An update on the chickens is long overdue and particularly relevant now that spring is arriving in the North Pennines. This last winter has been a real eye-opener because both flocks of chickens went through a fairly drastic moult. We hadn’t seen that at all during the first winter here so it was a bit …
I’m constantly reminding myself of the good fortune in having a selection of fairly good outbuildings at my disposal. They’re generally weatherproof most of the time with power and light available so they’re perfectly usable for my needs. The problem I’ve had is that the original potting shed had collected more and more junk since we …
Continue reading ‘Final preparations before planting begins’ »
As part of the preparations for the planned new livestock arrivals, we arranged for a fencing contractor to come and make some changes to existing fencing in the back fields. I’m sure I might have been able to do this work myself but the professionals are definitely quicker and the results are probably a lot stronger than my amateur efforts …
It seemed such a simple idea this morning, I could close up the older main chicken house once they were all out and leave just the newer chicken coop open well before they put themselves to bed. Unfortunately this was not quite as straightforward as I had thought… They’ve enjoyed this elderly but very desirable …
I’d spotted that the British Hen Welfare Trust had some hens to re-home in our area and last Saturday was collection day. I’d been considering doing this earlier in the year and decided against it but now the time was right – particularly given that our existing flock haven’t laid any eggs for quite some …
For several weeks now, the roof on the original chicken house has looked the worse for wear. As far as I can tell this is partly down to the passing years but I suspect it’s not helped by bored crows pecking at it while waiting to pinch any spare chicken food. Finally I got organised …
Unfortunately our chickens are now well up to speed with the egg laying and we’re in danger of disappearing under a pile of eggs. In trying to deal with this glut my quiche making has improved, I’ve perfected a banana cake recipe and I’ve even had a go at making ice cream. However it’s not …
At 7am on a beautiful sunny morning I set off on the newly extended round of feeding. First up and most vocal was the neighbours tups. Another 9 of them arrived yesterday to make it 11 in total and all were very pleased to see me. In some cases they were a little too eager …
There is a growing feeling that we are almost through the short days and long dark nights of winter. The time is almost here to focus on planning for the coming year, drawing up a planting plan and trying to get one step ahead before everything starts growing again. I’m ready for the late burst …
Continue reading ‘Trying to get ahead of the game or just impatient for spring’ »
As it turned out, the end of 2013 also coincided with the end for a couple of spare cockerels from the clutch of eggs that hatched during the summer. Perhaps not the most celebratory of starts to New Years Eve but the job needed to be done. While still not a pleasant task, the steps …