Sad news about our ex-batts

I just wanted to share with you that over the last week we have lost two of our dear girls. Khalessi developed a prolapse and two vets recommended euthanasia. We stayed with her whilst this was done. It was very peaceful and stress free for her.

But one week later we had another very poorly girl. Bunty had egg peritonitis. Again, the vet recommended euthanasia and again I stayed with her until she’d gone.

That leaves dear Dame Chook and Betty. Both were very upset at their losses. For saying they were all strangers to each other when we got them they became a very tight unit in an amazingly short time. I never saw so much as a minor skirmish.

All I can do is console myself that they at least had some love and sunshine. The opportunity to dust bathe and good quality organic food – they saw the sky and the birds, the grass and the flowers – and now they’ve gone.

As the vet pointed out – they did have a much gentler, peaceful end than they would have had if we hadn’t had them.

So very true…..

Bunty is at the back of the photo and Khaleesi, as ever, is hogging the camera and posing at the front.

 

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The girls are doing well!

I’m actually in Oxfordshire at present for work but my partner has been giving me twice daily updates on The Girls!

I was in a meeting this morning and I had a text come in (sorry!! Should have turned the wretched thing off!). It was a friend and neighbour from 4 doors down…………..

“Lovely to hear the sound of the chickens again xx”

My first thought; My God, are they that loud???

Well, on my morning update it transpired my partner was in the shower when the most horrendous racket kicked off………..rushing out expecting to find at least 10 foxes in the garden – Mal was relieved to find………it was all because the four of them wanted the nestboxes at the same time!!!

Phew!

I haven’t any extra photos of the girls with me so forgive me for reposting one from earlier….(new ones to follow, I promise!)

 

Incidentally, we got them on Sunday and we’ve already (by Wednesday) had 10 eggs from them (bless them!) also they have already got to grips with where ‘bed’ is (not that they’re keen on going because it’s been nice!) and yay – absolutely delighted, they have started to scratch like chickens should do (and we’ve got the craters to prove it 🙂 )

The Girls Arrive ….

Well we now have our much wanted chooks! The pick up point at Oswestry was easy to find and well done to the BHWT bods – what a super slick operation!

They are settling in quickly and are eating and drinking well. One of them is already showing quite a character and taps on the door and window of the coop! I heard it in bed this morning and thought ‘oh oh, time to come out!’

They all decided to come out last evening after all had gone quiet i.e. the wild birds had all gone to bed. (They would, wouldn’t they?) Dusk was settling and it meant I had to crawl around in the run to round them up & back in again. I did leave them a while though to have a look round. One of them, bless, was so desperate to have a dust bath she tried it in the Easichick bedding! Actually, I have to say, she did a pretty good job and thoroughly enjoyed herself! (The others watched, very bemused!) One laid an egg as soon as we put her in the coop – but it was a soft shell.

We did, however, find two lovely eggs this morning – so thank you girls! Here’s their first photo shoot!

Arriving home

Dusting and greeting!

Into your new home, you go!

What’s all this then??

I spy, with my little eye….

Where are we?

Peering through the window!

Here’s your new bed girls!

Are you spying on us……..??

…..you are, aren’t you??

Isn’t she a beauty?

I made sure they had a good drink and something to eat as they didn’t come outside….(until late!)

All four of them!

I believe they are Lohans (I may have spelt that wrong!) and they were rescued from their cages about 6 weeks earlier than usual – so here’s to an extra six weeks of freedom!

Please welcome our girls – comments please!!!  🙂

(We have got some names lined up but are just waiting to see their personalities first………!)

The Pond!

Well, as I’ve mentioned before, the bottom of our garden always flooded dreadfully – sometimes being a foot under water! We had to evacuate the previous hens on more than one occasion!

Yours truly here came up with the idea of turning the whole of the bottom of the garden into a large pond. And I meant LARGE! I’ve always had a thing about ponds (see first post – In the Beginning) so I thought why not??

Here are a series of photos of the construction. Trefor the chap that built it for us dreaded me taking him a cup of tea.

“It’s not big enough Tref! Bigger! Bigger!”

The first thing to go in was a drain – this has proved a Godsend!

The Drain

A hole in the ground getting larger by the day!

OMG did it rain!!

Tref’s shoes on that wet day!

We’re getting there!

Nearing completion!

Yay! The water goes in!

Getting fuller……

Hooray – it’s full!

Oh yes and yours truly takes a dip (well it was mega hot that day!

Most people have a bank loan for an exotic holiday – not us – we took out a loan for a pond! (You should have seen the bank manager’s face!)

A few final photos taken later……

The finished pond

Another view

My favourite garden spot

Ex-batts to join us soon…..

Well, we’re very excited here – our four ex-batts are ready for collection this coming Sunday (the 6th). The coop and run are ready and life is about to get even more interesting (if that’s possible living with 4 Siamese cats!?)

 

The Des Res!

 

There I was with one of my ‘bright ideas’ thinking the run and coop would look much better running lengthways along the edge of the garden rather than cutting across it.

Yes, it certainly does…………….shame I hadn’t thought about the twisted willow! (Dozy moo, that I am!) I struggled to move the run and coop, sat back feeling smug with myself then drat! The willow is in the way of me opening ANY of the doors…….ever felt a twit?

One tree move later (!) and all looks well. I’ll post a new photo soon but the good news is, where the run is now we have room to extend it further (so, yes, it was worth it in the end!)

 

Naughty Hens!!

Well, it happened again last night…………Clary (the dark hen in the photo) flatly refused to go to bed…………! It ended in us, crawling around on our hands and knees herding her into the coop in The Dark again………then nosy Spice stuck her head out to see what was going on! (Meanwhile Frankie slept on….)

T’was a well earned glass of wine last night – believe me!

On the prowl!

A Poem for Maddy

Maddy, a very Fine Cat, Indeed.

 

In our house were dogs, and Maddy loved them,

 

They were her pals, and loved her, as well;

 

They’d swap tales of where they’d been, what they’d smelled and what they’d seen….

 

but I’m sure there’s things they didn’t tell !!

 

 

In our house are chipmunks, but Maddy just ignored them….

 

though they race round their cages, and do somersaults too;

 

But she’d give them a look, stick her tail in the air,

 

and carry on doing things a cat likes to do.

 

 

In our house are birds, but Maddy wasn’t bothered….

 

they just twitter in their cage, and never come out;

 

So she’d give a haughty stare, and stick her nose in the air,

 

she had more exciting things to think about.

 

 

In the garden are our chickens, and Maddy quite liked them….

 

they all cluck and croon in a friendly way;

 

So as long as it was warm, and she’d  found a sunny spot,

 

she’d hang out with them for most of the day.

 

 

Our Maddy’s left us now, but we still can sense her,

 

curled up in the sun, or on a comfy chair;

 

Or coming home from walk-about ….jet black…shining…

 

so although we cannot see her….we know Our Maddy’s there.

 

 

Written for her by our dear friend ‘Babs’ – thank you so much Babs!

 

 

It wasn't me!

 

 

 

Hen capers!

You know how it is with hens – one minute you think you know where they are and the next, they’ve gone! We only have 3 but there are times I’m convinced we’ve got 33!

Here’s a few photos of their capers! (As a good friend of ours would say – our hens suffer from naughty-pox!)

Oh yes - violas are tasty....! (Clary, Spice and Pepper tuck into our floral displays!)

   

Then there was the time I went to open a tin of sweetcorn for them for a treat… and was followed by Mrs Pepper-Pot

 

Pepper braves the Great Indoors!

 

 

We wouldn’t be without The Girls for anything – they are so entertaining and rewarding! You can go out into the garden feeling really down and come back with a great big smile on your face…….

 

It’s in here somewhere – we know it is!

 

          Everyone should keep chickens! 

 

One of the rewards - this was a photo of our First Half Dozen!

 

The Coming of Spring…..

Isn’t it wonderful to see a little more light, morning and evening?

The hens are up before 6 in the morning, battering down the doors of their coops if we’re not quick enough to let them out! Maddy lying lazily on the end of the bed, looking at us as we get up to ‘release’ the little demons, as if to say ‘what kind of time do you call this?’ Whereupon she yawns, turns over and goes back to sleep!

Snowdrops are a welcome sight

But Spring is coming – the snowdrops are out and my fingers start to itch to be ‘out there’ playing with my herbs! Even Maddy is venturing out a little more (so long as we’re there to protect her, of course!)

All together now! (Big Hen being helped to move the coop!)

Maddy takes a break – summer 2010

A few photos to raise a smile!