Apple trees

We are lucky to have three apple trees in the garden. They are very old though, and are far too tall. 11 years ago when we moved here, we got a tree surgeon to come and prune them for us, and they did a poor job. They cut off all the lower branches, meaning that the apples are very hard to reach.

We've done a small amount of pruning in the intervening years (we always mean to do a proper job, but when we finally decide to do it, Spring has sprung); but now that we are moving into producing cider from our crop, we needed to get them sorted properly. So, this week we've starte on one of the trees, trying to reduce its height. With this sort of situation, the experts say to do the tree over three years so you don't shock it too much.

The branches are waiting to be cut into logs, and the smaller branches have mostly been made into kindling. There are a lot of small bits which, if desperate, I could use for kindling, but we've decided to burn to make woodash. They are sitting in the incinerator, with more in our green waste bin, waiting for a suitable day.

I've got one last pile of small branches to deal with, but snapping or cutting for kindling is a bit tedious, so I'll save it until we've cut the last of the branches of the first tree.

There's still two apples, a greengage and a plum to go. Not sure we'll get them all done in time.

Parsnips

The Eglu is now built, and positioned on the vegetable bed (thanks to DH, all I did was lift the finished article when he asked me to).

We had to dig up the remainder of our parsnip crop, all in one go, to accomodate the Eglu. Home grown parsnips are far superior to shop bought, as long as they are served almost immediately - before the sugar turns to starch. We had quite a lot of parsnips left in the ground.....


....so we're having a very parsnippy dinner this evening. Curried Parsnip and Aple soup with Parnip Crisps, served with Parsnip, Parmesan and Sage bread.

Is it possible to o/d on parnsip?

EDITED TO ADD:
Well, the soup was lovely, very velvety, but more curried than parsnip.
The parsnip crisps were great, and the parsnip sage and parmesan bread was fantastic.

An excellent combo, definitely have it again.

New girls?

I have been humming and hawing about whether to try and fill the gap left by Scarlett.

It's not a good idea to introduce one new hen, as she will be picked on mercilessly by the existing flock; it's necessary to introduce at least two.

Sometimes I've been thinking it would be a good idea: I could have a white egg layer; it's a better return on assets as the increase in costs is minimal (extra food, bedding and flooring will need to be changed more frequently; more vegetables when they are in their run; more corn)

Sometimes I think it's not a good idea: my current trio seem quite happy (although there is a definite pecking order, which was not the case with my original 3) and I'm concerned about upsetting the balance; there will be more poo; there may be more noise.

Every morning, I thought about possible names. I had the name for the White Ranger fairly quickly, but I was struggling to find a name for a second hen. A few weeks ago, the second name came into my head, and I decided that I would get new girls. I contacted Tracey at the lovely Southmead Poultry to see if she had any White Rangers available. No, all sold, but I could go on the waiting list in case anyone dropped out, or book some from the Feb batch. I went on the wating list.

But then I didn't really want girls in Feb, as I have other plans and wanted to have my new girls settled in already. I'm a fatalist, so I decided if it was meant to be, then Tracey would call to say she had had a cancellation.

Time passed.

Then I received an email saying she unexpectedly had some WHite Rangers available. I was suddently doubting whether I wanted to do this: did I really want to go through the introccuctions again?; I hadn't forewarned DH and I wasn't really looking forward to That Discussion.

Anyhoo. This morning I told him, and we went out into the garden to measure the space in the dormant fruit bed to check that the Eglu would fit there. It wouldn't. (I keep forgetting about the fox resistant skirt, when you've got raspberry canes and blackcurrant bushes, it matters!). Maybe it wasn't meant to be. I'd have to wait until Spring, so that we could put an Eglu on the grass and the grass would be able to recover.

Then DH suggested the vegetabble bed. It was mostly empty, he could level it out for me and we could put the Eglu there. But the ground there would be too soft, a fox could dig underneath? We can put slabs all round.

So, that's it then.

I've left a message for Tracey, just hope I'm not too late.

Friends for dinner

Our friends, S&K, are coming over for dinner tonight. We're having our postponed New Years Eve dinner, so we've been busy in the kitchen since yesterday.

DH made some more cheese yesterday. One gallon of milk (sorry, I have to keep writing that as I can't believe it's so much!) went on making a Cheshire, which we will be able to eat tonight; the second gallon (!) is being made into a Cheddar, which will take 2 or 3 months to mature. DH is using his home made "dutch press" for the first time.

Our Brie from the other week is still ripening. It's delicious, but it's young and firm. I like my Brie like that, but we're hoping it will go all the way, if we can resist eating it. We'll have some tonight, although I seem to remember that K prefers English-type cheeses.


We're having Chicken Liver Pate to start, and DH is busy making this as I type. We've made this twice before, the second time being on the ill-fated New Years Eve. I've got a sort of brown/malty/bread thing going on in the breadmaker, and I thought I'd make some Irish Soda Bread as a contrast. I've got a big jug of buttermilk in the fridge which needs to be used up.

I'm making apple pie and home made custard as soon as the pate is in the fridge. The apples are bought in, but the pastry and the custard will be home made. Custard with our girls' eggs is always wonderful, and a really vivid colour which comes from the bright orange yolks.

I really like having S&K to dinner, it's one of the few times when I don't feel self-conscious about trying to make things from scratch. If the food works, it's great; and if we have a disaster, it doesn't matter.

Welsummer eggs

We think that Jasmine has started laying. We're not quite sure, as we haven't had a full house day, but some days the brown egg in the next box is one particular shape, another day it's a different shape. We were expecting her eggs to be really really really brown, like mahogany, and these aren't.

I asked a friend of mine, who bought a Welsummer from the same place at more or less the same time as me, whether her girl had come into lay. She has, and her eggs are the same as the ones we think are from Jasmine.

So, we just need to see if they get darker. Hope so!

Cheesed Off

We've now made three batches of cheese, using 8 pints of milk for each batch (about 4.5 litres). The resulting cheese for each was between 400 and 500 grammes. Shamefully, we threw the whey away. We had thought to try making Ricotta, but it was Christmas and we had a million other things to be doing..... next time, maybe.

The first two batches were soft cheeses, one we blitzed with some garlic, the other we left and it has the taste and texture if a very mild Cheshire.

We decided to try a hard cheese for the third batch, and this one needs three months to mature so it'll be a while before I can tell you what it tastes like. DH is busy melting wax to coat it with, all good fun.

Say Cheese!

We're embarking upon our latest home-made notion, cheese.

Bought some freeze dried starter culture, and made it up last night. It's all been divided up this evening and portioned into little pots in the freezer, with one batch left in the fridge to make our first cheese.

We're going for a simple soft cheese, and will be making it tomorrow afternoon.

Can't wait!

Peter

I used to own two Dales ponies.

One of them was a really gorgeous (and cheeky) boy called Peter. He's been at a new home for some years now, and the lady who now has him very kindly sends me an update each Christmas.

He's doing sooooo well with her, and I love reading about what they've been up to. This year, in addition to the usual competitions, she's taken him to ride in the sea. He was always a complete wuss, and it sounds like she had to work really hard to get him to go into the sea ("don't like pebbles....., ......don't like sand...., ......don't like the waves" But she goes on to describe the exhilaration of galloping down the beach once she'd got him over these fears.

And she's met Peter's son! He only had the one before he was gelded. And it's amazing, they look identical!

I know it's a bit pathetic, but it made me cry. Not with regret that Peter has gone to a new home, not at all: K is exactly what Peter needs. Not with wishing him back - I so very don't.

I think it was probably a little bit of happiness for him and for her; and, perhaps, a tinge of sadness that he wasn't right for me.

Who's egg?

So, we've been lucky to have had eggs from Milly every day now.

Today, there was a brown egg in the nest, next to Milly's, and we're not sure who laid it. My first thought was that Delilah ("Leelu") had come back into lay after her 8 .5 week break for moulting... but it seemed a bit small for her. Maybe she needs to build up to big eggs again?

DH looked at it and said that he didn't think it was Leelu's. It was a bit darker than Leelu's eggs normally are, and it has tiny speckling on it.

But Jasmine (Welsummer) is going to lay mahogany coloured eggs. The colour of the speckles, but that colour all over. So it can't be hers. Can it?

Well, we don't know who's it is. So, we'll have to try and catch one of them in the act. A bit difficult as it's been so cold we've had the kitchen door shut for the last few weeks.

I'm sure the mystery will be resolved soon....

Oh, and it's been musical bars again. Tonight Jasmine was sleeping in the next box; Milly had moved over to the other side of the roosting bars; and Leelu was sleeping at right angles to everyone.

Home Made Brekkie

At last! This morning Milly delivered her fourth egg, so we had enough to make poached eggs for brekkie.

Home made bread for toast, home made butter, and home grown eggs. Mmmmmmmm.

Major muckout

I normally split cleaning the Cube (and the bit of Run that is part of it) and the WalkIn Run. However, the weather has been so wet lately that I kept putting off and putting off doing a deep clean. I continued to rake the Run every week and dust with Stalosan, plus changing the nestbox bedding (and of course cleaning the poo trays).

The forecast for today was "sunny intervals". As long as it wasn't raining, I had decided I would do it today. 9am, I started. I wanted to detach the Cube, take it apart, pressure wash it and all its bits, and then leave it to drip dry while I got on with the Run.

The actual cleaning of the Cube takes just a few minutes with a pressure washer, and a few more minutes to pressure wash the poo trays, roosting bars., nest box divider, back of the Cube etc.

I left all the bits on the terrace in the "sun" and raked up all the Aubiose from the Cube area. Then I sprinkled Stalosan, and started on the Run. First job, take out all the toys. Second job, pressure wash the poo of their kiddies' bench, then pressure wash all the fixed roosting bars. Next, start to rake out all the old Aubiose.

This took sometime. My compost bins are full, so I had to bag up the stuff and I put it in the trailer for use to take to the Tip. Then, fresh bedding (Hemcore this time), in the house to scrub the feeders and drinkers, put those back out.

Dry off the Cube and bits, and spray with petsafe disinfectant. Leave that to dry while reconnected the Cube to the Run, and then started to put all my tools away.

It took me 2 hours in total, which is unheard of. When I do them separately, it takes me about 30 mins for the Run, and about 45 mins for a deep clean of the Cube, including reassembly and clearing up. It only takes me this long because I have to hoik all the flower pots off the skirt, and then undo the fixings which connect the Cube's run to the main Run...and then put everything back afterwards.

Part of the problem was that the ground was wet, and I moved the Cube bits onto the paving by the compost bin to wash them., instead of washing them on the grass as I normally do. Unfortunately, I hadn't really considered the implications of using a pressure washer there, and I ended up with clean slabs, but carp all over the Cube bits.

Off to the tip, as we had a load of other stuff in the trailer already; and then on to B&Q to get some corrugated plastic roofing to put down half of one side of the Run. We currently have the Cube winter cover up to give some protectin to the Girls against the rain and wind, but it keeps a lot of light out. I noticed that they haven't been toosting on their Bench ehy didn't bother sitting on their bench so much, and I'm sure it's because they can't see out. So, we decide dto put some of the Corolux stuff down part of one side to provide protection without blocking the daylight. We didn't go all the way to the top of the panel, as we want plenty of air to circulate still.

By the time we got home and had cut the panels to size and DH had fitted them, the Girls were ready for bed. It looks much lighter in there now, I'm sure the Girls will appreciate it. So it's been a good day from a chickeny point of view, but not really as productive as I expected from my own.

Milly's first egg (beautiful shade of blue!)

At last!

Milly laid her first egg today. A perfect 57g egg, and the shell is an exquisite bluey green colour. DH found it and phoned me to let me know. And when I got home and saw it, I did the egg dance around the kitchen and went straight round to show C (my lovely next door neigbour).

We've been eggless since early October (Delilah stopped laying when she started moulting, and she hasn't finished yet.), so it was exciting to get an egg at all, never mind a FIRST egg, never mind a BLUE egg.

It's put my thoughts of new hens into complete confusion. I've been debating whether to stick with my three girls, or whether to go and buy a couple of new girlies from Southmead in January. I know I want a white egg layer (so that'll be a White Star), and I'd quite like a Reverse Sussex because they are gorgeous. But the Amber Stars are meant to be really friendly little girls, so I was tempted by one of those (as well? I was trying to work out how to spring three newbies on my DH, especially as it would mean increasing the Run somehow). Although tempted by a Columbine ( a hybrid version of Milly) I had ruled one out as I liked the fact that Milly was Unique. But seeing that pastel coloured egg.....

Fortunately, Tracy doesn't have any of the hens I am considering at the moment, so I can't do anything til Mid Jan (earliest) anyway.

Chicken Keeping

One of my virtual friends, Christian, was on his local TV recently, talking about keeping chickens. I didn't see the original programme as I'm not in that area, but fortunately, it's been posted on YouTube.

His Girls are so lovely, and he talks about chicken keeping with such warmth (without going all OTT).

You can see it here, if you're interested http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=J7oPN8OsHIgC

Roast Chicken

You may remember that we went on a course and learned how to dispatch and dress chickens. You may further remember that one chicken ended up in the freezer. I've been referring to this chicken (to myself) as Charlie.

We're having a Goose 3 bird roast for Christmas, and it's coming tomorrow so we needed some freezer space. Time to defrost and eat Charlie.

So. Saturday morning, Charlie comes out out the freezer in his ziplock bag, and is placed in the fridge to defrost. Sunday morning, he hasn't defrosted thoroughly, so we put him in a sink of cold water. He finishes deforsting nicely.

Sunday afternoon..... This is the first time I've prepared a whole bird for...well, probably since before I started keeping chickens. (Remember the last one from the Course was boned and rolled, so he didn't look like a chicken anymore).

This one, sitting on my worktop, looks like one of my Girls, especially when they are moulting and are a bit bald. In fact, now he's defrosted, he feels like one of my girls. Except they are warm and he's cold.

Wobble.

Weigh him to calculate cooking times. 1.4kilos, 3lb. And he was only 9 weeks old. Milly was 11 weeks old when I got her, and she only weighed 500g.

WOBBLE.

Well. Am I an omnivore or a vegetarian? Make my mind up time. Omnivore. But I still give Charlie to my DH to put an onion in, and to put butter under the breast skin. Charlie goes in the oven.

Dinner time. Now he's cooked, Charlie looks like a roast chicken, and doesn't resemble one of my Girls. DH carves. We try to get three pairs of meals out of a chicken, starting with breast meat with the roast. Breast meat is very dark. I eat some roast potato, some roast veg, working my way around Charlie. Then I try some. A bit dry, we overcooked him really, but really packed with flavour. Very strong chicken flavour. Finished dinner.

Now the rest of him is sitting on the side, waiting to be turned into meals 2 and 3. 2 will probably be a curry; 3 might be risotto.

Slight Wobble. More of a Wob that a Wobble.

Chicken Hunter

Now that winter is here and the grass isn't growing anymore, I've been letting the Girls range freely in the whole of the back garden, in the vain hope that they won't stay in one place long enough to destroy the grass.

The Cats are not too impressed by this, as it means they keep bumping into chickens. My ginger cat, Washburn, often gives me that "Good Grief Charlie Brown!" look, when he has to stop to let a chicken cross the path. Wash and Milly have faced up to each other a number of times now.

The other day I looked out of my bedroom window to see Milly and Wash together. Wash was peering intently into one of the flower beds in the middle of the garden, and Milly was standing next to him, also peering intently. The other two Girls were milling around, not taking much notice. I realised that they must be watching a mouse or something.

Nothing happened for a while, and I decided to get my camera. Of course, by the time I got back things had moved on. I saw Milly running into the Run, with Wash chasing. Wash wouldn't go into the Run. Milly dropped the mouse, for that's what they were after, and the mouse scampered around the run, hiding under a log.

I went outside at this point, and found Wash running around the outside of the Run but not going in. I called him, and we went into the Run together. He settled into a crouch position by the log, waiting for the mouse to appear. Milly settled beside him, also watching the log. The other Girls were running around bokking loudly, obvisouly trying to make me aware that there was a strange Cat in the Run.

This was so funny. I got my camera ready, and tried (unsuccessfully) to get a picture of what happened when the mouse appeared. He scampered from the log to the underneath the Cube, purseued by a streak of ginger (Wash) and a streak of chicken (Milly). Then the mouse popped outside the Cube run, and looked at me.

At that point, I couldn't continue assisting, nor could I stand by and take pictures. So I went outside the Run, and tried to catch him. I was hampered by the flower troughs, and Ikept seeing a ginger paw poking through. Wash and Milly then realised that the mouse was outside, so they came out too.

There were now three of us trying to catch the little mousey, all staring intently at the troughs.

I realised that I couldn't catch him. As soon as I lifted a trough, Wash and Milly were there trying to grab him. So, reader, I left them to it. They didn't get him though, I think he snuck quietly through the other side of the Cube run and out to freedom.

Musical Chairs, continued

OK, so tonight they are all in the nest box.

Musical Chairs

Went out this evening to shut the Cube door, and took a peep inside the Cube to see how the Girls were arranged.

Before Scarlett died, we always had Delilah & Scarlett on the roosting bars, and Jasmine & Milly in the nest box. I wondered whether Delilah might have let the Littlees on the roosting bars, or whether she might have joined them in the nest box.

Neither.

I found Milly on the roosting bars, and Delilah and Jasmine in the nest box.

It'll be interesting to see how this pans out over the coming evenings.

After Scarlett

This morning I watched the behaviour of the Girls in their Run, as I can see it from my bedroom window.

I believe that they will "miss" Scarlett for only a very short time, then they will forget. The reason I believe this is that I know if you take a chicken away and then try and reintroduce it a few days later, she is not recognised and is treated as any new chicken is treated.

Delilah will feel the loss more than the Littlees, as she no longer has anyone to range closely with. In the Run she keeps trying to be with the Littlees; if they fly onto one of the perches, she flies up there tool if they are in a corner, she wants to be in the corner too. The problem is that Delilah has taught the Littlees to Get Out Of Her Way, so now whenever she gets close to them, they move away.

I'm going to let them out to free range shortly, and it will be interesting to see how they behave.

Goodbye Scarlett

Scarklett -my gorgeous,quirky, Transylvanian Naked Neck, died during the night. She was just over a year old.

Last Wednesday I found that she had an impacted crop. I started to treat her with olive oil and maggots, switching to liquid paraffin and warm water when I read that too much olive oil is hard for them to process.

The crop massaging worked well, and she was able to eat. I treated her three times on Thursday, as her crop was hardening up again during the day. Friday, I took her to the vets, although by the time the only-available-appointment time arrived, her crop was much better, smaller and softer.

The Vet gave me a liquid qhich contained antibiotic, probiotic and something else, as it was possible that my impacted crop mught develop into sour crop. Treatment continued over the weekend, with us seeing some improvement in Scarlett herself, but still a fairly full crop each morning.

Yesterday she was wandering around the garden with the others, quite happily. This morning though, when I opened up the Cube at 7am to let them all out, she was dead.

I have been going through everything wondering if I did something wrong. Maybe I got water in her lungs? Why didn't I spot the problem sooner? etc etc. I don't think I did get fluid in her lungs, I guess it's just part of my grief that it making me question everything.

I'm consoling myself by being grateful for small mercies. She had a happy day yesterday, she was scratching about in the pen with her friends before bedtime, she went to bed without any trouble, she died in her sleep rather than suffering over a few days. I took her to a chicken specialist vet, so I don't have to question whether the treatment was right. She was very much loved, and I believe she had a happy life.


I am grief stricken. I don't really have a favourite hen, as all my girls have something unique and lovely going for them; but treating a hen three times a day creates a strong bond. She was also the first chicken that I bathed and blow dried.

Goodnight little girl
.

Four Musketeers (at last!)

It's official. The Girls are now free ranging as a flock instead of in two pairs.

They had done this from time to time before;each time, Delilah would realise what was going on and would chase the Littlees away with a sharp peck. The other day we noticed they were all together, but thought it might be justa fluke, especially as they sleep in pairs, in separate "rooms ", in the Cube.

It's bitterly cold outside,and quite windy. I've done my weekly rake and disinfect of the pen, washed and refilled the Glugs, and cleaned out the poo trays in the Cube. The Girls have been wandering as a group round the back garden during this time, popping back to inspect my handiwork when I finished the Run.

I've just been out to check they are OK (it's too cold to have the back door open, so I know I'm taking a Fox risk), and I couldn't find them. Then I heard a gentle bokking, and found them snuggled together under a shrub. Yes.Together. All four of them.

Hooray!