Goodby Dillys darling

Dillys died today.

Dillys, and her twin sister Phyllis,  were hatched in 2014 from one of the Welsh Black harem girls and our gorgeous boy Henry.    Unlike all the other black offspring,  they had flat ('normal') combs instead of pea combs.  She was, like her sister,  large, bolshy, inquisitive and friendly.  Always pecking for attention, always tripping us up for treats.

She had been off colour, on and off,  for a little while. We'd seen her a few times (not when it was this hot) with a blue tinge to her comb,  and each time we've thought she was probably going to go, so it's not exactly unexpected.   She looked a bit off colour again on Wednesday, and DH gave her some Nutridrops... but this time,  it was the last.   I don't think it was particularly the heat, although I guess that might have been the last straw.

I can't find many pictures of  her (them).   I found this one, which has both of them in.  I can't tell them apart in the picture... I often couldn't tell them apart unless they were both in front of me at the same time.  In case you can't see the combs, one of them is on the left eating from a fruit bush;  the other is in the foreground looking at the slab.

I guess flat combed chicks are more likely, now that our cockerel is a Vorwerk.They'd have to go some to be as cheeky as Phyllis and Dyllis.

I haven't told Small Person yet.    I'll wait until we are chatting tonight.    I would bet that, after she's interrogated me on the details of what happened and had a bit of a reminisce about Dillys,   she'll ask me whether it means we can keep more girls from this year's hatch.

Poor babies

The chicks are really struggling with the heat. 

CHickens dont sweat.  They lose heat through their combs and wattles.  If it's really hot, and they can't lose enough heat through the combs and wattles,  they pant.  They are coarrying around feather duvets, and they often have to lift their wings up to try and let some air flow in.

Most of the chicks have no combs or wattles yet, so the ONLY way they can lose heat is panting.  Sometimes, this isn't enough... you may remember that we lost one to heatsroke last week.    Our chooks have a gazebo, a tree, and some other shade.  They have an electric fan.  WeThey have waterers which are re-filled twice a day (so the replacement water is cooler). 

Recently we added two shallow troughs (one was a cat litter tray we bought to use as a chick dust bath, the other was a washing up bowl which is usually used when the allotmenteers need a bath).   A small amount of water,  we tried getting them to stand in them initially, but that didn't work.  Now we use them as additional drinkers, with water refreshed seveeral times a day.    We throw in some sunflower seeds (which the chicks love, but which are far too fattening for them), so the chicks have to dunk their faces to get to them.

Yesterday it hit 35 degrees and the chicks were struggling.    Small Person and I ended up giving each chick a quick bath,  just enough to get them damp.     In the aftermath of the bath, none of the chicks were panting, and they all looked quit ecomfortable.    Of course it wore off, so we ended updoing it several times a day.

I tried using a sprinkler on mist (as recommended by FlytesoFancy), but the chicks were too afraid of it.  

Today, I've put bottles of frozen water in the troughs, to try and keep the water cooler for longer.    Of course the chicks didn't like this change... but sunflower seeds in the water meant it wasn't long before they were trying to stand on the bottles to reach in to the water.

We've got a small area of shrub which they don't currently have access to,  and I've been busy pruning the bay tree so we can get some netting round it.     Then they can have that, and hopefully that will be enough for them to withstand today's temperatures without repeated bathing.  I've done them once today so far.

We tried feeding the chicks some tiny cubes of cucumber, but they didn't want to know.   Small Person sat for ages in with the Big Girls feeding them cucumber.

Rest of the week

It continues hot and, apart from a welcome short drizzle last night, no rain.

PinkComb is still with us.  Several times a day I've been picking him up, bringing him in, and giving him a drink from a syringe.  Up until yesterday, he drank every time.   I've also been massaging his crop, as I think he has a bit of a blockage.

Yesterday he didn't want to drink from the syringe, and he seemed quite perky.

I'll keep an eye on him, of course.

It's now easier to tell who is a boy and who is a girl.  If the 6 black chicks,  PinkComb BlackRing and OrangeRing are boys;  purple ring is a girl;  I'm not sure about RedRing and PinkRing.    Of the others,  Brownie is a boy,  Number 6 may be a girl (although that might be wishful thinking),  and Penguin...well, I'm not sure.

Penguin, Number 6 and Purple Ring spend a lot of time together. 

Black Ring, the least hand tame, likes to climb on the coop and then fly out of the run. 

They don't look like chicks now, they all look like tiny chickens.

Back in the Big Girls coop, Poppy has given up being broody.  She has been out for a couple of days, and is being completely vile to Faye.  I'm guessing that Poppy has slipped down the pecking order to fourth, and doesn't want to bottom.     It gave me a tinmely reminder of how difficult it is going to be if I decided to add more girls to their flock.

Poppy can't help it.  She endured torment from monster hen Milly (something I very much regret not dealing with sooner).     She did not tke kindly to the introduction of Faye, Sasha and Fleur,    and I suspect that the nastiness may have affected them too.

Yesterday and this morning

Later on, another bird - PinkComb, a boy - seemed a bit listless.  I picked him up, but he wasn't particularly warm so heatstroke seemed unlikely.  I gave him some yoghurt (laced with AviPro), which he refused to eat,  and I attempted to give him some vitamins.  I ended up wearing the vitamin drops.

I put him back in the run.  He was eating and drinking a bit, but didn't look right.

This morning, he was OK, but not quite himself.  I made up the dog crate for him,  but he's not letting me catch him (which is a good thing I suppose).

I've been scrubbing and disinfecting all drinkers and feeders in both the Chick area and the Big Girls area.    I've bought some Coxoid, just in case we need it.

It's not licensed for poultry, but it used  to be the thing that chicken keepers used.    I'm not sure whether to dose everyone, just in case.

They've all been sitting around this morning.  That's not unusual,  but it is worrying when I'm in a state of anxiety.   

In an attempt to get them to do something, I  refilled the dust bath. Fresh sand, fresh woodash, fresh topsoil.     They all attempted to get in.  At the same time.

PinkComb was in the midst of the dustbath, and he's (mostly) wandering around with the others and is eating and drinking.

Stressful day.

So. Very. Sad.

One of our chicks died yesterday.

I could see that she wasn't right. She was sitting away from the others, and kept moving away when any of them came to keep her company.

It looked like heatstroke,  so I did a cut down version of the usual stuff.  She was very warm. Chicks are very warm, but she seemed warmer than 'normal'.   I thoroughly wetted a towel,  with warmish water, wrapped the chick in it,  then wet a small rag and put it over her head.  I unwrapped her so she would feel the cooling effects, and rewet it.  I put it underneath her.  I checked her over to see if I could see any signs of injury, and I checked her vent in case there was blood.

I was loathe to do anything more dramatic. I wasn't sure she could cope with being more thoroughly wetted.     

I squirted some water in her beak, using my smallest syringe. I mixed some Avipro ith a tiny bit of yoghurt which she ate.and then put her back outside. I put a wet towel next to her so she could lean on it if she wanted. 

An hour later, I got her out again, and repeated it.   

A little later she took herself up to bed.

And then I heard a scuffle from inside the coop, and I knew she had died.

Poor little poppet.

Benched

We moved the chick bench into the chicks enclosure,  so they'd have something to jump up and down from, and somewhere to congregate off the floor.

We had a discussion about whether to put it in or not.  The reason for the discussion is that Wash had adopted the bench and really liked stretching out on it, and it seemed mean to steal it back from him.

But, steal it back we did.

It's been a great success.

I might see about getting another one for Wash.

Photo call

They are starting to turn into young chickens now,

Brownie

Penguin

Brownie, PinkComb, and 3 of the other black chicks

Number 6

Shade

It's so hot! 

33 degrees Celsius yesterday.


Everywhere is tinder dry.   We've rearranged the Big Girls area so that they have the back fence and shrubs, andthat's where they spend most of the day.  It's pleasant and cool there.     They have a waterer there too, so they don't have to go back in the Run to get a drink.

It was more problematic for the Littlees.  We'd been putting up the table shade, which casts a shadow over part of their run for most of the day.  I'd put some special greenhouse shading on the run, which blocks the heat but lets the air in.

Then I'd had to put a shade shade on the run.

Then I'd added in some pram shades, but they were a bit dangerous. All these things only helped shade the run, not the free range area.

In the end we excavated Myshed to find the gazebo, and it for them.   It's something like 3m square, so it covers a good part of their area.   They also have 3 watering stations.

Can't do much about the grassm though.

Jumpy Uppy

Small Person (I really must come up with a better name for her now) came after school earlier in the week.     She sat in the run and played pick up chicks (holding each one correctly and giving himher a treat as a reward),  and then she decided to try and teach them JumpyUppy.   She wasn't quite clear with her arm, and ended up being mugged by a swarm of small chickens.

Since then, I've neen training them to do jumpy uppy myself.  They are getting the hang of the flying up,  but they have no concept of taking turns,  and the opportunist ones interpret any bit of arm as an invitation.   We've probably got 6 or 7 that are happy to jump up now.

It came in handy today because Penguin escaped.   I brought the treat bowl out,  offered my arm,  and heshe gently landed on my arm and got carried back.    No drama.

My arm is quite badly scratched, because the little ones have such sharp claws.

I've also done pick up chicks as well, to make sure they don't lose that skill.

They really are a lovely bunch.    

Brownie is six weeks old tomorrow, Penguin is 6 weeks on Saturday,  the other 2 earlies are 6 weeks on Sunday.     The rest of the bunch are 5 weeks old now.

Time to stop putting the hen on overnight.

Beddy Byes

It's continued to be unbearably hot.

A few nights ago, we decided to see if the chicks would take themselves to bed.  7 managed it, 3 did not.  The following night, 9 managed it and 1 did not.  It has continued like that for several nights now.

The sleeping positions vary.  Some nights they are all on the floor,  some nights 7 of them pack on to the top of the hen.     I've still been putting the hen on before  I go to bed, because it gets a bit nippy at 4 in the morning.

We've tried teaching the straggler to go up the stairs, but she just isn't getting the hang of it. 


Today, after I mucked out.  I  decided to put the roosting bars in.  I don't want to force them to sleep on roosting bars though, so they also have a flat nest box as an option,   plus the top of the hen.  It will be interesting to see where they choose to sleep.

This morning

I was expecting to be woken very early by Faye.  I hadn't closed the pop hole, because of the heat.   Usually this means they get up at about 4am, and Sasha and Faye start whingeing straight away.  This morning, there was nothing until someone - Fleur I think - started crowing at about 6.   She stopped after a few goes,  so I went back to sleep.

DH went down to make a cup of tea,  and I got up at about 7.45 to see what the Sasha Situation was.

She as alive.  She looked reasonable, although not right. She refused food and water.  Her tail was up, but her wings were down.  I picked her up and she felt cool.  I took her out to the run, and watched to see what happened.

She went to the drinker and drank.  Quite a lot.  Then she stood for  while,  and then she jumped up on the garden chair which acts as one of their many perches.    I left her there.

She's been OK during the day, and her wings are returning to their normal position.  She's a bit quiet, so not completely well,  but she looks OK.

We've left the Intensive Care suite made up in the kitchen.

Heatstroke

The Big Girls have been suffering with the heat.  Gloria has been physically panting;   Fleur and Gloria have diarrhoea; Poppy is still broody;   Sasha and Faye have been OK.

I've been giving Fleur and Gloria a little yoghurt each day, laced with Nutridops.  Sasha and Faye have had a small amount too. Poppy has had a little, but not so interested.

I've been feeding them lettuces, and some watermelon, during the day.   We changed their free ranging area - DH mowed the grass especially - so that they have access to all the area under the trees at the back of their run. This also gives them more under-hedge space,  so adds to the amount of shade they already had.

Sasha had been in the nest box for a long time.  I opened it up to have a look,  and she was in there looking very unwell.  She was so very hot.   I shut the nest box door, and ran into the house.  I pulled some old towels out of out old towel basket,  put them in a bucket, and covered them with cool water.  Not too cold,  I didn't want to risk shock.

Back at the coop , I lifter Sasha out of the coop and onto a towel, I wrapped it over her, covered her head with a small towel, and held her carefully.  The towel was baking.  She dozed off (which wasn't a good sign). I swapped it for another one.  I put a small towel underneath each wing. 

When she was cooler, I let her go.   I then went and gave Fleur and Gloria a wet towel treatment.  They seemed to enjoy it.  Poppy didn't want it, so I let her go.  I couldn't catch Faye.

I noticed that Sasha had gone back in the nest box, and when I opened the door, she had her head underneath Poppy.

I took her in the house, and sat with her on my lap, both of us getting soaked in wet towels.  I syringed some water (laced with Avipro) into her, but she didn't want to drink.   After nearly an hour of towel changing, she had cooled down,  and I put her back in the run.  Faye came and tried to peck her head.  

I picked Sasha up, took her back in to the house, and this time I put her in a sink with some cool (not cold) water.   She was again covered in a towel, and this time I used the kitchen spray,m on low,  and sprayed the towel.   Spraying her directly would be too painful for her, and I also needed to be careful about the temperature of the water.

As the sink filled, she sat down,  and gradually got very drenched. She was dozing, and I held her head so she didn't drown.   I syringed more water in to her,   a tiny bit at a time, stopping each time to let her 'swallow'.    She looked in a bad way.

I've had a hen with heatstroke before.  Years ago Milly, our horrible horrible bully hen,  suffered from it  and I had been through this with her.  She survived, and had been in a worse state than Sasha.

Eventually,  she seemed much cooler.   She sat there,  most unlike her.    I put her in a dry towel, and we made up a dog crate in the kitchen for her.  Water,  chick crumb, Alfamix chick, in pots.    When she was drier,  I put her in the crate.   She stood there, tail and wings down,  looking very unwell. She wasn't interested in the water, which was the most worrying thing.

Things didn't change much during the evening.  She stood in one place,  and I was preparing myself for coming down in the morning to find her dead.

She didn't die.

She looked better,   but still didn't look right.  She wasn't eating or drinking,  She was dry, of course.   I put her back in the run with the others. She had a long, long drink.   Then she stood around a bit.  A few minutes later, she was on the arm of the chair.

And an hour later,  she's squawking in response to Faye's egg announcement.

She looks better.  Here's hoping.

Pre-teen

We're now at pre-teen stage.

The chicks know their own minds, thank you very much.   They understand treats and the treat bowl,  and we now have 9 of the 10 who come to be picked up. They no longer queue patiently they barge into each other and jostle.

Number 6,  the youngest and coincidentally the smallest, chick has cast off his shyness and manages to be number 3 or 4 in the picky up and treat games.       We've started lap training which has nothing to do with circuits,  it's getting them to sit (stand) on our laps while we stroke them.    

Of course they don't stay on our laps,  but those that leap off usually just go round and round the outside of the chicken run.   A couple of them, however,  have realised that there is a world beyond the run.  One of the little black chicks is particularly adept at running off.

A couple of days ago, it ran off, got caught, flew out of my hands, climbed up the outside of the run (The Wrong Trousers style) and stood on the top.  S/he then flew off the top of the run, landing in front of a surprised cat.  

Luckily for all concerned,  Wash showed great restraint.  He rolled over so his back was to the tempting morsel.

That night, none of the chicks woudl stay in the bucket.  As dast as I put them in there (with food), another would hop out.  I had a sea of chicks running around., flapping.   Wash, who was lying nearby and who was concentrating hard on not looking at the chicks,  started to twitch.  Then he jumped up and walked away, round th eother side of the Pampas.   Out of the way of temptation, I think.

I threw some Alfamix Chicks in the run and most of them ran in.   We had to carry the chicks back to the shed two by two.

More work on getting them to use the ladder today, I think.  Once a few of them have mastered it, we'll be able to consider putting the chicks outside overnight (with an electric hen if necessary).

Chicks in the sun

The chicks are enjoying the freedom of the grass run.

 It's so hot, we've put up the table shade to cast more shade on them.

Brotherly Love

My latest birthday card make

Before During After

DH has spent ages sanding down the garden table and chairs.  The mouse sander is great for this, but it takes its toll on the hands.

L: before; C: sanded unrtreated; D finished

The difference is startling.

DH has said he might do a second coat... but as he's also planning on doing the swing and the companion set,  I think he'll have had enough long before then.

4ish weeks

The older chicks are now 4 weeks old;  the next 5 are 5 dys younger,  and the youngest is 3 weeks.

They're outside, in a secure run,  for as much of the time as the weather allows.  It needs to be dry and warm, so some days they've been out for about 7 hours, otherdays they haven't been out at all. 

The shed brooder has been extended again.  We've now removed the plastic stuff that we use to make it round (or oval),  and we've put weldmesh panels along the open bit to make it harder for the enterprising youngsters to fly up and perch.

Hand taming is coming along really well.   7 or 8 of the ten now rush to be picked up when they see me get the treat bowl out. The treats are actually just Garvo Alfa Chick feed, but they get very excited about it.

It's great when I want to catch them to take them outside, or to catch them to bring them back in again.  I hope it continues as they get older.

The remaining 2 or 3 just don't really want to be picked up, which is fair enough.  I usually end up taking the 7 or 8 who do out to the garden,  and then come back for the stragglers.  If there's one straggler,  s/he cheeps loudly and pitifully when it realises it's left on its own.   I usually leave it alone while I take the feeders out, and then come back and catch it.

This tactic has sort of worked with Number 6, who is the youngest and one of the stragglers.   He's still one of the last 2 or 3 to be picked up,  but he hasn't been the last one for some time.

One of the smallest black ones,   so one of the youngest,   acts unlike the others.  S/he doesn't want to be picked up, which is OK.  If she ends up on her own, s/he doesn't cheep loudly.  Today she was left on her own while I conveyed the others (7 then 2) out to the garden run.   I came back in to the shed to get her, to find her perched up on the top of the weldmesh, waiting.    S/he's an interesting one.

Back in the run,  a couple of them (Penguin - who is the Leghorn/Legbar cross from a bought-in egg,  and a little black one - possibly the interesting one mentioned earlier) have tried climbing the ladder up to the coop.  Neither made it to the top, even though the pop hole was open.  

Once the group starts to take an active interest in going up and down the steps then we can consider moving them to the outside coop.   It's only possible to even vaguely consider this if the weather forecast is warm and dry,  and even then we would still have an electric hen on in the coop itself.

Otherwise, they'll stay in the shed overnight.

Procrastination

For most of my adult life, I've been excellent at resisting procrastination.    I realised very early on that procrastination is the thief of time and that it's much better to just get on with things.  

All the effort spent in putting them off is just wasted time, energy and emotion.

I've always excelled at working out exactly why I'm tempted to procrastinate (don't really want to do something,  don't know how,  don't agree with it,   etc etc).  And then I've always dealt with the issue and not allowed myself to procrastinate.

I've never had the luxury of time to procrastinate before.
 

Now I have time on my hands, and I've lost the ability to decisively make myself just get on with it.  I still recognise immediately if I'm in danger of procrastinating,  and I still work out exactly why i'm procrastinating.. I've just lost the ability to stop myself actually procrastinating.

I'm doing it now. Procrastinating.

The very act of thinking about it,  complaining about it,  googling images to see if any match up with me,  writing about it... it's all procrastination.

I think confessing it here is my way of trying to give myself a boot up the backside.

Patience

The chicks are 3ish weeks old now, and are feathering up well. They are growing quickly, and we've been putting them outside when it is sunny enough (and not too windy). 

Yesterday they were out for nearly 5 hours.  They have a secure run, food & water and grit,  shelter,  and an electric hen.   They don't use the hen very often, although they do try and all sit on the top sometimes.

When they are in the Shed brooder, I spend a lot of time (and patience) trying to get them to feel comfortable being handled.   I now have about 6 of the ten who will wait for me to pick them up.  The reward is a food treat (actually the lovely Garvo Alfa Chick feed which they love).. Several of them will come back repeatedly and stand waiting to be gently scooped up and rest on the palm of my hand.  One or two don't mind being picked up, but they don't want to lie in the palm of my hand.

Yesterday I practiced picking them up while they were in the grass run.  That went OK, but it's hard lying on the ground for so long!

While they were out I cleaned out the brooder.  It wasn't really dirty, but it was a bit smelly - mainly from the excavated food that gets damp and then warm.

Alittle while later, it looks much the same as it did before.

Buckets

I use a large trug bucket to move the chicks from the shed brooder to the outside run.

Yesterday, some of the chicks dicovered that if they flapped really hard, they could get to the top of the bucket.  What one chick discovers, quickly becomes common knowledge.  Catching them to take them out was a pain.  Catching them to put them back had to be done in relays.

They haven't discovered the dust bath yet, which has been in the outside run for them the last couple of times they've been out.

Maybe today?

Bother.

Wednesday we went to London to see Strictly Ballroom.  I love the film, seen it more times than I can count,  and I got tickets for us to celebrate my sister in law's significant birthday.    My sister in law and brother told me, as we walked to the theatre, that they had no idea what it was about.

It was magnificent.  Fantastic.    It made me want to watch the film yet again.  I didn't, I lent the DVD to my brother and sister in law.

Yesterday, I was tired.    I did some faffing about of a few things,  usual domestics, etc.  DH had to work,  and I snuck in watching a really ancient black and white film I'd recorded ages ago.  It was so old that John Laurie ("We're doomed!") was a less than middle aged man.

I put the chicks out for a a couple of hours, faffed about some more, and finally cooked dinner.

It was hot, so we had the back door open.    Our neighbour has a lot of barbecues,  so heavily scented air isn't unusual.    We ate our dinner the smell got stronger. Sweeter.  Odder.

I went outside.  I couldn't smell it outside. I came in, and I could smell it.  It must be something in our house!

It was.

It was the pea saucepan.  I'd scooped out some peas, and I had left a few in the tiny bit of water I use in peas, and I hadn't turned off the hob.  Worse, I'd left the plastic sievey spoon in there.

It wasn't pretty.

Sayonara Siouxsie

Souxsie Sioux, our oldest Girl, died today.  She was just under 9 years old.

Siouxsie and her sisters, NotNorman and Pogo (and their half sister Norman)  were all absolutely stunning girls.  They laid small, shiny eggs;  they were all of good temperament.   Their parents were sold to me as Dorkings, but we think there was something not right in the parent's parentage.  The resulting chicks markings were spot on,  but they were small,  had yellow legs, laid brown eggs,  and didn't have 5 toes.   It didn't matter though, they were lovely girls.

Siouxie was named after Siouxsie Sioux from Siouxsie and the Banshees. She got her name because she used to shriek like a Banshee, and it was how we could tell her apart from NotNorman and Pogo.    She never much liked being picked up,  but as she slowed down a bit over the last few years she seemed to not mind too much.    In the last year or so, we always made sure that she got more than her fair share of corn, or any other treat  we happened to have.

When Henry was the cockerel, she avoided catching his eye, and none of her eggs were fertilised.  She was very much near the bottom of the pecking order,  probably due to her small stature, her good nature,  and her advanced years.

Since Bertie appeared on the scene, she went from being bottom of the pecking order to being much nearer the top.  He favoured her somewhat, which I regretted  little;  at 8 years old she didn't really need the attention.    The change in status was good to see though, and at night, she would be perched right next to Bertie.   

One of our hatched eggs this year was from a Siouxsie egg. and it's the first time we've ever hatched from them.   I really hope it's a girl.

DH had to do the deed, and was very upset by it.   Siouxsie was such a sweet, unassuming little hen,  she had a special place in his heart.

She will be very missed.

First outing

The age difference is showing.   The oldest chicks have fully feathered wings, and are racing up and down the brooder with their wings open;  Number 6, the youngest and also from the smallest mum/egg, has only wing tip feathers and gets jostled a bit.

It's been baking hot this afternoon so we decided to put the chicks outside for a short spell.   It took me a while to set up the Electric Hen outside,  put out the feed and water,  block the end off the run we were using, etc etc. 

Then I had to move everything out of the shed brooder so I could step in and catch the chicks, and pop them into the large purple chick trug.

 At the moment they are still very young, with very delicate legs,  so I had to be especially creful with the moving and transporting. 

I let them out into the Run, and of course they didn't know what to do, they were overwhelmed by sights, smells and sounds.

It didn't take long.  One of them discovered grass, so they all discovered grass.  One of them ran round like  loony, so they all ran round like loonies,

After about 20 minutes they settled down for a rest.  I decided that was probably enough stimulation for one day, and we set about catching them.  That took a while.

I hope the good weather continues, we can get them out for a short time each day if so.

Baby brother

This morning, we took the big yellow brooder away, put a lower hen in the chick brooder area,  and let Number 6 out to meet his brothers and sisters.    We stood watching.

It couldn't have gone better.

He was a nuisance.  He was fascinated by them all, and was constantly pecking their feet, their beaks, their feathers.    Some of them just moved away.    Penguin,  who is the Legbar/Leghorn cross and has hugely developed feathers,  didn't retaliate at all.  Brownie gave a few warning pecks.    The others pecked Number 6 back when he pecked them.   Number 6 kept jumping up and pecking Brownie,  and then he followed Brownie around for a while.

After about 10 minutes we could see that there was not likely to be any deliberate trouble.  The only concern was accidental damage.  He is so tiny compared to the rest of them, and that's because his mum is a tiny girl.

The others let him eat with them, let him run round with them.     We watched on the camera from the house,  so we could see what they did when we weren't there.   He continued to be a pest, and they continued to be very tolerant.

He should have been sleeping every few minutes, but he didn't. He kept up with them.  He wasn't able to get on the hen, it's a bit high for him to get up at the mo.  There were only a few on there at a time, so he didn't miss out.

I turned the light out at about 6.30,  so there was only the light from the heat lamp.  I checked the camera every half hour or so, or when I heard cheeping on the baby monitor.

There was one point where they were all asleep.  Most of them were together, slightly away from the heat of the lamp.  He was directly under the lamp (he needs more heat than the rest),  one was under the hen, and one was away from the lamp completely ....

...I looked a few minutes later and saw that the largest chick, Brownie,   had settled down beside him.

That was an incredibly kind thing for him to do, because under the lamp is probably a bit too warm for Brownie.

Sometimes they can be so darned lovely.

Integration 1

We put the big brooder in the shed brooder yesterday, and put a pre-warmed brick inside for Number 6 to stand on.  We put a pre-warmed brick outside for the others to look in.

For ages, the chicks didn't notice this...thing.. inside their newly enlarged area.   Eventually a couple of them got on the brick couldn't see anything, and jumped off again.    Number 6 jumped on his brick each time, but by the time he got there, the visitor had gone.

DH opened the corner of the door so it was easier for them to see in and out.

All was well.

Unintended consequences

Small Person has been here every day, and lots of overnights, and has been full of questions.   I'd previously explained to her why we don't interfere in hatching (with the one exception, that we caused a problem).  Of course we had a lot of interfering this time, and I've been explaining why there are always unintended consequences.

We've had one of those.

We brought the brooder downstairs because Number 6 was on his own, and because we were concerned that he might not make it anyway.   We thought it would be helpful for him to see us milling about, and it would be easy for us to check up on him.

We imprinted on him.

We were trying to watch TV, when the cheeping started.  We went out to check him.  He was fine, he shut up when he saw us  We went back to the TV.

It started again.

We tried ignoring it.

It got worse.   I was concerned he was going to get himself too worked up.  I went to see him. He was standing in the water trying to look out.  I dried him off and put some crumpled kitchn towel in for him to sit on.  He settled down.  We moved the water round so it was no longer by the door.

The ambient temperature was too cool for us to take him out of the brooder and bring im in the living room.  A few days ago it was hot enough that we could have done that for a short time.  Not now.

I went and found one of my treasured stuffed toys from my memorabilia box, kissed it goodbye,  and put it in the brooder. He didn't like it.  I left it anyway.

DH had the bright idea of putting the radio on, next to the brooder.  It worked.

Number 6 was asleep with his head on my stuffed dog.

.....

This morning, DH removed the kitchen towel and rescued the toy dog.  Number 6 started cheeping immediately.   I put the dog back and he quietened down.

Later, he was standing on the dogs back.  I tried and failed to get a picture.

Now he's busy catching up on sleep.  He's asleep for a couple of minutes, awake for a bit, asleep for a bit.  He's catching up on all the sleep he missed yesterday evening.

We're going to move his brooder into the big brooder today.  It's a lot earlier than we planned, but he really needs company.

Number 6 mini move

Number 6 has moved.   He's now in the big yellow brooder.  He's tiny.  He must be Siouxsie's, I can't see how any of the others (apart from Ping & Pong the Dorkings) could have produced such a small egg. 

We've moved the brooder into the kitchen, on the big dining table I use for my sewing.   At least he'll see us during the day.

He's had a little drink and he's eaten a little.

All good signs. Right?

We're always hot on hygiene,  and we're being extra extra careful now.

The incubator is dismantled.  The non-electric bits are in a Miltoned bath.  The electric part has been sprayed and dried.  Tomorrow the incubators will go back in the loft,  until next year.


The steam press has been moved back out of the guest room, I've vacuumed and cleaned.   Tomorrow I can get to the filing cabinet and do the filing,  and sort out the rest of the room.

It's returning to normality. 

Merge

Well, we've made the shed brooder bigger (but not as big as it can be), and we've added number 1-5  to ABCD.   

ABCD had a holiday in a bucket while we altered the brooder ring.   1-5 started to try and eat Aubiose the moment their feet touched down.    ABCD had a little peck of 1-5's egg teeth, but other than that, all seemed OK.

We're keeping the baby monitor close so we can hear of any trouble. Hopefully.

Number 6 is looking very small and lonely.  We've cleaned and disinfected the big yellow brooder, and we're going to transfer him sometime this evening.

I'm thinking of moving the brooder into the kitchen so he'll see us and we can talk to him.

Number 6

Number 6 survived the night.

This morning, the yolk sac was detached.  I can't open the incubator, so I can't see whether his tummy is OK and healed, or whether there is a problem.

He's a yellow/brown chick, and he's tiny.  The egg he came from was very small, and I don't know who laid it.  It was the wrong colour to be one of the Dorkings.  It was too small for most of the harem.

It could be a Siouxsie egg.  The colouring of the egg wasn't quite the colour I remember from Siouxsie's eggs, but it was very very glossy like her eggs were.


It's possible that this little lone chick could be from that line. I looked at pics of Siouxise, Pogo, Not Norman, and Norman when they were chicks.   Number 6 could definitely be fom that line!   Pogo and NotNorman's   nephew/niece. Norman's  first cousin once removed .

But I need to not get ahead of myself.  Poor little Number 6 is going to have a bit of a long lonely  road ahead.     And the incubator has to stay shut for now.

And the others are going to have to go out in the shed brooder today so tha the upstairs brooder is empty for Number 6 to move in to.

We talked about keeping one of the chicks back to put in with Number6.    The problem is that if Number6 has got some sort of latent infection,  it'll transfer to the chick we put in with it. 

I looked back in my blog to see what we had done with Norman,  and I could see what we need to do here.

The exercise  reminded me of why keeping a blog is so useful.

Chicks 1-5

Chicks 1-5 are in the small brooder upstairs, and seem to be OK.  The foot fetish seems to be over.
They all look very similar, although there are some differences with the feet.     We won't know any more until they get a bit older.

There is no evidence yet of any Vorwerk colouring in any of them.   We've no idea which of our allotment girls are the Mums.  I know there were at least 3 different egg types, but  I don't know who laid what.

It will be interesting to see how they turn out.

Unless we ring some of them,  we won't know which were from our controlled group and which were "pot luck".   That may make things difficult later, when we have to decide who to keep and who to cull.

I don't like ringing chicks at this age.  I do have some rings tiny enough, but I don't like doing it.

We'll have to make a decision soon.

Chicks ABCD

Last weeks's 4 chicks (A.B,C and D) are bouncing around in the brooder in the shed.   Two of them are black, and I think are one of each sex.    One is currently black and is a different breed.  And one is brown striped, and so I know it's from Barbara.

Barbara's chick is very. very alert.  When we go in,  it watches us from a beady eye.

We're going to extend the brooder today or tomorrow so chicks 1-5 can join them.

End of hatch

So, the 7 other eggs.

The other incubator was cleaned and disinfected, and set to hatching, which mainly means much higher humidity. Humidity is important when hatching:  the membrane surrounding the chick needs to be moist, other wise the chick will bocme 'shrink wrapped' and uable to get out.

Before transferring the eggs for their final 2 days, we candled them. One was clear (unfertilised) - the last Dorking egg, sadly - which left us with 6.

I'm not sure I can rember the sequence of events.

Thursday
Chick 1 chick hatched on Thursday.  No other chicks emerged, and we were concerned we might have a lone chick.  After 12 hours, we moved him into the brooder.  Small Person popped over to see.

Friday
On Friday morning, nothing was happening at 6am,  but at 8am when I went to look, we had a chick.  And another one on the way.

Small Person was away fishing with her Dad.  I phoned her Dad and arranged to meet them so that small person could see the hatch.  We got back just in time to see chick 2 emerging.  

Two more had pipped, possibly 3 - although the 3rd one looked like it might have been pecked from the outside. Small person stayed to see what happened.   She popped out with DH and  chick 3 hatched while she was out.   Honestly. You couldn't make it up.  I tried to video it for her.

Nothing else was happening with the others so after some hours I took Small Person back to her Dad.

Later on Friday,  I could see that we were going to have a timing problem.  I decided to pop the Chicks 2 and 3 in the brooder, with the original chick,  before the next chick emerged.   I also took the opportunity to take out the shells.

Chick 1, who has black legs and feet,  was shocked to have 2 newbies in with him.  He was also fascinated by their pink toes and kept going for them. I presume he thought they were worms.  He would not let the newhatched chicks rest,  so I had to take them back out and put them back in the incubator.

Chick 4 hatched.   I was really conscious of the timing problem now. I had 2 dry chicks, 1 wet chick,  and another one on the way.   Once number 5 arrived, I woudln't be able to open the incubator until he was dry,  and by that point number 2 would need food and water and number 3 would need water. . So, much later, when number 4 was dry,  I removed number 2 and 3 and put them in the brooder.   The same thing happened with the feet fetish,  but I couldn't do anything about it now. 

Number 5 was well pipped and had a fairly big hole.  I realised that the membrane was probably too dry,   probably because I'd opened the incubator a few times.    Damn Damn Damn Damn.   I was going to have to intervene (as I had caused the problem).

I boiled some water,  soaked a new dishcloth in it,  then took the egg out of the incubator and wrapped it in the warm cloth.    I soaked some kitchen towel, and attempted to drip water on to the cracked edges and on to the membrane.  I had to make sure I didn't get water near the beak or nostrils,   I resoaked the cloth as it cooled down.    I could hear the chick inside the egg cheeping.

I put the egg back, and picked up the small 6th egg. No sound.  I put it back.

Several times over the rest of the evening, I used hot boiled water and went through the process with number 5.  I was sure the chick was going to die, and it would be my fault.

It was not an easy night.

Saturday
On Saturday morning, number 5 had emerged.  I was so relieved.

So we had just one egg left in the Incubator.  It had pipped but hadn't got any further. We weren't even sure it had pipped,  it was possible it had been a peck from the first or second chick.    Then I saw it had cracked a bit and there was a small hole. I heard it cheep.

If number 5 made me think Damn Damn Damn,  you can imagine what I was thinking about number 6. 

This poor chick.  All the faffing about with Number 5,   all the times I'd opened the incbator,  the damage might be irreperable.   I had assumed it was dead in shell,  and I hadn't done anything to keep it damp.

I had to try and do something now.   I tried the soaking thing, but I couldn't risk dripping water because the hole was too mall.   I got a brand new artist brush,  put that in boiling water, and tried using that to dampen the edges.  I even chipped away some shell and soaked the membrane.

I could see the little beak trying to poke out.  It cheeped.

I picked up Small Person at 2pm and brought her back.   During the afternoon, I tried again a couple of times.  Each time I tried, I was wishing I hadn't,  and simultaneously wondering about doing more.   I used the brush to get some membrane off its beak and part of its body.   It's very easy to break a blood vessel when interfering like this.  So many things can go wrong.


Every time we opened the incubator,  4 and 5 would try to hop out.  Later in the afternoon we decided we'd have to get the other chicks out.  I wrapped the Number 6 egg in a wet cloth,  Small Person moved 4 and 5 into the brooder, took out the shells, and put fresh kitchen towel down.

Several times I used my brush, desperately trying to help the poor thing.  If it really had pipped on Thursday,  it had taken far too long.      At some point DH had also had a surreptitious attempt at 'helping' by breaking off some shell.  It was so stressful.

Much later, it was desperately trying to break free.  I looked at the shell and could see that our 'helping' had probably made it harder for the little thing to get the leverage it needed.    I walked away.   They have to push out of the shell to strengthem their legs, otherwaise you get "splayed leg" and various other deformoties.


I came back and watched for a bit.   I walked away. 

Eventually, I had to wrap it up again and help the shell a bit.

Eventually,  it hatched.

It still had it's yolk sac attached.  That's not good.  They need to have absorbed all the yolk before they emerge.   I googled.  I struggled not to cry.  The outlook was not good.     It might ot survive more than a few hours.  It might survive but it could be susceptible to disease, some of them so horrible they don't bear thinking about ("mushy chick").   It mght ie within a day or two.  It might carry a disease and infect the other chicks.  It might survive and die young. 

It was done now. We had to leave it alone, not open the incubator at all in case infection got in.
I struggled not to cry.    Small Person kept asking if it was going to be all right.  We answered honestly.   We don't know.  We just have to wait and see what happens.

No matter what happens, we cannot open the incubator.

Much disappointment

One of the eggs, one of the ones I'd bough, was leaking.   I removed it from the incubator, in case it exploed and we put it in a sealed bag.  Research suggested there must have been bacteria in the egg, and the leaking as where gas had buit up and was forcing the liquid out of the shell.

We were worried about the other eggs and the hatched chicks.    Then a second one started leaking.  That was also removed.    We put the chicks in the brooder, quickly disinfected the incubator and put the remaining eggs back, on kitchen towel in case of further leaks.

One further chick hatched.  As soon as s/he was dry enough, the hatchling was moved to the brooder.  We monitored them very, very closely.  We also left the remaining eggs in the incubator for a few extra days.  No more hatched.  One of them, at least, should have. 

Meanwhile, we have 7 other eggs in another incubator, due to hatch in the next couple of days.   Some of the eggs were in with the failed eggs.  It's a worrying time.

We moved the now-4-day-old chicks to the shed brooder today.  We haven't used this shed as a brooder before. It's double insulated, so we've no idea how it's going to be, compared to our revious shed.   We've installed a camera and a baby monitor.

I hope they will be OK.

It never gets old

Yesterday morning, early, one of the eggs pipped.

Much relief and excitement.

During the day, a small hole appeared. It was slow progress.  Yesterday afternoon, we heard cheeping from inside the egg.  Before we went to bed, the cheeping was quieter.  The hole was no bigger.   It's so very tempting to want to "help",  but "helping" isn't always the right thing to do..     We've had eggs before which have taken more than a day to hatch, so we went to bed leaving well alone. For now.

This morning I went to look at about 8am and there were two chicks in the hatcher. Two!.  DH said the second one had pipped when he checked at 4am and the first one stilll hadn't emerged.

I'm so excited to see them!

One is from the set I bought, a Leghorn/Legbar cross.  The other is one of ours, from the 5 girls Bertie was penned up with.   It's a brown egg, so we know it isn't Ping or Pong (the two Dorkings).  So, it could be Barbara (Australorp x Indian Game,  the more Indian Game markings) or Annie, Barbara's sister (but more Australorp looking) or Barbara/Annie's Aunt who doesn't have a name.

I hope more hatch soon.

Broody breaking

We'd been expecting Poppy (or Gloria) to have gone broody a few weeks ago.  We'd thought we might pop a few eggs under her, to reward her for her years of determined broodiness.   Once she's gone broody, she sits tight - on an empty nest - for six or seven weeks.

With the disappointment of so many clear eggs,  it seemed that popping some under Poppy would be a good idea.... but she didn't go broody.

Yesterday, DH separated the eggs from the two incubators.  One lot is due to hatch this weekend,  and they were moved into the incubator whch was set up for hatching (higher humidity). The other lot, the eergency lot I collected when we realised so many of the originals were clear, aren't due to hatch until 6 days later, so they are in the first incubator still.

Today, Poppy went broody.

DH brought back the Dorking's eggs from the allotment.  I cracked a couple, and they don't look fertilised to me.  They have a white spot on the yolk, but I can't see a definite bullseye ring.     Eggs from the garden girls often look like that, so I know it doesn't mean anything.

Anyway. We decided to write on the shells, and put them under Poppy.   We know they aren't likely to develop, but, well,  you never know.  And she might as well be sitting on them instead of sitting on nothing.

She gave me a Look as  I put the eggs under her.   I realised that I should have waited until she wasn't looking. Maybe when she was having her daily poo, or when she was asleep.  But it was too late.

Half an hour later, she was wandering around the garden, unbroody.

She may go back to it, so we'll have to see.  At least they weren't bought-in eggs.

Blah Blah Blah

I killed my sourdough starter a couple of years ago.   It had taken me a long time to create him - I think it took two attempts  -   and I had kept him fed and refreshed for a loooong time, even when I wasn't making sourdough (or similar) breads.  And then I just stopped. I missed one refresh, which turned in to missing a couple,  which turned into me not wanting to open the jar......and he died. Or at least,  I couldn't face trying to resurrect him.

I couldn't be bothered to make another one.  Its OK when you're making sourdough, but if you're not, it's a bit of a faff and a bit of a waste of flour.     Ater our recent scandi bread course, I  decided to try again, but this time I bought two sour dough starters from Bakery Bits.   

I refreshed them, following the instructions carefully, and then I made a sourdough loaf from one of them, using their instructions.  It was OK.   It wasn't fab, but it was OK.    

I felt vaguely reassured that I had, actually, been looking after my home made one correctly. Well, until I let him die of neglect, of course.

Today, a kilo of fresh bioreal yeast arrived.    It had seemed like a good idea when I ordered it.  I remembered that a kilo was much better value for money than 42g portions, even if i ended up throwing a load away.         They were out of stock at the time, so it was back-ordered   Today's yat is, therefore, very fresh and will stay useable for nearly 4 weeks.

I have no idea what I was thinking I'd make with it.

DH is going to make a rye loaf, I think.  We've been on a bit of a hand made rye kick for some time - apart from the last week when we've been having sourdough.  I miss the nuttiness and moistness of the rye.

I might try a white loaf in my machine. Usually, it's not possible to use fresh yeast in a breadmaker; I assume the programme isn't long enough at the right times for it to work?    Our breadmaker does have a setting for fresh yeast though,  so it would be rude not to try it.

At last.

At last, the Inquest is over.    

The first date - sometime last year, lost in the mists of time now -  was postponed becase of the Serious Incident Report (SIR)

The new date arrived,  as did we all,  and the 'other side' asked for an adjournment.  Their grounds were not unreasonable,  we didn't object.    

The next date arrived, as did we all, ready for an extended two days.   One of the key witnesses was too ill to attend.     We asked for an adjournment.   Day 1 went ahead,  and Day 2 was adhourned.

And then the final date arrived, as did we all,   and the Inquest was completed.

I don't really feel any sense of resolution.  I'm just glad it's done.

I'm glad I don't have to pore over the SIR again,  looking at the failures, the missed opportunities to save a life, the processes that would, if they had been followed,  have prevented the death.

I've still got one uncle to phone, to give an update to, and I'll try and do that today.  Then I can put it all away.

Windows Pain

Those nice people at  Microsoft decided to update my computer.   It was a long update.  It should have happened last night - I chose "Update and Shut Down", but it only partially happened last night. The rest happened today after I restarted.

It was a biggie.   When it was done,  I had to answer loots of questions asking for my permission to share data with them.

I loaded Firefox when it was all done, and found that all my bookmarks, saved passwords etc had gone.  I had a new profile.   I went through the "switch profile" optiomn to get it to use my old profile,  but it wouldn't cooperate.

Was it the Windows update that had done this, or had it coincided with a Firefox update perhaps?

I tried a couple of other programs. Some worked,  some decided they needed to be configured for Windows.  

I was very, very cross.   I am very very cross.

That wasn't getting anything resolved though,  so I pushed my annoyance to one side, rolled up my sleeves, and looked at what options I had.

 My last Mozbackup was a couple of months ago, so I knew I could restore that.  But I'd been busy tidying up, ready for my next backup which is (or was going to be) in a couple of days.

I googled for some options.  I tried forcing Firefox to use my old profile, but it didn't like it.

In the end, I had to find out what the elements were that I needed, and I copied them from the old profile to the new.  I needed more elements than I had realised.

So, I've spent a couple of hours in total and I'm now back to where I should have been at 8.30 this morning.

Today

Pilates this morning.   Tiring, but good.

Afternoon Tea, held locally in the village, and organised by a lovely lady. I've been looking forward to it for weeks,  and it was superb. I don't think I've had better.

Off to the allotment, to bring back all the eggs.  I fertility tested some from a few days ago.  Then I attempted (and failed) to match the fertile shells with newer eggs.

In the end I picked 8 different eggs, washed them using special santiser,  weighed them, marked them, and I put them in the incubator.  2 were definitely Dorkings, one from each;  one egg may have been from Siouxsie; the others... I have no idea.

It's not how I like to hatch, and it is very possible we'll end up not being able to keep any hatches from 6 of those eggs. It's highly likely that they are from the Girls who have traits we don't want to propogate,  and if that's the case..... well....  we'll be eating hens as well as cockerels.

I'm still debating whether to buy in some additional eggs. It's such a difficult call.

I made a triple batch of Thermie Lemon Curd, to use up 6 of the 8 eggs I tested.  I used lemons from Costco. They were huge and juicy.  They didn't say "unwaxed", so I had to scrub them.   The flavour is a lot less sharp than I'm used to, so I probably wouldn't use them for lemon curd again.

I've also put the breadmaker on to make dough for some olive bread.   I was going to make it by hand but...well....I just felt too lazy.

I'm going to make a cup of tea (I know! I;m not long back from Afternoon Tea) and have a sit down (I know. I've already spent several hours sitting down having afternoon tea!).

And maybe a power nap.

Eggstreme disappointment

DH candled the eggs today, as he's not going to be able to do it tomorrow.

None, yes none, of Bertie's eggs seem to be fertilised!  Four of the 6 I bought from someone else are.

We'll have to candle again in a few days to make sure, but I now need to come up with a back-up plan.

Anticipation

Ants are such hard working creatures.    We have quite a few in the garden, normally they ignore us and we ignore them.   The other day,  I had a couple of ants climb on me while I was sitting outside by the backdoor.  I knew this heralded potential ant trouble.

Over the next week, we saw the odd ant on the worktop.   I picked them up and threw them outside, asking them not to come back.   Then I killed the next few, but realised that was futile as the colonby would just send replacements. 

I cleaned the worktops and the stiff on it, and moved anything vagiely edible off it on to shelves.  I hoped that the ants would go back and report that there was nothing of interest and they'd not bother to invade.

I searched for the entrance point, but failed.  Outside, the ant activity increased, but we couldn't see where they were getting in, nor where they were going to. DH was adamant we'd have to find the nest and destroy it.    I baulked at that.   We've done it once before, and I always regretted it.  (I know they are only ants,  but they aren't generally doing any harm and they have the right to live).

We then had 4 ants over two different (adjacent) worktops.   Small Person was here, and she reminded me about talcum powder.  If I could find where they were coming in, I'd try that.

Yesterday afternoon,  I opened the condiments cupboard and an ant came out.  I checked, he was on his own.     I checked the other food cupboards,  no ants.     Last night, there were 8 ants running around on the worktop.

I could see that this was going to end in an invasion,  and that is horrible to deal with.    We had an invasion when I was a child, and it wasn't pleasant.  We'd had an invasion here once, that's when we destroyed the nest I mentioned earlier.  

I didn't have anywhere to put talc, but I did decide to try an ant bait station.   I had two in a drawer  so, last night, I opened one up and put it on the worktop.  DH was not impressed.    The ants avoided it.  

This morning, we had no ants on the worktop.

I'm not sure if the scouts have died,  or if they've gone back and the ant bait has made the colony decide not to invade, or if they are rallying troops ready to invade.  Or, of course,  if I've sent back poison which is going to kill the colony.

I guess we'll find out.

Hmmm

So.  Bertie has a real downer on Pong.    He chases her away when their paths cross.  For that reason, we decided we'd breed from Pong's sister, Ping.   Ping scuppered this plan by deciding to go broody. Ish.

So, plan C was to separate off the breeding girls (Barbara, Ann,  Pong, and one of the Harem girls),  and to put Bertie in with them for periods of time but not to leave him in there overnight.     Immediately we separated them, Ping got distressed (presumably because she couldn't get in to her usual nestbox),  and Bertie got indignant.   He called, and all his ladies came running, lined up against the fencing that separated them.

Bertie showed no interest in any of the girls.   We put Ping back in with them, and went home.   We came back later that day to let Bertie out and to check on the girls.  As soon as he was back with everyone else he humped everything in sight.

There were 3 eggs, including one each from Ping and Pong.  We collected them, and broke them at home to see what was going on.  One egg - we don't know which of the other three laid it - was definitely fertilised,  it had the tell tale white bullseye ring.    One of Ping/Pongs was definitely not fertilised.  And one had a white bit (as many eggs do) but I couldn't be sure it was a bullseye.

Since then, every other day,  we've shut Bertie in with the 5 breeding girls in the morning,  and let him out in the afternoon.    The idea is that the breeding girls don't have to put up with him all the time,  and he he can still keep control of the main group.    We were going to put him in every day,  but we were sort of hoping that a day's absence from the breeding girls might make him fonder.... but we haven't seen any evidence of that.

Still, we've collected a number of eggs, although we haven't tested any more for fertility.   The plan is to incubate all the eggs, even if it means 2 incubators,  and then remove the clears at Day 7 when we candle them.

That's the idea, anyway.

We're planning to put them in the incubator on Saturday.

Knees up

Yesterday, for some reason, I decided to try and play some classical pieces on my Orla, and to use my left foot on the pedals.  I hardly ever use my left foot any more, I'm well out of practice.

It was hard work.  I managed to get mself into position so that my left foot hung naturally over the G pedal (as I was taught when I was 11),  but that isn't the position I sit in normally so my chord hand was out of position.

I tried The Blue Danube and was slightly more successful than I anticipated.  I think it was muscle memory really.   As a child, I used to play this all the time.   I've played it a couple of times in the years I@ve had Orla, but I've never really tried to play it properly.    I fluffed quite a bit,  but it was much better than I thought it would be.   

Then I tried Symphony Number 40 and was surprised that I could do that (sort of) too.   I don't remember when I last tried to play that.

Even my nemesis,  Arrival of the Queen of Sheba was not a disaster.   It wasn't pretty, but it wasn't a disaster.  I have played AoTQoS, the right hand,  quite a bit.  I've even tried using my left hand to play the pedal part (obviously not to press the foot pedal, dummy,  I've been using the left hand on the upper keyboad to press the foot pedal part as my right hand plays the tune).

I had to stop because my knee was killing me.

Today I put a brace on my left knee, and tried all three again.      None of the pieces were perfect,  but they weren't at all bad really. Well,  Arrival of the Queen of Sheba was not good, but that was mainly because my hands were too cold to flow.  I had a cup of coffee, and another go.

The sound quality on Orla was amazing.

Even though they were all riddled with mistakes,  I'm really really happy at how un-badly I did.

Old Childrens Tv

A Don Quixote related crossword clue led me to think of Sanchez,  to Sancho,  to a Mexican hat and a donkey.

A very clear picture popped in to my head, and I knew  it was a kids programme I had watched.  I remember my mum and I talking about the donkey.      I just couldn't remember the name.

I reached for my phone to google, but put the phone down and tried to remember.

I just couldn't.  At all.   It wasn't a programme I'd thought of in all the "do you remember....?" discussions during my adult life.  Not ever.

I just couldn't think of it.

So I googled it.

Donkey Sancho Mexican hat.

And there it was.

Hattytown.

How could I have forgotten that!?!