Update on Mrs Boss and her ducklings: The final count is three
When I opened the wall of the Emerald Castle this morning Mrs Boss was sitting as far from the nest as possible. The ducklings peeped out at me from beneath her wings. Bright eyed and curious. The stench from the nest was rank. One egg was whole the other two were piped. This means that there was a small hole in the eggs. I don’t know whether Mrs Boss had pecked the eggs or they were made by a duckling struggling to get out. The smell indicated that the ducklings inside the eggs had been dead for some time. I removed them and cleaned up...
read moreThe Emerald Castle: update on Mrs Boss sitting on the Indian Runner duck eggs
Last year Mrs Boss was the heroine of the Farming Friends and Cottage Smallholder Interblog breeding event. Four of her keets matured to replenish our local breeding stock, adding some good Yorkshire grit to our East Anglian strains. For the first time in years Mrs Boss was a happy bantam hen, absorbed by her flock and no longer bullied. She rose from the bottom of the pecking order to a place where she didn’t care if she was pecked. She was so distracted by her adopted brood that she ignored the taunts. After a while the pecking and...
read moreUpdate on Mrs Boss and the duck eggs
I’ve overslept, having fallen asleep at the laptop last night. My post is not finished and I have to go out for the day. So this is just a small update on Mrs Boss and the duckling eggs. I have made extensive repairs on the “castle”. Mice have spent a happy winter chomping through the castle walls. With the aid of one of Dan’s olive tins and a large pair of tin snips I have repaired the damage and disinfected the accommodation with Citrox the organic disinfectant. I discovered a rat run under the house, which ends just...
read moreUpdate on Marco and Gep. Our two male guinea fowl that were adopted by The Chicken Lady
Marco and Gep had settled really well chez The Chicken Lady at the other end of the village. “They spend their time preening and gazing at each other,” she explained. “Preparing for the arrival of the girl friends,” chipped in her husband. A couple of weeks ago I was introduced to their girlfriends. They had a pit stop on their nuptial journey to meet their new husbands. Three pretty pearl grey guinea hens were in a sturdy wooden crate in the boot of TCL’s car. Pearl grey actually looks like darkest grey with...
read moreUpdate on the Farming friends – Cottage Smallholder guinea fowl breeing event. Just left with a couple of birds.
Towards the end of May 2007, Sara at Farming Friends offered us six guinea fowl eggs to put under a broody hen, the rest is history. Five keeets hatched out and finally last weekend, we were left with two. The boys have gone. They were collected last Sunday afternoon. The Chicken Lady, her husband and son arrived in a snappy VW Golf, looking calm and confident. As we walked through the garden, I explained that we’d had problems catching them and briefly outlined the pitfalls. They listened attentively as I pointed out Thunder &...
read moreUpdate on the Farming Friends – Cottage Smallholder Interblog Guinea Fowl Breeding Event. A new home for the boys.
June 2007 saw the launch of the Farming Friends – Cottage Smallholder Guinea fowl breeding event, when Sara sent us six guinea fowl eggs in the post to put under our broody hen Mrs Boss. Since then our guinea fowl have grown up and become sexually mature. With 3 cocks and one hen, we needed to find a home for two lone cocks. While we waited to find a suitable home our guinea fowl have finally sorted themselves out. Cloud, our lone guinea hen, has chosen her mate. A handsome hero of the beach type, with large pendulous wattles and...
read moreUpdate on the Farming Friends – Cottage Smallholder Interblog Guinea Fowl Event. One wife and a handful of husbands.
It seems ages since Sara at Farming Friends sent us six guinea fowl eggs in the post. June 2007 saw the launch of the Farming Friends’ – Cottage Smallholder’s Interblog Guinea Fowl Event. Now the guinea fowl have grown up and I must admit I have fallen in love with these gentle creatures. A couple of weeks ago I went down to clean out the chicken house. Carol (our Roman Empress Maran hen) was looking a bit rumpled and was clearly rattled. She was squeezed on the roof of the chicken house – there is just enough space for...
read moreUpdate on the Farming Friends – Cottage Smallholder Interblog Guinea Fowl Event. Gentle beings.
June 2007 saw the launch of the Farming Friends’ – Cottage Smallholder’s Interblog Guinea Fowl Event. Looking back at the guinea fowl posts this is a well rounded cycle. Amazing highs and lows and even tears. Everything started here when Sara at Farming Friends sent us six guinea fowl eggs in the post I love my guinea fowl. They are gentle docile beings. Hanging about in a group, they communicate constantly with one another. I went down at dusk on Saturday to lay some gravel in the gluey, muddy run. They had settled in the...
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