Keeping chickens – the flip side
“There’s something wrong with Florence. She’s looking odd, not eating or drinking. She’s isolated herself from the others.” “Let’s put her in The Emerald Castle – with food and water of course. Away from the rest of the flock she can relax and concentrate on geting better.” Wise words from Danny that apply to any ailing chicken. It’s strange but it usually seems to be my favourite birds that keel over. As in any group there are some that have more attractive personalities. I still miss Mrs Boss, Carol and...
read moreRecycle your shredded shrubs into deep chicken litter
Since I started keeping chickens I’ve always used gravel in the 30’ x 6’ run. Gravel provides drainage – when it rains the chicken poo is washed away. If it doesn’t rain you can turn over the gravel and, if you are energetic, worms appear. Special treats for the chickens. Six bags just cover the run. Applied four times yearly, you are looking at quite a sizable bill. At least £36 for just one a spread. If you don’t buy something to raise and aerate the ground the chickens are standing in foul mud. Diseases increase. And what...
read moreR.I.P Baby
It was only a day or so ago that we were talking about Baby – our diminutive cockerel. The tiny rooster that never really grew up. Bullied by the rest of the flock he moved permanently into The Emerald Castle. A solitary life that he so clearly loved away from the rasp of sharp beaks and fear. He grew a little, put on weight and started preening himself. But he never was able to crow like the big boys. I knew that something was wrong this morning when he didn’t appear in the Castle grounds. He was always eager for his morning corn –...
read moreUpdate on our five new hens. One week on.
So how are the five new maidens settling in? It’s been just over a week now and there are still two definite camps. The four older residents and the five new girls. With little fraternising as yet. Zebedee (Roman Empress style chicken) and teeny Beatyl the cockerel have a pretty secure “ancient style republic”. Chickens are not keen on even a whiff of democracy. There have been some surprises. The new gang like to stand on one leg? This bemused me for a while, epecially when they were all standing in a line one one leg. The...
read moreFive young maiden hens have joined our flock
S has been chivvying me for some time about getting more hens. The demise of Carol finally left us with just two laying hens. And service on the egg laying front has been very intermittent this year. We had the space to restock for ages and finally I decided to go for it. So yesterday The Chicken Lady, S and I ate an enormous, delicious, waist expanding lunch. Then we piled into their car and shot off with a heavy wooden crate in the boot and hats at the ready as it was raining. Our destination was Cambridge Poultry. I’ve heard a lot of...
read moreOur favourite old lady
I haven’t written about our chickens for ages. We still have them – I’d hate to give them up as they are interesting and fun to keep and some do become friends. Each has her own personality and a particular place in an ever changing pecking order. They have their friendships and their tiffs. When I’m working in the kitchen garden I am aware, amused and often shocked by their antics. They can be very cruel and astonishingly kind in a chicken sort of way. Do you remember when I discovered that Baby was not allowed to eat and drink...
read moreHow to cook puffballs recipe
“I want Mrs Boss to have a memorial. She deserves it.” Danny was warming his hands over the wood burning stove. He had just finished burying her in the garden. It was March 2009. “They have some nice Willowstone chickens at the garden centre. I’ll get one. I know that they are well under £20.” But when I visited the garden centre there were no chickens on display. In fact it has taken me all this time to discover that the stone garden ornaments had been moved to a different area. Last week I chose the chicken that looked most...
read moreAlphonso’s Chicken Bonne Femme recipe – cooked in a Thermos
Well how did the cockerels taste? Massimo is in the freezer as I chose Alphonso to star in our first eat your own chickens post. I decided a slow cook method was probably best so I christened The Giant Thermos that I bought from the church fete this year. I also tried to use as many ingredients from our kitchen garden. We had fresh garlic – for the first time a decent sized bulb. Carrots – many strange and evocative shapes here as we don’t really have the perfect soil for them. Potatoes, just a tiny bit of slug/xxx damage – just...
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