Bullying in our flock of chickens and guinea fowl
Photo: Hope and Beatyl Boss Now that the mornings and evenings are brighter, I’m spending more time watching our flock. I’ve discovered that there are problems. Our youngest additions to the flock are being bullied. “Poor Beatyl and Hope are being terrorised by Thunder and Carol.” Danny put down his toast. “It’s Cloud too. She can be a real bitch. We could cull Thunder. He’d be tasty.” “But guinea fowl mate for life. Cloud would be devastated.” “We could eat her too.” “Do you really mean...
read moreNothing can beat that first egg of the season
I’ve been very envious of people who were collecting eggs from their chickens throughout November, December and January. All of ours have been on egg laying sabbatical since October and, although I want them to enjoy a decent holiday each year, I did expect the laying breeds to produce an egg or two in January. They were coddled and eventually cagouled with no egg effect. Life off the nest was clearly far too important to accommodate anything as strenuous as egg laying . Admittedly most of our hens are elderly maidens – but the layers have...
read morePoultry in the snow
Sara at Farming Friends warned me that Guinea Fowl hate snow. This week’s snowfall is the first since they hatched in July 2007. So I was interested to see how Thunder and Cloud would react when I opened the hen house door. The feel of snow underfoot is always a pleasure for me. The crisp squeakiness takes me right back to our childhood winter garden. The shock of the cold and brightness. And there are always the footprints. “Are those really my steps?” As I walked down the garden I remembered my ninth Christmas. I was given a...
read moreHappy New Year
Danny is on chicken shepherding duties this week. “If we go with the names Peace and Hope, the one that pecks would have to be Hope. Arsenic and Old Lace are by far the most apposite names.” “Miss Pecky will calm down. She’s just rattled because she’s being bullied. Holly and Ivy would be good. Miss P could be Holly. Difficult to pick up. We need to find your gauntlets so that when she pecks you it doesn’t hurt so much.” “I like Frankincense and Myrrh but I’d rather reserve that for new pair of chickens. Frank is a great name...
read moreNew hens for Christmas
I woke late on Sunday and drifted back to sleep with the comforting warmth of the dogs at my feet. So it was after ten o’clock when I fumbled down to the kitchen to make a cup of tea and pick up my messages. “Ring me at your earliest convenience.” The Chicken Lady sounded upbeat. She would have been up for hours so I dialled her number immediately. “I’m in a tussle with these outdoor lights. What do you mean that you’ve just got up? We’ve got something to drop down to you. We’ll be there at one.” Generous and thoughtful, The...
read moreUpdate on our young Golden Sebright cockerel, Beatyl Boss
Sunday was an important day for our young cockerel, Beatyl. Mrs Boss and her adopted son have been living in the Emerald Castle for the past three months. This environment is fine for a mother hen with chicks as it is a secluded area away from the rush and thrust of The Big Pen. The fowl in TBP can look into the castle grounds and the castle residents can look out and small baby fowl are protected. However our young cockerel is now just over 13 weeks old. And for the past week I have been fretting about the temperature in the Emerald Castle....
read moreMrs Squeaky Clean
We have two Pekin bantams, Mrs Boss and Mrs Squeaky. Mrs Boss is an International film star (two movies on YouTube). Mrs Squeaky is an undiscovered beauty queen. Her glistening feathers challenge the whitest teeth. Hence her name. Mrs Boss has raised a clutch of Guinea Fowl, three runner ducks and a couple of chicks that hatched from a lucky dip box bought on eBay. Mrs Squeaky went broody for a day a couple of years ago. I put her in the anti broody coop with Mrs Boss. Within hours she was begging for release. Clearly she loathed being in...
read moreIf you keep livestock you will always have dead stock
S told me this a few months ago. The livestock part is great and the dead stock element is always upsetting. One of the most satisfying things for us is to raise our own stock. The bond between you and the young is much stronger. You have waited impatiently through the gestation period to marvel at their first faltering steps. Each small life becomes part of your life. We are not commercial producers and our diminutive flock insures that each member is cherished. Dixie Chick seemed to recover well from her bout of chestiness but two days ago...
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