They take after my DH

Everyone (who knows chickens) knows that chickens love Broccoli. Hanging broccoli in the run is a great way to give the chooks something to do, and something they love.

Except mine don't.

I made a broccoli tree by wedging broccoli florets in the branches of a shrub in their Run. A few hours later, DH went out to measure up for a ramp to go over their ladder, and reported back that there was broccoli all over the floor of the run. Seems they prefer to kick it about rather than eat it.

They do, however, go mad for cooked rice and cooked pasta.

Breakfast

We didn't eatyesterday's egg: we thought we'd wait for today's and then we could have one each.

Let the Girls out this morning, round to the Eggport......no egg!

Decided to go back to bed for an hour to catch up on some sleep. When we got up, we decided to eat "The Egg". Popped out to check the Eggport again just in case, and there it was. Egg number two.

The only secret to successful poached eggs is to use really fresh eggs. Boil the water, put some salt in, then crack the eggs straight into the saucepan. Turn the heat down, cook for two mins, then drain and serve on toast.

Heaven.

More tears before bedtime

So. Each night it's been a palaver getting them to go to bed. Scarlett goes to bed herself, but much earlier than the other two. She then keeps sticking her head out and hectoring the others to come to bed. Then she won't let Delilah in for ages, they have a stand off. And then Lydia runs around getting stressed because she's on her own.

Last couple of nights we've left her for a bit, and then gone and shone the torch through the eggport so she can find her way in. Tonight, we decided she really had to learn to get on with it. We had a very stressful time watching her, as she was obviously a bit stressed. Quelled the urge to go out with the torch for a bit longer, and eventually she went up the ladder and to bed.

Let's hope it gets a bit quicker from now on. Either that or I'll have to go out somewhere so I'm not tempted to watch.

Communal Bathing

All three girls were dustbathing together this afternoon! I managed to catch them with the camera from outside the Run.

By the time I'd unlocked the Run, got in, and put the safety catch on the door, Scarlett had scarpered to safety, leaving just Lydia and Delilah having a bathe.

ABout fifteen minutes later, Lydia was back in the bath, showering herself with the contents (a mix of playpit sand, wood ash, potting compost, normal compost, and a bit of Aubiose). I didn't catch it on camera though.

It's still a miracle

No eggs yesterday. Didn't have time to watch the hens very much, as our ginger cat went missing and we were out looking for him.

The usual palaver at bedtime, with Delilah being admitted to the coop second, and Lydia still running around hopelessly outside. We went out and did the torch through the eggport thing, and Lydia managed to get to bed.

Last nights wind storm was dreadful. I was worried about what the poor Girls must be thinking in their coop. Went out this morning with breakfast for them, and took a quick look in the Nest to see if I needed to poo pick. And there was an egg.

So, I'm in the garden, in my dressing gown, doing the egg dance. And then I'm egg dancing back to the house singing "I'm doing the Egg Dance, I'm doing the Egg dance!". Rushed through the kitchen, up the stairs, in to the bedroom, shouting, "An Egg, an egg, we've got an egg".

Poor DH was fast asleep. He managed to wake up and look admiringly at Delilah's beautiful, perfect, 60 gram egg. But he didn't do the egg dance.

Although every day millions of eggs are laid by millions of chickens, that first egg is still a miracle. I'd never thought much about how amazing eggs are. I mean, I know that technically they are an engineering marvel, and incredibly strong blah blah blah....

... but our first egg...



...that's a real miracle!

False Alarm

After lunch today Delilah marched up the ladder and into the nesting box. There was much excitement at the sound of her scratching around. Lydia and Scarlett sat at the bottom of the laddr looking up; Isabelle (the cat) tried to jump on top of the cube but was stopped in time by me.

I waited for a while but she was still busy, so I went back into the house and watched from the kitchen window. DH came downstairs and joined me. After about three hours (about 5 minutes really), Delilah emerged, stepped down the ladder, and went about her business.

We rushed out and opened the egg port.... nothing. Well, just the china egg that is in there so they Know What The Nest Box Is For.

I understand it is quite common for this to happen a few times before they start laying.

Tears before bedtime

At 5.30 pm Scarlett, the boss, decided it was bedtime.

She marched up the ladder, through the pop hole and into the coop. She then sat there making clucking noises for some minutes, presumaby waiting for the others to join her. They didn't.

Scarlett popped her head ot and clucked a lot, and pulled her head in. Scarlett came down the ladder, walked round, then went back up to bed. Still nothing.

Delilah, the Bluebelle that was new that day, decided to go to bed as well. Scarlett wouldn't let her in. It seems that the order (for last night) had to be Scarlett, Lydia, Delilah. Except Lydia wasn't interested in going to bed.

The shenaningans went on, and on and on. Lydia did actually jump on to the ladder, but then decided to get off. Poor Delilah tried again to ogo to bed, but was rebuffed. She started to cluck in a very sorrowful way, and then started jumping on the perches in the run. This told us that she was trying to find somewhere to roost for the night, so intervention was necessary.

I put a torch through the eggport so that the ligh was shining out from the pop hole. It dazzled poor Scarlett who was tucked up ready for the night, but it had the desired effect: Lydia came straight up the ladder and put half of herslef in the coop. Delilah came scooting up behind, but couldn't get in because Lydia was still occupying the entrance, so I had to put my hand in scoot her in to make way.

All seemed OK this morning, and today they came out as soon as I opened the pop hole. Lydia has been sleeping in the nest box. I know they aren't supposed to do this, but I can't see the harm (apart from the needing to poo pick in the morning). I asked on the Omlet forum, and was reasssured that it's not a major problem.

The cats go mad

The Cats believe that everything we do is for them, so when the chickens went into the Coop for the first time it was natural for the Cats to think it was a pressie for them.

Firstly Isabelle tried to explore everywhere, and she was soon joined by Wash. He explored every nook and cranny trying to find a way in. He also climbed all over the run wire, and at one point climbed up the sides of the walk in Run and laid on the roof!


I couldn't make up my mind whether it was funny or worrying. It was certainly interesting, and helped us see how a fox might behave.

When the chooks finally came out, the Cats laid down around the sides of the run to watch. They've also been watching from the kitchen and the fruit bed, and the upstairs window.

When the chickens were henpecking each other earlier today, the cats backed right away.

It'll be interesting to watch what happens when the chickens are out free ranging. My money is on the chickens. And of coursed we'll be there to make sure nothing dreadful happens.

Full House at last.

Well, we are now the proud carers of THREE hens. I collected Delilah from Sharon Gould at Pinvin (highly recommend her if you are looking for chooks) this morning, and arrived home mid afternoon.

When we opened the coop to let Delilah out she came running down the steps, and was confronted by Scarlett and Lydia at the bottom. They let her get off the ladder and into the Run, and then there was a nasty bit of hen pecking.

It's mainly settled down (for now?), but we'll need to keep an eye on them.

The cats have been going bananas trying to get to the hens!

2 out of 3 ain't bad...

Well, two of the girls are here. We picked them up from Wernlas this morning, and they are absolutely gorgeous. The Naked Neck is more beautiful than I could have imagined!

We went on to collect our Bluebelle from another supplier, but there was a mixup and the lady wasn't there. Then to compound the problem, I had the wrong mobile number for her. We waited 15 mins, and then decided it wasn't fair on the Girls, as they'd already had an hour journey and had another two hours to look forward to.

Anyway, got them home and popped them in the Coop for half an hour and left them to settle. The cats went bananas, trying to get in the Coop. After half an hour, we opened the pop hole to let the Girls explore their new home. The Girls had other ideas. After a while, we tried to shoo them out, but this was harder than we expected. Eventually Lydia descended the ladder, and Scarlett decided she didn't want to be left behind.

Washburn (the cat) has climbed all over the Run looking for a way in. Izzy has been sitting beside the run, mesmerised. As soon as the Girls are able to free range they'll peck the cats and that should be an end to it. In the meantime I swing from finding the cats antics quite amusing (the Girls are only slightly bothered by it), and getting cross with them.

It has shown us how a fox is likely to approach this, so we've put our Foxwatch out there and on, to protect the back of the Coop.

The Girls have been pecking all over the floor, but haven't found the feeders yet. I've physically shown them, but it just hasn't registered. If they don't find them soon, I'll have to get a ground feeder, but I prefer the Omlet ones as they are (a) more weatherproof, and (b) seem marginally more rodent proof.

I'll post some pics probably tomorrow, when I get back from collecting the Bluebelle.

Slideshow -Building the Run

And here's a slideshow of the building process

Ready to move in!

It's finished, and ready for the new residents!

Today we put up some "shelves" to give the Girls lots of daytime perching options, created the dustbath, put down the Aubiose, and finally cut the hole which connects the Cube Run to our walk in run. All ready for the Girls' arrival next week.

I'm so excited I can hardly sit still.

Putting a lid on it

The acrylic roof sheeting arrived, so DH has been cutting it into panel sizes and making each one watertight. And today he's fitting it. The picture shows one section with the panel, and one without.

The effect inside is a bit strange. I couldn't capture it with a photograph, and it's difficult to decribe. It's not quite what I expected, but I'm sure the chooks will appreciate being dry in the autumn and winter, which is when the roof will be on all over the run. I think it will also provide relief from harsh sunlight, so I willl probably keep a couple of panels on even in the summer.

Not long to go now.

Docking stations

So. We're now ready to connect the Cube and its run to the main run. We need to make the join foxproof, but we also need to do it in such a way that I can undo it, to move the Cube away for cleaning. A bit of a challenge, as it needs to retain its strength over time.

DH had brilliant idea. No, really. We've snipped off the first 6 inches of the Cube run, turned it round, and then permanently clipped it to the fixed run. We can then connect the Cube run to this "docking station" by means ofrun clips. Or cable ties. Or something.

The ground is terribly uneven and slopes away by many inches, so we're having to put narrow slabs all round the Cube run, and build a little runway of bricks for the wheels. And of course we're (=DH) having to level it first. I'll post a picture when we've levelled it out.

The roof is on

Eggciting news! The weldmesh roof is now on the chicken run!

DH put it on today, and now he can measure up and order the plastic sheeting to go on top. This will keep the rain off in the wet weather, but the sheets can be taken out if it's really sunny.

I've ordered the Hemcore for the base, it'll arrive a few days before the chickens do. I've also been sorting out stuff to put inside the Run for the chickens to play with. I've got some small branches to make perches, and some large branches which will sit on the run floor. I've got a large shallow Tubtrug to use as a dustbath, just need to sort out what to fill it with.

New gates

We had to put new gates up this week, tall ones so the chooks won't be able to get over them. We bought three gates wooden gates in B&Q. DH dug out the old posts and cemented in new ones, and then set about attaching hinges to the new gates. That's when we noticed that the gates didn't match - we had two matching, and one odd.

Same manufacturer, same model, same bar code, slightly different gates. Our local B&Q didn't have any more (sounds familiar), so we decided to try one a little further afield. Before we went I checked the manufacturer's website, to see which design was the current one. Neither. They now have another design, same model. How frustrating!

"Fortunately", the other B&Q had all three designs in stock. We then took the odd one back to our local B&Q, and they weren't interested in why we'd taken it back.

The new gates look lovely though. Very happy with them.

The sides are up!

Having spent time this week levelling the ground and laying the slabs, then buying and cutting the wood for the kickboards, today my DH started work assembling the run.


We've had to decimate a shrub which is now inside the run area, but we decided not to dig it out completey as it'll provide a source of amusement for the chooks.

The kickboards are in, and the sides and ends are up. It's looking wonderful.

Lots more to do, hopefully we'll get a chance to do some of it next week.

A flurry of activity

I've been putting off phoning the Breeder to ask whether they know the sex of the chick yet. I've been trying to work out a plan B. Would I wait until May or June or whenever a new female chick reaches point of lay? Or would I get a couple of chickens somewhere else now, and then try and introduce the TNN (Transylvanian Naked Neck) later?

Anyway, I decied yesterday that I might as well know one way or the other, so I phoned to ask The Question. And she's a she! I'm planning to go and collect her, and my Buff Sussex, at the end of February. I'm now calling some other recommended breeders to see if I can get a BlueBelle for the same date.

And so I was spurred into ordering the next lot of bits & pieces. Cardboard boxes to collect them in, pink egg boxes and red mite powder from one supplier; a set of tub trugs and covers - in fabulous orange to match my Cube; and a Foxwatch to deter Mr Reynard.

Still got a few things to go, will organise the rest when I have confirmed the pick up date.

And now I find I need some really basic help with my Cube, and I've had to post some realy basic bedding questions on the Omlet forum. I've no doubt that I'll have more questions over the next few weeks.

When my DH talks about the hens coming (which he's now almost looking forward to!), he says that I don't seem that interested. Actually i'm trying to control my excitement. Inside I'm bouncing off the walls, but I know that there is still 5 weeks to go and anything could happen in that time.

.

No News.

The time is really dragging. Still another 3 or so weeks til I find out whether "she's a she" or "he's a he". I don't know how I'll react if he's a he, as I am sooooooo fed up with waiting.

Work on the Run has ground to a halt. Weather has been atrocious, and it's been impossible for DH to go level up the slabs ready to erect the pen. It's also been too miserable for him to put the roof together.

I've got a few bits and pieces I need to order, but I've been rationing myself.

Oh, I've also picked the names for the hens at last. I've been trying them out over the last week, and I still really like them. Don't want to jinx things by posting the names yet.

Hugh FW and Jamie's campaigns have been airing on the TV, so there is a lot of interest in chicken welfare. Lots of talk about it, but I suspect that most of the people who are talking are those who are already converted. I wonder if there'll be a whole load of new people starting to keep their own chickens as a result?

Roll on end of January. And please let the TNN be a her.

First two hens on order!

Today I ordered the first two of my three hens!

I've ordered two rare breeds, and I'm hoping to get them point of lay in March. Problem is, one of the breeds isn't laying at the moment, and the supplier has only one 8 week old chick. They think she's a she, but won't be sure until s/he reaches 16 weeks or so. I'll therefore know at the end of January whether or not I'll be having chooks in March, or whether it'll be much later in the year.

I'm going to delay ordering my third (hybrid) hen until I know the situation with this one.