Poultry
Try, try again
Wednesday 7 June, 2006
Well, the incubator is on again, with nine eggs this time.
Our last attempt ended in failure. None of the twelve eggs hatched. The six Maran eggs from our friend, Carol, were infertile. Four of our six were fertile but failed to hatch.
At least Henry is doing what we got him for, so the soup pot can be put away for a bit longer.
We think the temperature might have been abit high - the thermometer is really hard to read. However, we think we've sorted it this time.
Watch this space in three weeks or so.
Incubator in full swing
Monday 8 May, 2006
Last autumn we bought an incubator, in anticipation of getting a cockerel, or failing that buying fertlised eggs and hatching chicks from then. In the end of course we got Henry, and now that we're confident he's doing his best to fertilise some eggs we've fired up the incubator and stuck half a dozen of our Rhode Island Red eggs in there. We've also put half a dozen eggs in there for some friends whose Marin cockerel pegged it last week, but hopefully his line will continue if the incubator does its job.
Weeny eggs
Sunday 23 April, 2006
Our Light Sussex pullets have started to lay - and they lay the weeniest eggs. They're popping them out like there's no tomorrow. We can't sell them so we're using them ourselves; they're fine for scrambling and Dan used some for custard today but you'd never manage to cut a soldier thin enough to have them as boiled eggs. Anyway, we've decided to pickle them - they are a perfect size for lunchboxes.
Bird Flu
Friday 7 April, 2006
Some of you will be aware that a swan in Fife has been found to have died of the H5N1 strain of avian influenza (bird flu). We're about 50 miles away from Cellardyke, the small coastal village where the swan was found, dead on the beach, about 2 weeks ago. At the moment this has had no effect on us - there are restrictions on the transportation of poultry and eggs in the area, and poulty keepers around Cellardyke are now required to keep their flocks contained - but so far we're outside any restriction zones. Apparently pigs can carry the virus too, so if it does come to sunny Clackmannanshire our boys might have a stay of execution!
Mallards in the garden
Sunday 26 March, 2006
We seem to have been adopted by three Mallard ducks; two drakes and a duck. I've seem them in the field a couple of times recently, but today they were "sleeping" just outside the kitchen window.
Felix was stalking them yesterday but that obviously wasn't enough to scare them off (no surprise there, then). We've though about getting a few ducks, but we reckoned they would just decamp to the Inch. Maybe we could just tempt a few wild ones to come and eat slugs...
Cheeps
Sunday 26 March, 2006
When we got our six Light Sussex pullets 10 weeks ago, we named then the Cheeps, because cheeping was what they did. Now that they are twenty weeks old, roughly, they are now clucking and should be coming to lay pretty soon.
Unfortunately, one committed suicide a few weeks ago by getting her head stuck between the ark and the frame of the extension run, but the other five look great. If we were going to name them, which we're not, I suppose names like Persil, Omo, Daz, Bold and Fairy would be appropriate as they are sparkling white.
Reservoir Hens
Thursday 23 February, 2006
We leg ringed our hens last weekend. We've never bothered before but I thought we should have some means of telling them apart. I envy people who can identify each hen - ours remain a kind of collective. Obviously, I can tell the Brown Leghorn from from the five RIR but the RIR are sufficiently similar that I can't tell them apart easily; likewise the Light Sussex. To be honest, sometimes I confuse Tess and Meg with each other and Cassius and Felix (if they aren't together).
Anyway, our hens now sport nice coloured leg rings in pink, purple, blue, green, yellow and red. They're like Reservoir Hens!!
Egg update
Thursday 2 February, 2006
We got our second egg today - or, should I say, the dogs did. Felix rolled the first egg off the worktop on to the floor, so the dogs got that one. Today's was broken, so they got that one too.
It's not fair...
Clever Henry
Monday 16 January, 2006
After spending yesterday enclosed with the girls, Henry and his wives were allowed out to roam today, on the clear understanding that Henry was to go to bed in the ark tonight. Otherwise, the next incarceration would be longer than 24 hours.
He managed a few full blown "cock a doodle do's" this morning, as he strutted his stuff. Just checking out the opposition, I expect.
Good news is that Henry found his way back to the ark and was tucked up with his six wives when we came home from work tonight. The two tins of sardines seem to have convinced him that this is an OK place to live.
Meet Henry!
Saturday 14 January, 2006
Well, we got our new hens today - or to be accurate, our six Light Sussex pullets and Henry, our Buff Sussex cockerel. More of the pullets tomorrow - but Henry is the main man, king of the dunghill, cock on the rock etc etc.
Mr Ogilvie, from whom we bought our new poultry, had very kindly caught both a RIR and a Buff Sussex cockerel. The RIR was a fine bird - but then we saw Henry! He really is quite magnificent. The photo does not do him justice. He moves awful fast and he's not very keen on folk with cameras (or folk in general, see below).
