We have more hens! I know, I know, fox fodder, but this time will be different I am sure, because: we have made a new improved run, hopefully fox proof, and in it they shall stay until Spring since we have found the Winter period is when Mr Fox snacks on our hens most often.
Also I am going into their run every day at around 4.30pm-ish and locking them up in their actual hen house - double barrier to the fox. And well, that's it. Oh, wait! We have a dog now, their scent in the garden is supposed to be a deterrent. Alas, the dog is as keen as any fox on devouring them and keeps an unhappy vigil whilst I am in and she is out of the run. Isn't she getting big?
The Cockerel is most happy to have ladies back in his vicinity, but it's beneth him now to spend a night in the hen house with them. Nope, he flutters out (some how) and spends the night on the welly room roof. It's as fox proof as ever up there, since it's so high, but I am sure he'll freeze to death if he keeps it up over winter. Still he doesn't lay eggs so he's the lesser bird out there (sorry, but it's true). I regret I shall not be flapping about rounding him up every sodding day if he can't keep himself safe by staying in our nice hen house.
These new hens were purchased from a very nice lady, here and they are really all very pretty and so friendly, and inquisitive. Which is lucky. I keep having to tell Esmé - don't kiss them for goodness sake! You didn't did you? She just smiles at me. Totally gross.
They are about 22 wks old, and totally MASSIVE. One has just started laying and hopefully the others are soon to follow. Hurray for proper rich yolky eggs again. No others compare to your own, garden eggs, an hour old and on your plate. Especially rich and delicious if like me you feed them veggie scraps and left over porridge alongside their wheat grains, layer pellets and hole-y kale from the veg garden. Oh and we built their run around one of our compost bins so they could scrape and dig and find all sorts of rotting kitchen foodstuff. Gross, again, but yum for them. And us, eventually.
5 comments:
That hen is almost as big as Esme! Just to let you know I've only recently discovered your blog but I love reading it and I'm passing on The Versatile Blogger award to you. :) http://pyjamaschool.wordpress.com/2011/12/01/versatile-blogger-x2/
Our ladies are not laying , because it is only light for about 20 minutes a day (well, seems like that) There is nothing like your won eggs - even my neighbours don't tastes the same. Ours are missing out a bit, as the pigs get first claim to the scraps, but they do well enough. Our cockerel goes home to his mother every night on the next door croft. xx
What beautiful hens, I love their colour! I would like my four remaining ex-batts to go free-range, but sadly, whenever the farrier comes to shoe the horses, she brings along a lurcher and a terrier which would clean up the chickens in no time!! I want to make the outdoor run bigger next Spring though and I love your idea of incorporating the compost heap into this, the chooks would love that!!
I am waging full-on war against red mites still. None of the folks I know who keep hens have had this problem, I think I just got a load of scabby chickens!!! I sent Conor and Rosie out yesterday afternoon to "powder the chickens bottoms" with powder and the whole hen house was sprayed inside for the little blighters which we'll do again in a few days time. It's a messy old job though. Do you think I'm just unlucky??
I know a few people who have had ex- battery hens (re chargers) and unfortunately I know of none who have not had many problems. One of my friends had one sick in her bunch of six and she fed it all sorts of lovely things (bulb of garlic in the water butt - I do that too - yogurt and apple cider vinegar) but it spread to the other hens and they all died. I know of two ladies along the road form me who had Such bad problems with red mite, they have about 10-15 chicken arks spread around a field and in it sleep 6-8 hens. They all had red mite no matter what she tried. Now I go past and the arks stand empty. She got rid of all the hens and plans to leave the houses empty for a couple of years to see if that rids them of the mites. Lots of ex bats have issues like this, i don't think the places they comes from care too much about mites,. as long as egg production is ok. Plus the high amount of antibiotics in the food stuff they give means they often get icky tummies (like my friend's). Another of my friend has ex battery hens and they don't lay! Well i think one does. She buys the organic layer pellets and she has 13 hens, and with only one laying, means they are a a pretty expensive bunch of pets to keep! We had a load of the red/warren type of hens last time and I liked them well enough but to be honest when I see my hens I like them to be super pretty :) I also like hybrids, they lay well. I am not sure what to suggest to you, except to try something like neem and tea tree oil. They work very well for other mite's so why not red mite? I use it on my mattresses every so often as a spray so it's certainly safe to use. I'd dowse the house and every chicken too. The powder you use might be ineffective, sort of like how our head lice treatments don't work now since we have new stains of super head lice.... xx
That hen is as big as Esme! She's certainly one happy gal around her animals.
San x
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