Respite

Popped my head out of the french windows in the kitchen a couple of hours ago to check on the chooks, and was rewarded with  the horrible sight of a dead hen. Tilda had keeled over under the rosemary bush.

It wasn't a surprise -  she's not been in the best of health for some time;   but it was a shock. I ran out, starting to blub, followed by a concerned DH who had no idea what I could see.  it couldn't have long happened, as she had been standing around an hour or so before. When I bent down to pick her up, rigor mortis had not set in.

As I lifted her body up, her eyelid fluttered briefly. She was still in there.  I carried her into the kitchen, then sat on the floor with her on my lap. She was stiff, almost rigid;  not rigor mortis, but there was no movement at all. . Her eyelid continued to flutter, opening occasionally,  and I stroked her gently and told her how much I loved her and how happy she had made me.

Poor DH didn't know what to do - there isn't much you can do, is there?  I didn't want him to have to do the deed,  it looked like Tilda had had a stroke but just hadn't finally died yet.  Her comb was purple, so I assume she'd had a heart attack.

I sat stroking her, talking to her (although I'm not sure she could really make out the words between the sobs) waiting for her to go.  Although I was so very upset that she was going,  it was some comfort knowing that she wasn't going to die alone,  she would be in my arms and she would know how much she meant to me.

DH asked if I wanted to try Nutridrops. I didn't want to stress her out even more by forcing them into her beak,  so I just dribbled some on the tip of her beak and let it roll round to the front. From there,  it dribbled into her mouth and she swallowed it.  I did this a few more times.  

We sat there for what seemed like many minutes. I stroked her cold feet. Then her eye opened, and she lay there, looking up at me.  Her eye closed again.  Time passed.  It opened again.  DH passed me some chicken treats, and I offered her a mealworm. She ignored it.

We decided it would be best to put her in the dog crate.  DH went off to get it from the shed.  I continued stroking Tilda, and I stroked her feet again. They weren't cold now.  She was trembling a bit.  Perhaps my comforting strokes were not so comforting after all?

And then she tried to get up.

She managed to get upright, and stood on my leg, wobbling.  I offered her the bowl of mealworms. and she ate some.   DH came back with the crate, erected it, and I gently lifted her in to it.  I hooked the bowl of treats on the side, and she started to eat them.

She's sitting quietly in the crate in the kitchen now, and we'll leave her there until tomorrow and see how things go.  

Because she has always been a special needs chicken, I've always taken the time to tell Tilda how loved she is and how lucky we are to have her in our flock. Even so,  I'm grateful that I have her, sentient, for a little bit longer (even if it's just a couple of hours) so I can tell her some more.

Decluttering, yet again

Yet again, I am attempting to declutter.

I managed to find the box for my old Kindle today, so I listed it on Ebay.  And then I listed this and then I listed that. Then DH found the box for his Kobo, so I listed that as well.

I made a pile of stuff for the charity shop.  It had been in a pile before, but the pile had got submerged beneath bits of tat, boxes that could be used for Ebaying,  stuff that might be worth selling...

I realised that I was not likely to drag the lovely office chair all the way to the charity shop, so I put it on Freegle (ex Freecycle).   Not worth trying to sell on Ebay, it would be collection only and they go for peanuts.

I had a number of responses within moments of listing.  The usual range.  Blank emails.  Text speak emails.   And a few reasonable ones.    I like to wait until the Daily Digest goes out though... I find I get enough of those,  I can't imagine getting every message as soon as it's posted!

I've got a couple more items to list, and I'll get them done tomorrow.  And then I'm doing a charity shop trip.  And then maybe we will be able to get into the spare bedroom without having to shuffle everything around first. 

 

Too cold for sourdough

A week ago I decided to create a new sourdough starter. Shamelfully I had let my previous one (and the one before that) die of neglect, and I've been meaning to start a new one for, oh, at least a year.

I bought Dan Lepard's breadmaking book.  Actually, it started because I was tempted by a mailshot from Bakery Bits to buy a cloche thing for baking sourdough. It traps the steam in, rather than me spraying water in the overn or putting a tray of water in.  It sounded like a good idea, I was hungry at the time, and I really fancied some sourdough.

So, I ordered the cloche thing.  And they were promoting Dan Lepard's book. I've looked at his book before,  but I already have too many cookery books, and I have at least one other bread bible.   I must have been feeling low or something, because I bought it anyway.

And so I followed his recipe for a sourdough starter.  Mine isn't going as well as it should.  I know that this is (a) because I somehow managed to use precariously heaped teaspoons of flour each day, instead of the rounded teaspoons instructed; and it's a bit cold. Certainly colder than 20 degrees C.

So, I've given it a bit more water today,  and I'm leaving it for another day to see if it improves. 

Of course if Dan hadn't helpfully provided detailed pictures, I wouldn't know how ar behind my starter is.  Never mind.

I might have to make a quick-and-dirty-overnight-leaven loaf in the meantime.  I'm just tasting that crunch as I type.

Frreeeeezing

It' looks like s a gorgeous day outside, sun is shining, and standing here by my lapt it could be summer.

Outside though, it is bitter. 

I'm off to see the allotment chickens in a moment. Its so cold I think I need to wear that scarfey balaclava thing that I bought last week.

Stuck in a rut

I try to watch the Girls bedtime routine, via camera, to see what the Littlees are up against.  There is a very established bedtime routine, which is fine as long as everyone does what they are expected to do, when they are expected to do it.

Bedtime normally starts when Milly, the oldest and most spiteful hen, goes to bed.  She's followed by Custard, who spends ages on the ladder before she goes in.   Next we have Florence.   During this time, Roobarb strolls around, and then sits on the doorway into their T of their run, brushing her teeth.  She spends ages doing this.

Once the three hags have gone in,  Tilda, my special needs chook, emerges from her hiding place,  has something to eat.   Roobarb eventually says goodnight and hops up the ladder and straight in.  At this point, Tilda  brushes her teeth, and then climbs the ladder herself.  Sometimes the old witches let her in, sometimes they make her stand there at the top of the ladder,  until she can't stand it any more and rushes in. 

Since the Littlees tried to go in a week or so ago, the bedtime routine has been starting later and later and later.   Presumably the Big Girls are stringing it out so that the Littlees have to cut their losses and go in their own Cube.

Tonight was ridiculous.  Milly seemed oblivious to the falling dusk.  Custard and Florence circled round the bottom of the ladder, seemingly desperate to go to bed.  But Milly wasn't ready. And if Milly doesn't go, no one goes.

Today the Littlees went to bed, in their Cube, before  Milly.   

I suspect that was rather the point.

Spoilt

Tilda (my special needs chook), Florence (Australorp), Custard (Sasso, Tilda's bully of a sister) and Milly (super spiteful Cream Legbar) are all moulting.   

Tilda has been moulting for months.  Florence has been moulting for several weeks, and looks like she's wearing a moth-eaten fur coat, which has seen better days.  Milly has onluy recently joined the ranks of the deplumed, and at the moment it's mainly showing on her head.

Roobarb, sensible girl that she is, completed her moult ages ago. 

I've been feeding them all extra protein, to help with the refeathering.  I had an Ocado delivery the other da, and I let a stack of tuna in spring water fall into my  virtual trolley.. and I opened a can for the Girls today.

I split it into two bowls. One small bowl for Tilda, who has trouble in the scrum even when she is at her peak,  and the rest for the others to "share".   I don't put it on the ground, I hold it, and offer it round.  Florence, who possibly needs it more than most, has  a neck like a giraffe; she seems to be able to contort hersef so that wherever the bowl is, it's within reach of her beak.  The others aren't so flexible.

The LIttlees used to miss out a bit on these occasions, as they like to spend a moment inspecting potential food before they nibble it.  By the time they would decide to give it a go,  it would be gone.

I've noticed that in the last couple of days they tend to join in the scrum a bit more.  Poppy, who is half Australorp, gets away with it because  with a sideways glance she looks a bit like Florence.   Lotti doesn't get away with it at all,  but she still manages to get her beak in and grab a piece.

They all seemed to relish the tuna.   No surprise really.

We had some mummy cuddles today.  Lotti on one arm,  Poppymanaging to get up on the other.  Gorgeous girls.   Tilda consented to a quick cuddle.  No chance with the rest.

Progress of a sort

The Littlees are still going to bed in their Cube and, each evening when it is fully dark, I go out and transfer them into the Big Girls Cube.

They've moved out of the nestbox now and on to the roosting bars, so I guess it's progress of a sort.

Of course it may be an attempt to thwart my efforts at moving them. Poppy (Australorp x Indian Game) has been trying to sit towards the front of the Cube.... which is hard to access through the roof.

Last NIght...

...the Littlees went into their own coop.

I moved them into the Big Girls coop when it was very dark.

Cocky chap

I was busy checking feeders at the allotment today, when I heard a chicken outside our Aras-fenced plot.  I looked up, and saw a black and white cockerel running up and down and bokking excitedly. It was Spike (Lotti's brother, an Exchequer Leghorn).

I ran as fast as I could and shut the door, and then did a head count of the remaining youngsters. Only Spike had escaped.

Spike didn't want to come and eat corn from my hand, thank you very much.  Nor did he want to be caught. He was having far too much fun being on the outside, and shouting for his pals to come and see what he was doing.

Now, I know from experience, that there is no point in running after a Leghorn.  They are speedier than Speedy Gonzales,  run faster than Roadrunner,  and are slipperier than a snake.  So, I walked behind Spike as he circumnavigated the Allotment. 

Fortunately, he followed the fencing, rather than making a break for the expanse of other allotments. 

We eventually got back to the door, which of course I'd shut,  and he stopped.  He couldn't get in, so he started his circumnavigation again...except this time, he was on the inside of the electric fence.  I did the fencing up, do he wouldn't be able to get out - worst case would be we sent the day going round the fencing together until someone came who could walk the opposite direction for me.

I then managed to get past him, and made him turn round.... back past the door.

I then opened the door so that it blocked that route,  ran past him, turned him back,  and he happily hopped back on to the plot.   What a relief!

He was rewarded with a big peck on the head from one of the smaller females.

My own fault for letting them out on to the grass outside through the door the other day.  I normally make them go through the shed,   or carry them out, but I had been short of time....  and I had reasoned that the Boys would be in their own Cockerel Corral within a day or two, so wouldn't be able to get to the door anyway.     

The door had got caught on the electric fencing, and I hadn't checked it was closed.  Obviously I will be checking carefully from now on.

What happened next

So.

Eventually, Milly (superb*tchy hen) went to bed, followed by Custard (superbully).  The Littlees hung around.  

Florence went up next.    Roobarb moved out of the way, and stood so her back was to the ladder, and so she was not in between the Littlees and the ladder.    She stood patiently for a long time, as though she wasn't paying attention to what was happening behind her.

Lotti ran up the ladder, which is no mean feat when you have one screwed up foot.  She tried, and tried and tried to get in, but whoever was in the doorway was having none of it.  She flew off the ladder, and Poppy tried. And failed.

I could see on the camera that the door was partially shut,  so I ran out and whipped it open.  Poppy and Lotti tried again, and were again rebuffed.  They went into their own run. 

Roobarb turned round, and went up the ladder.

The Tilda, my special needs chicken, went up the ladder. And the horrible chicken at the top (not sure who it was) wouldn't let her in either.  Then Tilda made a lunge for it and was in. 

Somehow I missed what happened next.  I got the camera to pan, but I couldn't see the Littlees.  

When it was properly dark, I went outside and had a peep in their Cube. Empty.

I opened the roof of the Big Girls (BGs) cube....and there they were. The two of them in one half of the nest box.

Wonder what will happen this evening?

Chickens Revenge

So, tonight - nohen is going to bed.
It's dusk, all 5 Big Girls are hanging around at the bottom of their ladder. No one is going up.

They are blockading from the bottom.

That will teach me

Last night we had the now usual dilemma.  Lotti and Poppy hanging around at the bottom of the Big Girls (BGs) ladder...then going back to their own Cube.

However, yesterday they went up their ladder and back down again,  and hung around again at the BGs ladder.  

I crept out into the dusk, and cruelly shut their pop hole.

When they tried to get in again, it was closed.... and they had to go in with the BGs.  

Didn't they?  No.  They didn't.

They stood at the top of the ladder, trying desperately to get the door to open. They were getting stressed.

So, I went out again into the icy dusk, whipped open the BG's Cube roof, shone torch through, and called them.  The BGs weren't too happy. I leaned in, and held my arm against Florence, Roobarb and Milly to push them out of the doorway and to stop them blockading.

Custard, who had been dozing in one half of the separated nest box, started to move. I shouted for my DH to come and help.  He did, but he's a bit slow and by the time he got there, Roobarb was down the ladder and I was desperately trying to restrain two sets of hens and hold a torch.

What followed was an epic pantomime.  Milly broke free and charged down the ladder.  The Littlees, in panic, ran back to their own run. It was getting dark, and the chooks can't see very well.   My torch ran out.  I went back to the house to get a replacement.

I billed and cooed and coaxed, and eventually Lotti managed to find me, and the followed DH's torchlight up into the Cube.  Milly and Roobarb didn't know what was going on.  Poppy, now on her own, was batting desperately atthe closed coop door.  Eventually, she flew down, and then hopped up onto the Cube wheel.

DH continued to try and coax Milly and Roobarb back up the steps.  I went round to the back of the LG's cube, opened the door (thank goodness we put doors in all over the place), intending to try and coax Poppy to come to me so I could carry her back round into the main run.  She fled.  I locked the door, and ran round into the run.

Several hours later, or so it seemed,  Poppy mounted the BGs ladder, and managed to get in to the Cube. We shut everything up, and left them to it.  We re-opened the LGs pop hole, just in case there were midnight shenanigans and the littlees needed somewhere to go.

....

This morning, everyone was grumpy.  Lotti was chattering away to me, obviously very wound up. She followed me everywhere, chattering away loudly.    Poppy hid under a bush and wouldn't come out.  Later, I saw Milly actually peck Lotti, and then actively chase her. I haven't seen her do that with such venom for a long time.

I've decided that forcing it was a Big Mistake.   Tonight, we'll let them go to bed where they want, and then manually move them in together if they choose separate coops.   The BGs seem to understand that being airlifted in is beyond the LGs control, and does not represent them making a stab at snatching power. 

I do know they are only chickens.  But the pattern that gets set now is one that will stick, and I don't want to cause aggro where it can be avoided.

Bless 'em.

Nerves Wracked

I watched the chooks on the canera at dusk.

The big Girls queued up, doing their beauty routines, rinsing their mouths, the usual. One by one, with a gap in between, they climbed the wooden (well, pastic) stairs to Sleep Street.  As the 3rd hen, FLorence, was waiying at the top of the steps,  Poppy took herself up to bed in the other run.  Oh no!

She came out again and stood at the top of the ladder. Lotti was on the gournd and they were obviously having a discussion.  Then, she flew down, and they joined the queue.

Tilda went in, number 5. And then I couldn't see the Littlees. Either they went in very quickly after Tilda, which seems unlikely, or they snucj back round and went into their own.

I'll jabe to wait until it's properly dark to go and check.

Boys and Girls

DH mentioned that some of the boys are cock a doodling,  and one of the boys started sidling up to him on Thursday.  They were 19 weeks old on Thursday, so it isn't surprising.   

We don't want to separate the boys and girls until we have to, partly because we still aren't entirely sure about some of the chooks.  However, this strategy means that we may have to separate them in a hurry,  so I wanted to make sure that everything was ready.

We discussed whether to keep the Girls in their current pen, meaning we had 3 separate pens, or whether to let the Girls merge with the Big Girls.  I had originally thought we'd have 3 pens, but I had also assumed that we would be doing the separating at 14-16 weeks, when the Little Girls would be too immature to be mixing with the Big Girls.  At 19 weeks they aren't exactly mature,  but it might be best to get all the upheaval over with.  They will keep their current coops,  we'll just remove the fence which currently divides the two flocks.   The area is big enough that everyone should be able to keep out of everyone else's way; there are at least 6 Girls (maybe more, as I said there are a couple we aren't sure about) to be introduced to our 7 existing,   so that should even out the bullying.

So, today,  DH enlarged the area that will be the cockels' pen.  While he did that, I rigged up a temporary grazing area outside our allotment,  and caught 8 chickens and put them out.  I then got on with the mucking out etc,  and then I swapped the 8 grazing for the other 8.   It was a good way to also take a look at each chook, checking it was healthy, seeing what its temperament was like.

Much later,  we turned the coop around ready,  and we started to put up some of that roll-up fencing stuff along sides which face onto the Girls pen. The idea is to provide a visual barrier between the cockerels and the hens (not great, what it really needs is blackout material).   We also created a no-hens-land with some moveable netting, to further separate things.  We need to get some very large stakes to support some of the fencing,  so we couldn't finish.

Once this was done, we were watching the Littlees, trying to see if we could sex the few we aren't sure about, and we saw one of the boys jump one of the girls.    So, that's it then.  Once one starts, they all get the idea.

Tomorrow we will finish the work and put all the definitely boys in the cockerel pen,   and take out the separation between the two Girly pens.  And then we'll keep an eye on the unsures and move them as we can.

I cried a bit on the way home,  because separating the boys means that we will soon have to start culling them.    A couple are a good weight already, but the two that are, are (currently) quite docile., soft things    Ideally we want to take out any aggressive boys first.  I reminded myself that this was the whole point, that they have had a good free range life, blah blah blah....   And if we hadn't hatched them, we wouldn't have ended up with Lotti and Poppy in the garden.      I know I'll get over it, but it is hard.

Oh dear

Last night, as soon as it was properly  dark, I went out to move the Littlees from their Cube into the Big Girls cube.  Head torch on, down the garden, louse powder in hand.

I stood behind the two cubes. Couldn't hear anything.  I opened the Littles egg port (they sleep in the nest box), and saw a lonely Poppy sitting in the corner. 

I opened the roof on the Big Girls' cuve, and slid the roof forward.  Lotti was sitting in one half of the divided nest box.  

I had noticed that Poppy tends to go to bed in front of Lotti.  She must have gone to bed expecting Lotti to follow her in..only she hadn't.   Poor Poppy.

Itransferred her into the other Cbe, pustting her in the nest box with Lotti.  I shone the torch on them for a few seconds so they could sort themselves out, but that made the Big Girls start to chunder.  I shut the roof, shut the other egg port, shutt off the torich and stood there in the pitch black listening.

A few squeaks. Then silence.  Then a really loud "ow" as I managed to get whipped across the face by a climbing rose (or it might have been a bit of the pear tree,  they are interlinked).

Let's see what tonight brings.

Patience

We were out for most of yesterday. We left the Girls with several cabbages,  a couple o fappleas, and 4 hanging treats.  We weren't back before chooky bedtime.

As soon as we got home, we checked on the Girls, and manually moved the two LIttlees into the Big Girls (BGs) coop.

Tonight, I thought that the Littlees would try to go in by themselves, They were hanging around in the Cube run attached to the BGs coop. They hung around for a long time... but didn't try and get on the ladder.  And then Poppy just walked back into the Cube run attached to their coop, jumped on the ladder and went to bed.  Lotti followed.

So, I'll manually move them over again tonight.  Tomorrow I might try closing the pop hole to "force" them to run the gauntlet of the BGs coop.

I should probably have called this post impatience.

Careless

Bother!

A couple of days ago, I had tried making apple sauce in the Vitamix.  I blended it on very high, and ended up with a smooth pulp that reminded me of the Heinz Apples baby food from my childhood.  I decided to make a lot more, and do a combination of canning some and turning a lot into fruit leather.

The day I decided to do it, it was a bit late to start  the dehydrator.  I the meantime I read the maual, and learned that I should only have been using a procesing speed of no more than 5. Good job I checked before going through a crate of apples.

Yesterday I was working and ran out of time. So, I started today,  Washed the first batch of apples, quartered them, cut out a small part of the core, and started to process them o a low speed, gradually oving up to 5.  I even remembered to puti a teaspoon of lemon juice.   

There was a lot of apple at the top of the container, which my tamper just wouldn't reach. I wiggled and woggled it, to no avail. Then the lid popped off.  As I wasn't delaing with liquid, I didn't suffer the cartoon-like deluge that normally happens. But I did realise that I could push the apples down now.....

...CRACK! ...

Oh s**t I've broken the blender, I thought.  But no, the blades were still whirring away.  There was chopped apple all over the workstop.  What had happened?

And then  I saw the end of the tamper. Or rather, where the end of the tamper used to be.

What a stupid woman!  

The whole design of the lid and the tamper is to prevent the tamper coming into contact with the blades.  I fished out the bog bits of tamper, but I could see that there were still bits missing.  I had to assugn the jug contents to the compost heap. What a waste.

At least I know that tampers aren't that expensive.   I went online to order one.  10-15 days delivery (seriously?  What sort of crap service is that?!).     I then thought that I could get a smaller wet jug which comes with a tamper - the tampers are, alledgedly, the same.  I had been considering getting the small jug, but it seemed such an expensive outlay. Mind you, I'm about to outlay for a tamper, so if I am going to get one, now would be the time.  I have a Lakeland fairly close by, so I could be back in business by this afternoon.    Or  I could order online and pay for next day delivery.    

Out of stock.

In the end, John Lewis had them in stock, and they do next-day-to-store delivery.  I also have a substantial John Lewis voucher, so the additional outlay isn't anywhere near as awful as it could have been.   Well, that's what I'm telling myself.

Stupid woman.

They survived

They survived the night, and this morning. When I let them out I did a quick inspection for wounds and found none.

Tilda isn't a happy bunny. She wouldn't come over to me, and sat clucking mournfully at the back of one o fthe Cube runs.  I'll get her in later and give her a treat. 

Done and Dusted

I followed Sarah's suggestion, giving them all a dusting of louse powder so they all smelled the same.

I started by opening the nestbox and shaking powder over Custard who was, up to that point, dozing quietly in one side of the nestbox (we have a home made partition in our Cube nestbox).  She burbled and sneezed.

Tilda, who is bottom of the 5 Big Girls and, understandably, does not want to be bottom of 7 was perched on the other side of the nestbox with her bottom overhanging the next box and her front overhanging the roosting bars.  I dusted her next, and she complained loudly.

I wrenched open the roof - surprising how loud it is in the dark - and aimed some powder at Poppy. Lotti ran off.  I couldn't reach the others with the tub, so I poured some out into my hand (top marks for foresight, I was wearing a head torch) and then fuffled the feathers of Florence, Roobarb and Milly.  They all got up and moved to the pop hole.  I caught Lotti and dusted her.

There was a lot of squeaking and chuntering. I shut the roof quickly and turned off the light.  A bit of scrabbling.  Then silence.

Fingers crossed.

The Littlees were in the back corner.   Hope there isn't trouble in the morning, as they won't be able to get out past the three that were fighting to sit in the pop hole doorway.

Maybe I'll get up before it gets light.  Maybe.  Good intentions, and all that.

Watch this space.

Having doubts

The Littlees didn't even try to go in the Big Girls coop today.  I felt sad for them.

When it was dark,  I went out and moved them into the Big Girls Coop.  Tilda wasn't happy, and tried to peck Lotti repeatedly.  I pushed Tilda into the nestbox, and snapped off the torch. I waited outside to see if I could hear anything.   I couldn't.

I'm now inside the house, and regretting what I've done.   I should have left them to do it in their own time.

Maybe I should go out and separate them again.

Or would that make it worse?

Wish I hadn't done anything.Will leave it for an hour and then decide what to do.

They tried

There was a noisy kerfuffle in the hen pen this evening.  I looked at the camera and I could see that the Littlees were pacing up and down, as if they wanted to get out the front door.

A few minutes later, I checked again. It was dusk and it was hard to see, but what I could see was Lotti and Poppy on the ladder trying to get in to the Big Girls coop.  They were rebuffed.  They tried again. They were rebuffed again.

Then they gave up and went into their own coop.

I considered waiting until dark and then moving them in myself.  However, DH and I agreed that we'd wait a couple of days (weather permitting) to see if they can get in by themselves.

Bless!

Bloody cats

Sorry for swearing.

We have two gorgeous cats,  boy and a girl, littermates, who are the most gorgeous, friendly, affectionate cats ever. Well, with us. With others, not so much.

Washburn, who was the runt of the litter, grew up to be a lean mean hunting machine.  Isabel, who has extra fingers and toes, grew up to be a big fat hunting machine.

They sometimes, to my sincere regret, bring home birds, but that is quite unusual.  They do catch a lot of rodents, usually mice or similar, sometimes those larger rodents that we tend to refer to as "Big Mice".

They seem to have found a new mouse nest recently, as we've had quite a few.  We've rescued many; sometimes we are too late.   We (by "we", I mean of course DH) get out of be bed in the middle of the night to rescue a victim which is causing the cats to run riot over the solid floors.  We (see above) pad out into the darkness, down to the bottom of the garden, and release the little furry creatures over the fence.   Sometimes they are back again in the morning, either beautifully presented as gifts, or  the remains discarded.

 The other morning I came down in the dark to open the back door to go out and let the chooks out. I managed to tread on and squash an offering.  I didn't see it, I hadn't turned the light on.  Thank goodness I had bothered to put my slippies on.  That was possibly the worst mouse-related incident I can recall. Until today.

I've been on a bit of a housework blitz.  The gorgeous bright weather has made me fling open the doors to air the house,  and to empty the floor space (mostly) so I can clean the floors properly.

Eventually I reached the bathroom.   Raymondo,  our robot vacuum, was nearly empty of charge, so I thought I'd finish him off in the bathroom.  He doesn't normally getto go in there as he can't get round the toilet pedestal or the sink pedestal (will design it better if we ever refurb again). However, he needed discharging and had survived everything else, so I thought the bathroom was as good a place as any.

Not too much on the floor in the bathroom.   I picked up the cats water bowl.  I picked up the bath mat. 

And I found a very flat (and of course very dead) mouse.ike a cartoon splat.   It's imprinted on the back of the mat.    Yeeeeeeeurrrrrrrrrrgh.

Bloody cats.

Les Miserables

I first went to see Les Miserables in 1987 (or possibly 1988), with my then new best friend Gilly.  I found it really moving.  I went to see it 3 more times in the next few years, dragging my DH along.  I cried at every performance and he refused to go again after I started to weep quietly the moment Jean Valjean came on stage at the 4th performance.

I read the book, twice.  I cried at that too, partly because Marius' appalling behaviour to Jean Valjean upon learning of his true identity was so awful,  something not really covered in the stage version. It made me realise that I don't weep because of Fantine (Cosette's mother), or Cosette, or Marius, or Eponine.... what moves me is Jean Valjean and the sacrifice he makes at the end of the book so that his adopted daughter can be happy.

I've seen movie versions, and they don't affect me at all, so it has to be something to do with the power of the music in relation to the story.

 Every time I hear that music, I can feel myself on alert.  When I think about poor old Jean Valjean, then the tears start.  It's a bit of a liability, frankly.

And then I heard that they were making a film version of the musical (rather than a film version of the book), and I wondered whether it would be any good.  

And today I found the trailer on John Gray's Going Gently blog. I played it. I cried.  There is no hope.

I will book tickets as soon as they are available.  I will, of course, ask DH if he would like to accompany me, but I suspect the answer will be no.  I suspect he doesn't mind the story, the music is OK,  but it's just so damned embarrassing when you're sitting next to someone who has no blub control.

ANother step

Tilda is looking better, but still not right.  She's well enoug to actively run away from me when I try to pick her up.  Of course, when I use the description "run away", when we're talking Tilda that really means "hobble away purposefully".  I could have caught her without any difficulty, but I could see that she didn't want to be picked up, thank you,   and I decided to respect her wishes.   She did come and stand by me a bit later on in the hope of some extra corn. I obliged, of course.

We cut a hole in the galvanised wire mesh which separates the Little Girls (LGs) cube run from the main covered run.  I rigged up a "door" so I could provide separation if necessary,  and I fully intended to deploy it this evening before I shut everyone in. Except I didn't.  Actually, none of the Girls seemed to notice that a doorway had magically appeared., which was quite surprising as they certainly came to watch and make a fuss while it was being done.

DH and I discussed whether we should close it this evening, so that there wouldn't be any trouble tomorrow morning.   DH was favouring the "leave it open" route; I was favouring caution.  DH said we'd hear if there was trouble, and he  would get up and sort it out.

We've been shutting the Cube door at night as it's been quite cold,  and DH has got up most mornings to let them out. (For clarification,  when I say he has got up most mornings, I mean he has got up most mornings and I have got up the rest,  not  he has got up most mornings and the girls have only been trapped in for the rest.)

Lottie flew onto my arm today even though I didn't have any corn.  I came in to get some for her.  She's such a dainty thing.     Poppy is finding it hard work to fly up now,  I have to get closer to the ground for her to get up.

Florence (Australorp) is looking very dishevelled. Her neck has moulted and she has the hedgehoggy spines of new feather shafts showing. Her tail has disappeared, and she has a few bald patches.   I'm surreptitiously feeding her rinsed tuna,  sneaking a few pieces to the poorly Tilda at the same time.

Roobarb, who had the sense to moult a little earlier,  is looking glorious.  I can't believe how much her colouring changes with each moult.  I guess she likes to ring the changes.

Nora and Batty, last years Sasso x Welsh Black girls, are moulting.  Nora has been moulting for a while and, in true hybrid fashion, decided to shed all her feathers in one go.  She spent a while looking like an oven ready,  and then time as a porcupine.

Her twin sister, Batty, started moulting in the last couple of days:

Norman and her sisters had the sense to moult a few weeks ago, before the weather changed. Norman has been proudly modelling her winter collection (she's the small, non moulting, chicken in the pic below)

Tilda, update

Tilda is still not well.

I got her out of the nestbox again yesterday, same routine with the Garvo, Garvo treats and grapes. I also offered her some yoghurt, but as she then stuck her beak in the Garvo her beak ended up being a mealworm and corn collage.

I wiped it off, gave her some more Nutridrops.  Later, I put her back in the nestbox.

This morning she was out in the run, fluffed up in a corner. I brought her in, gave her some Garvo and some grapes, followed by some Nutridrops.  I then left her in the kitchen with a bowl of Garvo and some spinach and water.  She picked at the Garvo, ignored the rest.  Later, more grapes.   After a couple of hours, she was dozing, so I offered her some more food, and then put her back in the Run where she had been this morning.

A bit later, she'd moved to the Pampas grass. She's sitting very fluffed up, and not looking well.  If she wasn't moulting, I'd think she was maybe laying a softy.

I'll leave her where she is for now, and bring her in again for another snackerel in a couple of hours.

I think a trip to the Vet will be too stressful for her at the moment, she needs to be a bit stronger first.

Poorly Tildy

Tilda, my special needs hen, isn't very well.

She was a bit quiet on Frday evening. Yesterday morning she didn't come out o fthe Cube in the morning, I found her sitting in the nestbox.  I brought her in, hand fed her (she wasn't very interested), gave her some Nutridrops, and then put her back in the nestbox.

She came out of the nestbox a few minutes later (the Nutridrops having taken effect) and sat under the pampas all day.   I offered her some food and water during the day, and some grapes, and I put her in the nestbox when I shut everyone else in.

This morning, still in the nestbox.  I brought her in to the kitchen, offered her some food (which she ate, a little), some cat food (a morsel), some water (she refused), and I forced some Nutridrops into her beak (being careful not to overload, otherwise the liquid would g odown the wrong tube, into her lungs, and drown her).   She needs liquid, so I cut up some grapes, which she did gobble down.  Not the most nutricious food,  but full of water so not bad.

I then sat her in the corner of the kitchen, with an upturned box as a table, giving her a bugget of Garvo, garvo treats, chick crumb, growers pellets, fish based cat food, and water.  She's pecking at it (pun intended), but eats the growers pellets or the Garvos when I hold them up for her.  She's not interested in the water or the cat food.

I'll get her to eat some more, then I'll put her back in the nest box for now. She won't have the stress of the kitchen and the cats that way (although the cats are probably more stressed about her presence than she is about theirs).

Bad weather, push on

This mirning the weather forcaster confirmed that bad weather was on its way.  

I had planned to move the Littlees (LGs) Cube and run in three stages to its final destination, the theory being that they wouldn't get stressed if their Cube was still appriximately where they left it.  My thought, prior to this morningm was to simply turn the Cube round 180 degrees (so it would be facing the correct way) and move it back a bit,meaning it ws just two more adjustments to get it into place.  The Garden had other thoughts.

The Cube and its run are about 3metres long.  It's about 1m wide, but then has a fixed skirt all the way round which is excellent for fox-restistance but a pain in the b*m to move.    The garden is rather undulating, and has shrubs at strategic points which are just that little bit too close togethet to get the Cube through.

I wish I'd taken photos to illustrate just how well our garden is designed to thwart any attempt at manouevering such a large object

I started by trying to turn the Cube round, because once it was pushed back there would be no room to do so.   As I was on my own, I was able to manhandle it,  and I got it part way round.  I was then stumped by a rose bush.  Nothing for it, I gave the rose a good prune, and managed to get the Cube up and over it, with the rose in the middle.  One side was now trapped on some plant or other that was growing near the pampas.  Chop chop, snip snip.  No problem now.  It's green bin day today, so I was able to dispose of the evidence.

Finally, te Cube was around and pushed back a bit.  Perfect.  A bit awkward for getting round (Big Girls (BGs) run on one side, and some shrubby things beginning with E (Eleagnea or somesuch) on the other.  Tough.  It was only for a couple of days.  And then I realised the skirt was sitting on my Vinca.

There was no room (at all) for a sideways move.  Sod the vinca.  I had lots of it. I'd grown it all from cuttings,  it was taking over a bed in the driveway, who needed this bit.    But this bit had flourished underneath these enormous shrubs.  It had survived chickens. It wasn't out of control.    I couldn't leave it to die like this.

So I had to move the Cube backwards again.  And a long way.  And So far back that there was no way the LGs would realise it was their home, just moved a bit. 

The bGs were very excited at having a new run in their area to play with.  So, I had to shut everyone in their respective runs, with some corn,  in the hope of reacquainting the LGs with "home".

At least it means that their bed is next to the BGs Cube, so there will be a lot of protection if  there is bad weather. 

And we can leave it as it is, while we work out whether to connect it to the BGs covered run in some form of semi-permanent way.  It's only semi permanent as we will be wanting an empty Cube next Spring for next year's hatch.
 

Standstill

I can see that there isn't going to be a magic moment when the Littlees (LGs) suddenly decide to go to bed with the Big Girls (BGs).  

Tonight they were happy enough popping into the BGs' run for some corn, but then popped out again to try and go in their own run. It was temporarily occupied by Florence and Milly. Florence got out fairly quickly, then proceeded to run around the garden,  running away from me, and got caught in some fencing.    When I calmed her down I realised that she was moulting quite a lot. It was a relief, frankly, as I had assumed that the black feathers I'd been finding were from Poppy being henpecked.

Milly was less easy to persuade out. In the end I had to pretend to be distracted, so she could lurch past me.  She then ran into a corner and ran backwards and forwards as thoug she was trapped.  In the end I decided to help her out by going to catch her.  She seemed relieved, and then pretended to be affronted.  Daft old bat.

When the forecasters mentioned snow, I gave in and ordered an extreme weather jacket for the Cube. I'd been considering it for a while, but had thoight that if the Girls were all integrated, it wouldn't be necessary.  However, with the forecase of snow posisbly this weekend, I decided it would be a good idea  just in case, as the LGs were still on their own.  

Tomorrow I might move the LGs' cube again. It's a bit soon, but it would be good from a weather perspective to have it next to the other one... connecting it to the BG's run might be a step too far. We'll see.

Nearly?!

This evening I went out to put the Girls away. As usual, I had some corn for the Big Girls (BGs) and some Garvo AlfaMix with a bit of Garvo treat for the Littlees (LGs).    As usual, I went to the BGs walk in run first, and scattered the corn.  The BGs rushed in, headed by Poppy.  Lotti hoovered up corn around the outside.

I threw in some more corn and a bit of the Garvo.   Lotti popped in.   I thought about what to do.   I was tempted to close the door, but it felt too soon to be forcing the issue.   So, I pushed the door to, wedging a brick in to stop it closing completely.  This would discourage the BGs from coming out again, but would leave an escape route for the LGs if the BGs noticed them and decided to chase them.

I stayed in the kitchen, but I could be seen by beady eyes, so I moved to the bedroom to watch them.  Poppy and Lotti popped in and out of the BGs' run,  but made no attempt to go back to their own.  I decided that if they went into their own run, I'd go straight down and give them some corn and shut them in (they needed time to eat the corn to help keep them warm overnight).

It occurred to me that Poppy might stay in the BG run, and Lotti might not; she's much more timid.  I decided I'd have to add her into in the Cube when it was dark, if that happened. 

Dusk fell further,  and still they were in and out in and out.  Then they were out, but standing in the middle of the free range area looking as though they were having a discussion on what to do.  They still made no attempt to go into their own run.   Then they came and stood in their area, although not in their run.   I decided that it would soon be too dark for them to eat,  so I made the decision for them. I went downstairs, put the corn in their run and they ran in straight away.  Then I shut everyone up for the night.

Good progress.  I'll try the same thing tomorrow... and I'm moving the LGs' cube a bit nearer the BGs' cube tomorrow as well.

Speeding up

The integration has been going well.  The "gap" in the netting which separates the two free range areas is big enough for the Littlees to pass through easily, so they can come and go as they please. It's small enough to prevent Custard and Tilda getting through;  but Milly, Roobarn and, surprisingly, Florence (Australorp) are able to get into the Littlees' area.

I'd prefer it if Milly couldn't get in, as she is such a vicious old bag, but she's a Legbar so very small.  The good thing is it means the two LIttlees only have 3 Big Girls (BGs) to contend with,  and only 1 of them (Milly) is nasty.  The other nasty BG, Custard, hasn't been able to get through the gap; neither can the usually mild manneredTilda, who is bottom of 5 and doesn't want to be bottom of 7 so is (understandably) not tolerating the Littlees very well.

 

There have been a few squabbles, and the Littlees are doing a lot of running away. Especially Lotti.  I think that Popy gets away with things because she's black and looks like Florence, so the BGs don't immediately realise she's an intruder.

 

I moved the Littlees cube again today, backing it up nearer to where it is going to end up (next to the BGs cube).    Snow is forecast for Friday, which will be a problem because the two Littlees may have trouble keeping warm at night.   I'm going to accelerate moving their CUbe so it is next to the other one by Friday.   I was hoping to be able to do it a couple of feet at a time,  getting it in place in about  a week or so from today.    Best laid plans, and all that.

I've ordered an extrme weather jacket from Omlet, just in case. 

This morning I also opened the two areas together, so Custard and Tilda can now storm nito the Littlees area at will.

The free ranging started with the 5 BGs occupying the LIttlees run,  and Poppy and Lotti perching on the seats in the BG's run. 

I've also seen Lotty and Poppy squaring up to each other more often, so I assume they are establishing a pecking order for themselves as well.

Never mind.  It will pass.

Pigging time again

Today we collected half a Pig from Shirley at WildWoods, to butcher at home.   This is the fourth? (or fifth? No, I think it's the fourth.) half pig we've had so in theory we are old hands at it now.

Mostly, it went like a dream, thanks in no small part to my notes from last time. ANd the butchery equipment we asked people to contribute to for our Birthdays last year - it always helps to have proper knives and a saw.  We had a bit of a Moment when trying to deal with the Hand/Shoulder primary cut,  and we had to watch the video I took when we were being trained.    It went well.

The shed freezer is packed.  The house freezer and fridge are bursting at the seams... 3 Kilos of meat for sausage is chilling in the fridge waiting to be minced;  the two cuts to be turned into bacon are in bags in the fridge; the eye of loin for lonzino is in a bag in the fridge.

The price of the  half pig is increasing each time, which is to be expected the way feed prices are going.  Out of interest,  this time I looked at the price per kilo of the various cuts at the place we used to buy our pork from (Butts Farm Shop, South Cerney), and totted up what we would have spent buying the pork we produced.     This porker was excellent value... although I'm not taking into account the time we spend doing it.   It's not a chore. If it was, we'd stop.

Excluding the fat for lard,  some spare ribs,  bones for stock,  two trotters for gelatin,  and some skin and fat to make scratchings,  we produced:

1.5kg lean mince

3.0 kg diced pork (should have put more into mince really)

3x325g chops

3.0 kg for sausages (which will make more than 4.0 kg of sausages)

1kg back bacon

1kg streaky bacon

1x cured lonzino (unweighed)

1x2kg (bone out) ham

1x1.4Kg Belly joint

1x1.2Kg Belly joint

1x2.4Kg Hand joint

1x2.2Kg Shoulder joint

1x1.9Kg Shoulder joint

1x hockjoint (unweighed)

I don't eat roast loin or roast leg of pork (eating that as a child put me off pork for most of my life),  so most of those were used in the diced pork and mince.   I use diced pork a lot in things like curries, instead of chicken; and I use pork mince along with beef mince in bolognese, chillies and meatballs. 

 I like to use Jamie Oliver's slow roast pork recipe, and I use it for all our pork roasting joints.  It produces succulent, delicious pork;  which is great the next day cold and the day after that in fajitas or in chinese pancakes in the style of crispy duck;  and after that, if there is any left,  ground as ravioli filling or sweet and sour pork filling.   

Yum yum, bubble gum.

More Vitamix experiments

Ocado had a twofer offer on mangoes, so I bought two in my delivery.  I decided to make a mango smoothie.  My previous excursions have resulted in something more akin to ice cream, and all I wanted was a drink (Like I used to make with my stick blender, only smoother).

I started with natural yoghurt and added some Keffir milk. Then some mango (without the peel, which I presume was a mistake really).  A quick blitz...it was OK, but not an adventure.  So, I added half a peeled orange,  half an unpeeled apple,  some spinach, some ice, and some ground flax.  I blitzed and tried it.  

Hmm. It didn't taste unpleasant, but it did taste a bit green and a bit gritty.  I remember reading on the Vitamix Lady's website that the grittiness is a result of people not blending for lon enough.  But I knew that blending generated heat, and heat needed counteracting with ice. But I didn't want an icy drink.

In the end, I added more ice cubes, blended again, and went and did something else for 30 seconds.  The result was much smoother textured drink. It wasn't quite  cold enough (more ice next time), and it was reasonably pleasant. I'd drink it again, but I wouldn't give it to my DH (who can sense green at 20 paces).  

I'm sure there was a hint of grass in there...must be the spinach.

Balancing Routine

The Littlees and the BGs (Big Girls) are managing to get along, free ranging together.  When I say together I mean not being physically kept apart. They are actually still wandering around in their separate groups.

The Littlees have been making themselves at home in the BGs walk in run. Yesterday, though, at 5pm they were back in their own run waiting for their usual bedtime snackerel.  Today was similar, so I decided to give the BGs their corn, and Littlees their Garvo, but to leave both run doors open.

 

I fondly imagine that the Littlees will wander into the BGs run when they've finished eating, and they'll all happily snuggle up together.

Of course that's not how it turned out. I've just had to rescue the Littlees from Milly, who has invaded their run and is gobbling all their food.  I've shut the Littlees in now. I'll open the door up again when they've finished eating.

Neglected Ducks get their first Swim

Came across this on Someone else's blog. It made me blub, so I thought I'd share it.

A group of ducks were rescued from a place where they were kept penned up with no access to (bathing) water.  This video shows what happened when they were first introduced to a pond after being rescued...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=PrPajlIsKd0#!

A Fretful Eye

This morning I made sure that there was a amal gap in the join between two lots of netting, and let everyone out.    Before long, the Littlees were in the Biggees area,  exploring the walk in run,  and the Biggees hadn't noticed.

A bit later, Roobarb was in the Littlees area, eating the remains of last night's treats.  And then Milly.  And then Florence (Australorp).   Custard tried to get through the gap a few times, but couldn't manage it,  which was a relief.  Tilda sat elsewhere watching proceedings.

The Big Girls are mostly ignoring the Littlees, which is rather easy. The garden is rather large and the chooks have lots and lots of places to explore and hide.  I keep checking up to find out who's where.

At one point, the Littlees were under the Pampas on the BIg Girls side, and 3 of the Big Girls were under the Pampas   on the Littlees side. 

I'm secretly hoping for a miracle...where they all toddle off to bed together without any hassle.  Meanwhile, back in the real world, I'm keeping a watchful eye on proceedings.

Baking, Butter and Burnt on Grease

Gorgeous Autumn day today: sunshine, blue skies, very windy.  Good weather makes a good mood, and I needed it as I have a lot to do today.

First up was to make 2 of Delia's Creole Cakes. I was late starting this year. Normally it wouldhave been made by 25th September, giving it three months to mellow and mature before Christmas.  The fruit has been soaking in alcohol in the fridge for the last two weeks. I had a minor mishap when heating the fruit and alcohol initially.... I managed to set fire to one lot, and effectively burned all the alcohol off.  It was rather spectacular.     I added extra alcohol, and I marked the jar in the fridge to make sure that we end up with that one.

Of course I didn't have any eggs.  All these hens, and not enough eggs.  I need 10 for the two cakes. On these occasions I normally make my way across town to a nursery where they keep free range hens and sell the eggs.  It's easy to see that the Girls are well looked after and are genuinely free range (rather than kept in huge barns with the alleged opportunity to free range).    I just couldn't face it, and I got my allegedly free range eggs from the local Co-Op in stead.   Now I've typed that, I wish I had made the effort and had gone to the nursery.

Anyway, I schlepped to the Co-Op and back, and got started. It didn't take long to get the cakes in the oven, and they are filling the kitchen with a gorgeous warm scent.  I had to stick a sticker on one of the tins so I know which one is for us.  I hope the label comes off again.

Next, it was buttermaking time.   I had had to go to Costco last week, so I decided to pick up cream for butter at the same time, saving me a journey in the next couple of weeks.   It's been sitting in the fridge, and I really needed to get on with it. 

I did try some in the Vitamix, as there was a recipe somewhere for it.   Sorry Vitamix,  on this occasion my KitchenAid beats you hands down.    It took a couple of hours to clean everything,  make the butter,  salt and beat the drained butter,  pot it, fridge it, and wash up.   After my last session I had bought various silicon moulds from Lakeland, as I invariably have more butter than pots.  They seem to have worked so far, I'll know how well (or not) once they've been frozen and turned out.

And then I needed to clean one of the ovens. I was going to use it for the cakes, but  I've mostly used this for roasting vegetables and potatoes and it smelt horrible.  I've covered everything with OvenMate and I'm waiting for it to Do It's Thing.

And in between I've been keeping a fretful eye on the chooks.....

Vitamix, continued

I placed my order with Lakeland.

The machine they offer (the Aspire) has a smaller jug supplied than standard, and only a 5 year guarantee instead of hte 7 year guarantee available on the next model up. Other than that, the spec looked the same.  I emailed Customer Services at Vitamix to check, and they confirmed this.

When the machine arrived, I left it in the box on the worktop: I wasn't sure I had done the right thing. (Mind you, I did the same with the Magimix, and that turned out to be a good investment).   Eventually, I unpacked it.  I read the recipe book that came with it.  

I felt foolish.

I started by making a smoothie with a couple of ripe nectarines. Just nectarines and a bit of ice.  Success!   Delicious.(Mind you, nectarines are delicious, so no surprise).

Cleaning the container really was as easy as suggested.

Making dinner and needing a chopped onion, I used the Vitamix.  If I'm only chopping one onion, I do it by hand as it's too much hassle cleaning the processor.   Very good, especially as I also used it to chop carrot and chop a courgette.

I thought I'd try the recipe book's "Vanilla Pudding", which looked like custard to me.  Disaster.

On a trip to Costco, I bought a bag of  frozen fuit (peaches etc).   I made a frozen fruit sorbet.   Very tasty, but gave me brain freeze.

Carrot soup... qualified success.  In the recipe book, they cook the carrot first.  I felt that if I did this, I wouldn't really be getting that much benefit from the Vitamix, so I tried it with raw carrot.  It worked reasonably well, but wasn't as smooth as I would like.  (I later discovered the Vitamix Lady's website,  and she explained a bit about bittiness and how to stop it).


Hot chocolate. Success! (Although I could have got equally good results by switching on the coffee machine and using the milk frother)

Fresh tomato sauce (Marinara Sauce).  Oh. My. God.  This tasted fantastic when I made it and it was cold. Really fresh, really bright.  Super Success!  It was remiscent of the best tomato we'd had for bruschetta at our local Italian restaurant.     Then I added it to meatballs and baked in the oven for 30 mins.  Qualified Success. It tasted OK, but it had lost a lot of its freshness.

Angel Delight. Success!   I hadn't eaten Angel Delight for years, then my step daughter mentioned it (we used to eat a packet between us when she was younger).   The blitzclean didn't entirely work on Angel Delight though, I had to use my fingers to loosen the stuff at the top of the conainer.  (And, to be fair, Angel Delight is so eay to whip up that I could have done it with a fork).

"Grated" cheese: Success!

Grated Parmesan - not so great.   Because the V. only chops, rather than grates, I ended up with little pieces of parmesan instead of fluffy gratings. Magimix (or hand grater) wins on that.

Yorkshire pudding batter: Success!  I blitzed the egg, milk, water, salt, pepper, for a few seconds,  and then added the (unsifted) flour.   I was hoping this would work because it would be slightly easier to clean up than using a bowl and whisk,   and if I could use unsifted flour that was an added advantage.  I left it to stand so it idn't have too much air in it.

And yesterday we had Roast Pork again, finishing our last pork joint before we collect the next half-pig on Friday.    It took about 5 seconds to do the gravy.  In fact, it was overly thick, more like soup (which, I suppose, it was).  Next time I'll use fewer vegetables in the processing, which has the added benefit of leaving more for me to eat with my dinner),  or I'll add more liquid.   I froze some of this to have as soup,  and some of it to use as a base for gravy next time we have something like Toad in the Hole.

Pureed Cauliflower - hmmm. Not a success, but I don't think the fault lies with the Vitamix.  It did a fnatastic job of puree-ing ny cauiflower and whipping it up to a silky consistency.  However, I didn't like the taste (and I love cauliflower), and the texture was just too weird.   

I've used the Vitamix more than once a day.   For the roast dinner I used it for three things.

There wasn't enough room on my main worktop for this AND the Magimix AND the Mixer.  I've moved the Magimix over to another worktop, so it's still accessible.   The Magimix won't be used for chopping or blending any more,  but it will still be used when I have lots of stuff to slice.

It's still too early to say whether it was a good investment, but I am pleased with it. I won't be making use of Lakeland's no quibble return facility.

First steps in integration

The Littlees are very happy to be allowed to roam in the Big Girls area.  The area is so large, and U shaped, htat it's easy for them to scratch around without the Big Girls realising they are there (or so the Big Girls can pretend they haven't realised, so they don't have to do anything about it). It's not so great the other way around.

When the Big Girls invade the Littlees area, there is nothing the Littlees can do.  Lotti (Exchequer Leghorn) did try and peck Milly (Vicious Old Bag, Cream Legbar) to get her away from the food, but Milly just pecked back and Lotti ran away.

I made a small gap in the fence (where two runs of netting meet) that was big enough to let the Littlees through, but small enought o hinder the Biggees going the other way.    That worked well. For a while.  

This morning, Lotti and Poppy were scratching around, in the Big Girls (BGs)  area, in sight of the BGs.  Everything was fine.    A little while later, the BGs had free ranged round to the Gap.  Roobarb decided she was going through.  She's not a small girl.  She squeezed and she squozed, and then she squoooozed, and eventually popped through.   Milly followed.  Custard, who is rather large and buxom,  tried and failed.  Later still, we saw that FLorence (Florence! She's huge, how did she get in there?!)  had joined them.  Custard tried again, and failed again.

Lotti and Poppy could see that their home had been invaded.  They couldn't work out how to get back.  I left everyone to it. Half an hour later, Lotti and POppy were still looking bothered, so I went and made a gap in a different part of the fence so they could get in. Then I kept an eye on things. 

3 Big Girls to 2 Littlees is still too much in favour of the BGs, but it's the best I can do without more manual interference.  I'll leave them like that for a while, until I have to go out.

I'd have preferred to have waited a couple more weeks tohave started this,  until the LIttlees were a bit more mature and Tilda wasn't mouting so much.   Trouble is I've no idea what the weather will bring, and I'd very much like to get them to the stage where they can all sleep together. 

Vitamix

My brother has had a Vitamix for years, and he goes on and on an on about how fantastic it is. 

Some years ago, I started to save the money to buy one for myself. I eventually saved enough, and planned to buy one at that year's Good Food Show (GFS). The Demo at the GFS was excellent... but I just couldn't bring myself to spend that much money on a...on a... on a blender.

In the intervening years, I've looked at them occasionally, and I've been very tempted. But it always comes down to how much?? for a blender??!!  and I couldn't do it.   I could absolutely see what a good machne it was,  and I was sure in the hierarchy of  kitchen appliances it was probably "worth" the money, but what it came down to in the end was a sneaking suspicion of would I really use it?

Besides, I have an excellent Mgimix food processor, which I use all the time. It sits on the worktop so it's within easy reach, and I use it for even small jobs like grating lots of cheese.  Would the Vtamix be any better than this?

A few months ago I was making very special gravy. This was superb gravy,  made with lots of vegetables that had sat under a pork joint for a long time. It was gravy which required the vegetabes to be pushed through a sieve or a mouli.  As usual, I used my hand mouli.   It occurred to me, as I was grinding away,  that this was the sort of thing which could be done well in a Vitamix.  The mouli stops the skins going through, the vitamix blitzes the skins as well.

Then Lakeland started to sell Vitamix.  This got me very interested, because of heir "No quibble guarantee", which meant that if I bought a Vitamix and didn't get on with it, I could take it back.  I still couldn't quite bring myself to spend the money, but I did find myself researchnig Vitamix prices, and looking at them on Ebay to see what they sell for.

Over the next month, each time I had a cooking task, I thought about whether it could be done quicker or better in a Vitamix.   Each time I used the Magimix, I took a moment to think about the Vitamix.    The area where the Vitamix looked like it would score over and over again, was the apparent ease of cleaning.   Not that the Magimix is difficult to clean,  but there are always several bots that need doing: the bowl, the lid, the pusher, the blade....   And I don't put it in the dishwasher because (in my experience) it makes the bowls brittle after a while.

Three weeks ago, I had another slow roast pork joint,  and another gravy session.   And that's when I decided to do it.

Allotment Babies

The Allotment Babies are also coming along well.   They are 14 weeks old, and are slower developing than the chicks from last year; I think that is partially to do with the lateness of hatching, and it's a good thing.

They are 14 weeks old. It's possible to tell that some are definitely cockerels, and some are definitely hens, but there are a lot where I'm just not sure.   It won't be long before it becomes obvious.

They've eaten all the grass, and so we are supplementing them with greens every day. There is a small amount of greenery in the cockerel pen, which is currently out of bounds to them. We have it ready so that we can separate the cockerels and hens before the hormones kick in.   I was expecting to have to do it this weekend, but it may be that we have a few more days before we need to separate them.  I don't want to accidentally put a girl in with the boys.

We'll probably open p the cockerel pen so that all the chicks can use it. Then we'll separate it again when necessary.  This means all of them will get the opportunity to eat the vegetation, and it'll mean the area won't be completely new to the cockerels when the time comes.

Yesterday when I went down to see them, one of the boys had got in with the Old Ladies.  I don't think it was anything hormonal, he was probably just looking to eat whatever they had to eat.   When I was poo picking, I realised (from the tiny pile of poo in the nest box) that he must have got stuck in there overnight, and he'd managed to go to bed in one of the nest boxes. Brave boy!

He isn't one of the ones which let me pick them up, so I couldn't catch him. He was also too stoopid to see the gap in the fence that I provided for him to get back.  What a palaver!  After 5 frustrating minutes,  I was tempted to leave him where he was. However,  I could see that the Old Ladies weren't too impressed with having someone new thrust upon them, so  I carried on trying to walk him out. Or catch him.   Eventually I had to open the fencing right up, and lobbed some corn in.  He came running up to near me, so I tried again. He went almost  to the gap, but then ran away.  We tried this a couple more times, and eventually he popped through the gap.

Yellow-Right-Ring is going to be stunning. Grey Ring is going to be gorgeous too, and has a pea comb.  I still think they are both boys , and we have room for only one.  Cross that bridge when we come to it.

I spent nearly a whole day last weekend cleaning and Poultry Shielding all the coops. Hopefully for the last time this year, unless we get a very sunny December day.

Where has the time gone?

Lotti (short for Borlotti, as her markings remind me of said beans) and Poppy are continuing to flourish.  They are getting bigger and heavier. It's not so noticeable with Lotti,who's a flyweight Exchequer Leghorn, but it is noticeable with Poppy who is an Australorp x Indian Game.   They've learned to fly up on to my outstretched arm, a la Falcon,  and I really notice it with Poppy.

They are both very vocal, but as they can only form parping sounds at the moment it's not a problem. Poppy is especially tame. Lotti pretends not to be: it has to be on her terms.

They continue to try and be part of the Big Girl flock at every opportunity.  When the netting separates the two flocks this works well. The Big Girls permit the Littlees to sit "next" to them, and generally pretend they can't see them.  The Littlees pretend the fence isn't there and they are all one happy flock - they have no real concept (yet) of trying to fight for  a place in the pecking order. 

The Littlees are 14 weeks old now, so we've started allowing more joint free ranging.  It generally goes OK, until the Big Girls decide to com and inspect the Littlees area.  The Big Girls come storming in, and the Littlees run away.   I've been trying to prevent that happening, by rearranging the two free range areas. This gives more joint fencing, and there are a couple of gaps in the fencing which are large enough for a Littlee to pop through but too small for the Big Girls.  I've also tried to shoo some of the big Girls out so the Littlees are only invaded by 1 or 2 hens at a time.

In preparation for the Next Big Step, the two free ranging areas are now set up so that I can open up the fruit cage to one or other or  both areas.  We'll be doing that shortly, opening it up to both sets, as it will be neutral ground on which they can meet. And there is lots to do,  and lots of places to shelter from being bullied. . Of course the concept of "neutral ground" is a bit lost on the Big Girls as they seem to think that everything belongs to them.

Tilda, my special-needs chicken, is moulting. She's not a happy bunny.  I've tried cheering her up with extra protein (out of sight of everyone else) in the form of fish flavoured cat food,  hard boiled eggs, tuna....   She is particularly aggressive when she encounters  Lotti or Poppy without a safety net.  I don't blame her: being bottom of 5 hens is bad enough,   being bottom of 7 would be worse. She has to try and assert herself.

Seeing the Littlees trying to join  up with the Big Girls makes me realise that I do need to let them integrate, even though I really want to keep them safe and happy.  Apart from anything else, they could do with extra feathered bodies in the coop to keep them warm as the nights get colder.

So, I'll enable more of the joint free ranging, and I'll aim to open up the fruit cage in a week or so.