking my lover what drink name did little chick inspire...........Eggnog!

"Eggnog???" I ask?

"Yes, Eggnog, what's wrong with that? Isn't it champagne and Guinness?"

Rejoice, Eggnog we love you!

Various worries - chicks not getting the idea of running up the ramp to the hut in the evening though Harriet stayed with them in the run as Ruby went to the nestbox.

Eggnog has NOT got the idea of eating and preferring to stay in the warm feathers of Harriet instead of eating however we did see him eat and drink.

Various good bits - all the other chicks are doing great and both Harriet and Ruby are doing a great job at feeding them especially as this is their first time.

Various wonderful bits - the George clan came around this evening to take over chicken and chick rearing duties over the weekend while we are away in Devon. A huge thank you to them.

There may be an update from Rob and Isobel (that would be good) however that's it now until Sunday evening

News in early June

After the week of sunshine and very respectable temperatures we are now back into the early summer run of sunshine and showers. I think our incubating girls prefer this weather as opposed to the very hot times. Saying that, with no mud to bathe in Harriet has returned to her most white and pristine loveliest.

They are creatures of habit are our hens, as indeed we are, and get lifted gently off the eggs once a day for a good feed, drink and a very big poo (which as previously mentioned is very smelly and getting smellier as the incubation goes on it seems!). Both revel in having a good flap about, a quick preen but they are normally back on their eggs within 15 - 20 minutes.

We are getting excited now as the eggs could hatch as soon as Friday (only 5 days time). I think that we have got everything ready for the arrival(s) and needless to say no doubt lots of photos on the way.

The blue tits did very well and although we are not sure how many left the nest the parent birds still have a minimum of 6 chicks with them. The entire family are now using the bird feeder in the garden so we see them on a regular basis. The female blue tit looks as scruffy as ever - I wonder if they will do another clutch? There also seems to have been a small explosion on long-tailed tits, lots of them in the trees at the end of the garden.

Allotment and although we were a bit late in getting it sorted this year the strawberry plants have given a wonderful harvest and we are now getting to crop radish and salad leaves. The little fruit trees that we put in three years ago are doing well with apples and cherries on the trees but the Victoria plum has never done anything like producing blossom or fruit.

Finally the garden. Obviously lots of chicken poo has worked wonders and with the girls now incubating there has been a flurry of plant activity and its looking lovely. The downside is that the slug and snail populations seems to be on the increase as there are no little poultry predators to polish them off.

Next update hopefully we'll have some exciting news.............