Poultry
Another breakout! And a lock-in.
Monday 30 June, 2008
I didn't have a good mroning today. Since it's the first day of the school holdays and Dan's at home childminding, I told him to lie-in and I'd do the morning round. Usually, I'm very organised but somehow, this morning, I failed to shut in Chip and the girls properly and forgot to let the ladders down on the big ark, so four hens didn't get out until midday.
Fortunately, no-one seems any worse for my slip-ups, although Dan was pretty frazzled trying to get seven, 6 week-old chicks back in the run, with the "help" of our two dogs!
Broody hen update
Sunday 29 June, 2008
Well, she's still sitting tight. The broody is a young Black Rock - I'm surpised at that, I would have thought one of the pure breeds was more likely, and not very likely at that. In fact, I had asked Andrew for one of his Silkies as a broody, before they both turned out to be boys.
I bought 6 RIR and 6 Cuckoo Maran eggs for her - I've put 8 in the incubator and 4 under her (I could only get eight in the incubator as they were good sized eggs). I was reluctant to give her all the eggs, because I don't know how reliable she will be.
Broody hen
Wednesday 18 June, 2008
We've got a broody hen. We've never had one before and it's one of the older Black Rocks. I've ordered some eggs off eBay and will try to get her to sit - if she doesn't I'll stick them in the incubator, but she might as well do something constructive. Hopefully, the eggs will come tomorrow and I'll get her settled tomorrow night.
Highland Show tomorrow, so I hope the weather's good. Well, dry will do!
Chip's Harem
Monday 19 May, 2008
Have you ever seen a chick sleep standing up? We have.
To try and make sure Chip didn't grow up into some kind of oddball, caused by spending his formative months with a felt mouse, we bought 6 day old Black Rocks today. Chip's world has been turned upside down. Unlike the felt mouse, these girls move, cheep, peck, push, shove. And really tire a wee Chip out!
Chip - and a lesson learned
Friday 16 May, 2008
The Cream Legbar eggs were due to hatch yesterday. I had a bad feeling about them, though. However, bang on time, one hatched so I set up the heat lamp in a box in the puppy cage and moved the first chick in there, hoping that a second egg, from which cheeping could be heard, would hatch too.
When we got up this morning and the first chick was dead. It had moved away from the lamp, gone out through the bars of the puppy cage and died. I am really gutted that I didn't foresee this. I just never thought it would move away from the warmth.
Yippee, a tray of mud!
Wednesday 14 May, 2008
Our French Copper Black Marans, successfully hatched from eBay eggs, are now nearly a month old. They've been living outside for a week now, and have settled in well.
We just wish they would learn to go to bed - they come down their ladder in the morning, and can often be found upstairs having a siesta in the afternoon, but when night falls they all huddle together downstairs shivering! They're very tame and queue up to be lifted into the top of their ark, but it's a pain in the backside.
Cream Legbars
Thursday 24 April, 2008
There was a time when the best present Dan could buy me was a chocolate bar but no more! (Actually, chocolate is also welcome anytime).
Today, 6 Cream Legbar eggs arrived in the post. They are the most lovely colour and if Dan hadn't taken the camera to London (again), I'd have taken a photograph of them. They have now been "resting" for about 12 hours so I'm just going to pop them in the incubator.
Fingers crossed!
Copper Black Marans
Sunday 20 April, 2008
Of our six cheeps, I'm pretty sure we've got two cockerels and four hens. Two of the cheeps are bigger than the other four and have real coppertops. I've had alook at some photos of adult birds, and the hens are black, with the cockerels having the copper head and collar.
I think we'll keep two hens and one cockerel and sell a trio, once they get (much) bigger.
Another poultry update
Sunday 20 April, 2008
We had our first egg from the new Black Rocks we bought last Saturday. There were two but one was squished. The eight new girls are now free-ranging, but don't really mix with the existing hens except at corn time. The new girls don't quite recognise the "call to corn" yet, but they are learning fast. One of the "old" BR may defect to the new flock, I think - birds of a feather and all that.
Hatching eggs update
Wednesday 16 April, 2008
Seven hours later, the first two chicks are in the brooder, a further three have hatched successfully and are drying off in the incubator and one is pipping. Only one is showing no activity yet.
I'd take some photos but Dan's taken the camera to London. Now what can there be in London that justifies a camera more than my cheeps?
Just off to move the three to the brooder!
