R.I.P. Alfonso and Massimo. Could you eat your own chickens?
Since we got the letter from our neighbour we have been dithering about how to deal with our cockerels. As in all small communities, other neighbours have come forward to say that they liked the sound of the cockerels. We considered rehousing them but they would have to stay together as they were such close chums, looking out for each other and chatting in a cockerelish sort of way when they found something tasty to eat. No rehousing project coud promise this as most peoplewho welcome a cockerel just want the one stud. We tried, but nobody...
read moreThe Italian Cockerels must go
Yesterday evening I noticed a brown envelope on the front door mat. I assumed that it was a circular and turned it over just in case. It had our address hand written on the front so I pulled out the typewritten letter and as I read the first few lines, my heart sunk. “Danny, it’s a letter from our neighbours. The cockerels are waking them up at 4.30 am – they can’t cope.” We have four cockerels. Beatyl, the diminutive cockerel hatched by Mrs Boss, Baby the tiny undersized Leghorn and the two Italian cockerels. Danny is not over keen...
read morePerfect temporary part time job
“Can you handle live worms? That’s what the turtles eat.” My stomach churned. I generously gave Danny the delight of tipping the worms into the dog poo composter last week. “Of course I can.” Proud to the bitter end. “There are not many worms in here at the moment but don’t worry, when you come to feed them there will be plenty.” I peered into the small tin. Lots of sandy stuff and a few worms. Fine. S tossed a few into the tank and a very capacious reptile guzzled the lot. I was fascinated by her. An ‘ancient’ head and...
read moreUpdate on Baby. Life in solitary splendour.
Baby our diminutive and bullied cockerel had been picked on endlessly. Not just by the Wicked Ginger Hen but by the whole flock. Just passing Baby in the run was an excuse for most chickens to give him a peck. Poor Baby had become the flocks’ punch bag. A tatty, forlorn creature – my heart went out to him. So I moved him into The Emerald Castle. This is where he has always chosen to sleep at night – well away from the thugs stampeding in the main chicken house. Here he has his own water fountain and chicken pellet buffet. And now,...
read moreUpdate on Baby: tackling bullying in our flock of chickens
Baby our diminutive cockerel is still very small. He has a sweet nature but his brain seems to match his size. The only time that I’ve seen him trying to take a dust bath was on a rainy day – no wonder he looks very tatty compared to the rest of the flock. This tattyness set off alarm bells with me. Why wasn’t he grooming like the other chickens? Was he depressed? The swing seat is within earshot of the chicken run. Tempers can flare in the flock and this is to be expected every now and then. Baby is not even on the first rung of the...
read moreEgg laying in our flock of chickens
Zebedee our youngest hen hatched on May 20th last year. The day that Mrs Squeaky Clean died – super clean heroine of all things white. A Garbo of the chicken world. We loved Mrs Squeaky and it was a shock when she died. The arrival of the new chicks salved the grief and Zeb has grown to be a beautiful back hen. Elegant yet happy to scratch in the mud. She been laying sporadically since the middle of January. Her eggs are creamy coloured with a very pointy end. Hope, the little black and white Wynadotte hen has being laying too. Hope...
read moreScaly leg mites in chickens
Last week I noticed that Baby, our tiny cockerel was hobbling. He spends most of the day on the roof of the ark away from the teasing pecks of the Italian Cockerels. Had he been hurt in one of these attacks? I picked him up and examined the leg and claw. It was swollen with a few small cuts. I washed the leg and sprayed it with a nifty spray cleaner and antiseptic manufactured by Savlon. The leg looked so bad I did a bit of healing on it – the claw felt very hot. Baby loves being cuddled and happily laid on his back in my arms while I...
read moreSoft fruit, chickens and rose petals
“Wow £4.19 for 15 strawberry seeds. Is it really worth buying these?” Danny shook the seed packet pensively. “We couldn’t buy 15 plants for £4.19. Even at the church fete. I want to grow enough for wine and jam this year.” “Won’t we get enough from the 12 plants that arrived yesterday?” I am deeply into getting a good harvest of strawberries next year. Today I am planting out my new strawberry plants in the overhauled soft fruit bed that sits beside the chicken run. I know that the chickens will stand patiently...
read more
FD