Mostly chickens and gardening

As most of yesterday was spent at the yard doing sheep things we spent today at home doing chicken things and also catching up with both the vegetable and flower garden and greenhouse.

As always, we first went to the yard to see to the livestock - pigs, geese and sheep. It was a beautiful morning, the strong winds from yesterday having dropped. The bird population must have thought the same as three families had fledged. There were a family of great tits in the plum tree in the orchard and a family of blue tits in the paddock. Sadly the wrens from the redesigned swallows nest in the feed shed had also fledged. I say sadly because before we realised they had, the dog had caught and killed one. He was quickly returned to the car and for the rest of the day has been receiving hard stares from us all. I'm sure he has been exaggerating his limp in the hope of some sympathy.

Photo: Newly fledged wren.

Now that Fred is no longer in with the chickens, I have been able to cut the grass and move the houses around. I have also treated the houses for red mite. There is no sign of any as yet but it's always best to be on the defensive. I have also been able to start the chickens on their wormer without the fear of Fred eating the food.

Having the chicks in the brooder in the shed is working really well. We can rear them in a much more natural way. We were able to turn the heater and lamp off for most of today and they seemed to enjoy the fresh air and sunshine. Tonight the heat lamp is on but they will spend the night in darkness and wake with the natural light at dawn.

The turkey eggs in the incubator ? I'm trying not to think about them too much. I check the temperature and humidity once a day and then try and forget otherwise I will fiddle! it is going to be very long 28 days !

Pigs

Pigs - Teatime: Guess who finished first !

First wallow....

Not impressed!

Mostly sheep

Today has been spent doing mostly sheep related jobs. As is clear from the photos the two ewes have been sheared. Much to their relief I'm sure, certainly mine as I was getting quite anxious in regards to flystrike. They also had their feet trimmed, as did Fred. The main reason Fred was bottle fed was because he was born with weak leg joints, especially his feet, so he now walks in a way that stops his hooves from wearing down naturally, hence the need to trim them at such an early age.
The 'yet to be named' ewe is settling in well, she and Annie have become firm friends, she is becoming tamer but still doesn't trust me enough to be patted. She behaved very well for the shearer, unlike Annie who wasn't at all impressed with the indignity of it all.
Fred is now ' a big boy', he has moved to the yard with the others. It was a little like leaving a child at nursery for the first time. I was hoping he would run off and play with the other lamb but he stood at the gate crying but when we went back just now to give him his bottle he was happily grazing - until he saw me and started to cry again. He will continue to have a bottle twice daily, mainly because we still have some powdered milk left, then he is on his own.

Photo: Alfie (fore ground) and Fred.

The rest of the afternoon we topped the paddock and orchard with the Mayfield as the grass was growing faster than the sheep or geese were eating it. It was beginning to get long and flower and we like to encourage new growth and keep a thick base.
So apart from the lambs heptavac and blue tongue jabs I think that's the sheep 'done' for a while.

All move

Yet again we have been moving 'things' around. I think for the best. The incubator as mentioned previously is back down in the garage.The chicks are in the purpose made brooder in the poultry shed. I'm not sure if we have the design quite right but only by using it will we know and can then make adjustments.

The advantages of being in the shed are many, the chicks will have more human contact, as it is in the back garden next to the poultry run, whereas the garage is down the steps and onto the road.The shed also has a window so the chicks will benefit from natural light and fresh air and on the warmer days the door can be left open. We are also trying out a dull emitter 75 watt bulb. Previously we were using an ancient heat lamp with a 250 watt white bulb. The advantage of the new bulb, other than running cost, is that the chicks will benefit from a more natural light/dark 24 hours. Although at present we are also using a desk lamp with an energy saving bulb in to provide a little light, as we felt an immediate change over in new surroundings might be a little too stressful.
At first I was concerned the bulb wasn't putting out enough heat but judging by the chicks behaviour it's fine.

Also on the move this weekend is Fred - the bottle lamb. He is now 6 weeks old and desperately needs company of his own kind to learn that he is a sheep not human/chicken. He will be joining the other sheep at the yard.

It won't be long before the first batch of chicks will need moving, they are quickly out growing their run, which will be needed before we know it by these chicks and so it goes on.

What a difference...

......a week and a drop of rain can make !

Photo: 21 May 09


Photo: 28 May 09



and then sunshine....

Photo: 1st strawberry, almost ready. As long as the birds or slugs don't eat it before me.

Photo: Flowers

They've arrived - Turkey eggs

They have arrived safe and sound, thanks to excellent packing by the seller. An extra one included as well, so a baker's dozen. Sounds better than 13, especially as I will need all the luck I can get. A mixture of Double Breasted Bronze and Commerical Whites.
They are now 'resting' for 24 hours, the incubator is running. Tomorrow I shall set them and hope for at least some turkey poults in 28 days time !

Final count

Final count - 4 ! - and this time down to my inexperience and unfamiliarity with the incubator, I'm sure. Although more than half of the Blackrock/Goldline eggs were clear, most of the other eggs went to full term but failed to hatch. It's so hard to know for certain why, but possibly too low a temperature and low humidity. I seem to struggle with the humidity level with this incubator despite following the instructions.

I haven't yet turned the incubator off or checked the unhatched eggs..horrid job! I will do so shortly as I need to disinfect the incubator and equipment and set it running again for the Turkey eggs - due to arrive today or tomorrow.

I must admit I'm not at all confident with a successful hatch anymore but will try. I will most likely end up having to buy turkey poults later in the year !

I am going to move the incubator back down to the garage, it is built into the hill so maintains a more stable temperature than the shed, despite the shed being insulated in an attempt to regulate it more.
I was hoping one of the Dorkings would go broody in time for this batch of eggs. For several days now she has been wondering around clucking to herself like - well like - a mother hen. Usually the first indication of thinking about going broody. She also spends much of her time next to the run with the 5 week old chicks in clucking away to them and is rather moody with the other hens. Sadly though she hasn't so the success or failure of these eggs is down to me !

Terrible hatch ..so far

Not a good hatch so far ! All 6 of the Light Sussex eggs were fertile and went full term. Yesterday 2 hatched quickly with strong chicks.....too good to be true? well yes, the second two pipped the wrong end. I don't know why.I stopped turning on Thursday morning ( 18 days) candled them and increased the humidity, the air sac looked as it should. Then I left the incubator alone.Of the two that pipped at the wrong end, one died in shell and the other, wrongly, I helped to hatch. It is very weak and if it doesn't improve in the next couple of hours we will end it's day. I don't know why I helped - I've always said if they can't hatch by themselves leave them be.Oh well. A third hatched this morning. As the first two had been in the incubator for 24 hours I removed them and put them in the brooder. I have since added the third.
I have opened the incubator twice since the start of hatch...against all knowledge, advice and common sense, but the three strong chicks are now happy in the brooder, eating, drinking and scratching around. The incubator has been tidied and the humidity sorted. Now I will leave well alone and see if any hatch over the next couple of days.

Give me a broody hen any day.

The best laid plans of mice and men

Photo: New shearling...yet to be named...Shropshire x Jacob. Looks uncannily like Kiwi the Suffolk x Zwartbles lamb that kept Annie company until she lambed.

After such a good start to the 'to do list' yesterday, today our plans have been altered. We bought a shearling ewe, to replace Whitestripes, several weeks ago, but delayed collecting her until we had the pigs. Last night we had a phone call to say today would be a good day to collect her, so this morning was spent mending the trailer lights and this afternoon fetching her and then of course watching her settle in etc. Most of the day now seems to have gone with very little achieved. It is also too hot to do very much, although more rotavating is being done ...not by me !

Freedom

After a week of being confined to the stable the weaners finally got to run free ( Well as far as the electric fence would allow them).They relished their freedom, racing around the ark and squealing with delight. They don't seemed to have stopped grazing all day ! Non of the previous weaners I've had have grazed, they all rooted. Maybe, just maybe the run will stay green for a while longer this time.They have reorganised the straw in the ark to their satisfaction and have made good use of the old apple branch-rubbing post. Let's just hope they are still within the confines of the fence when we arrive first thing tomorrow.

Long weekend - To do list

Yet another bank holiday weekend and this one is forecast to be dry, so a to do list !

Livestock:
1. Eggs in the incubator are due to hatch, so keep a check etc.
Saturday:
6.00 am One has started to pip
11.30am 2nd one both Light Sussex:
4.15 pm 2 more LS pipped ( a little too close to the wrong end for comfort)
5.30pm 2nd to pip has hatched.
7.00pm 1st to pip has hatched.
Sun:
5.45 am AnotherLS hatched,one more pipping.The one that is pipping the wrong end is still alive but not yet hatched.
Sun pm. Made the mistake of helping one that had pipped the wrong end out. It's alive and was ready to hatch but is very weak.The one that started to pip this morning I'm pretty sure is dead. No more hatching as yet.
4.00pm Moved the two that hatched yesterday to the brooder.
6.15pm Moved third chick to brooder.Removed dead in shell chick.Will now leave well alone and see what happens!
Mon:
5.45 1 Blackrock/Goldline pipping
The 3 LS chicks in the brooder survived the night and are looking good.
9.30 Blackrock/Goldline chick hatched. Not quite sure it's breed -yellow, black to wings and feathered feet ! Cute though.
2. Order some turkey eggs to arrive mid week, by then the incubator should be empty.
Done!! Through Ebay.....never bought eggs this way before. Fingers crossed!!! Sat am
3. Give pigs their freedom, well not quite hopefully, move to the run in the paddock.
Done Sat am
4. Muck out and scrub the stable.
Done Sat am
5. Restrict geese to 'Jacks' area to allow the fowl run to rest.
Done Sat am
6. Usual weekend clean out of houses.
Chicken house, chicks and lambs done 6.30am Sat. Geese done Sat am
7. Give Orchard geese the run of my late mother in laws garden.
Will leave now until next weekend.
8. Ear tag Fred before his move to the yard. Also ring vet friend to check on him and advise on jabs.
Sat am: Tag different make to my pliers, ask vet friend for hers.
Mon am: Left message on answerphone
9. Jab and worm lambs/sheep
Waiting for return phone call
10.Phone shearer and hopefully get Annie sheared.
Left message on answerphone Sat pm Still waiting for reply.
11.Re organise the houses in the Hen run at home, trim the grass and reseed and cover bare patch under hen house.
Mon am: Started - decided it will be easier next week when Fred has been moved to the yard!
12.Set up brooder.
Done Sun am.
13.Help with checking the bees.
Bees checked. Queen cell destroyed, super added.Fingers crossed they don't still swarm. Sun pm.

Garden & Greenhouse:
1. Strim grass.
Done Sat pm
2. Buy compost/growbags and bean poles and hopefully a few plants to fill gaps in the flower border.
Mon pm: Compost, growbags etc. no flowers.
3. Plant out outdoor tomatoes and hanging basket tomatoes.
Mon pm: Hanging basket tomatoes with parsley done,also Gardener's Delight in growbags.
4. Straw the strawberries.
Done 6.30 am Sat.
5. Plant out runner beans.
Do on Tuesday now. Poles up Mon pm.
6. Hook the bank
Another day now
7. Strim and rotavate the front garden ready for next stage !!
Strimmed, rotavator mended Sat pm; rotavating started Sat pm
More rotavting and removing stones Sun pm.
Mon: more rotavating.
8. Paint front wall and railings
One day.
9. Maybe if time tidy up the flower beds and sow a few annuals.
Started Sat pm
10.Paint greenhouse glass.
Done Mon pm.
11.Extras:
Sorted out greenhouse composted spare plants, planted Big boy tomatoes in greenhouse.Sat pm
Sun:Keep an eye on one of the Cream Legbars..not looking quite right.
Fixed trailer lights Sun am.
Collected replacement shearling ewe pm.

Those are the main must do's, hopefully a few extras will get done as well. Or it will be a case of the 'best laid plans of mice and men' and very little of the above will get done !

The sun is shining

At last the sun is out, the wind has dropped and it has started to feel like summer is on it's way again. All the animals seem so much happier....apart from Mona! This morning I finally made the decision to move the young chicks from the garage to the hen run. As you can imagine Mona is making her feelings known to the whole neighbourhood, she is not happy with the situation at all. I'm not sure the chicks were to begin with either. First of all I tried the gentle approach, placing them all into the house part of the run so they could venture out when they felt ready, they would also then know where 'home' was. Well after 3 1/2 hours of waiting I decided a more direct approach was called for and shoved them all outside. After a short time of standing around not quite sure what was expected of them they started to explore. The ground was uneven and moved as they stood on it, the wind blew and ruffled their feathers and crows flew overhead calling....not to mention Mona. All was very strange and different, but they have found their food and water, tasted the grass and jumped to catch flies and been in and out of the house, so I guess they will be fine. Now if only Mona would be quiet and accept the situation!

Today is day 18 for the eggs in the incubator, so I have stopped the turner and have filled the tray with water now it's just a case of waiting and hoping for a successful hatch.

A pottering sort of day

In between the blustery showers and the usual livestock duties....bottle feeding, feeding, cleaning, watering, chick & egg checking etc. I have been pottering. Well there is only a certain amount of housework you can do without getting bored and I did that yesterday !!

I have sorted out and tidied the greenhouse. I've composted ( sounds less wasteful than thrown out) the failed cucumbers, marrows, courgettes and squash now that the second sowing looks as if though it is going to be more successful. I didn't mean to throw the marrow plants out as they were OK and I haven't sown anymore.Too late now, but my husband will never believe me.....we had a *discussion* on growing marrows at the start of the year.With such little space in the garden I thought something more worthwhile than marrows could fill the space.Oh well...
I also composted the cut and come again salad leaves. We have had many cuttings from them and the plants were beginning to look a little tired, I'll resow some more. The greenhouse radishes have also come to an end but there are plenty in the garden. I'm not sure how I've sown the beetroot, for the greenhouse has been successful. The spring onions are doing fine though. The Big Boy tomatoes are ready to be transplanted into growbags and if only the wind would drop the others could go outside to harden off. The tomatoes already planted in growbags are showing their second lot of flowers, so if I remember correctly, now need feeding?

I have candled the eggs again...mainly to check humidity levels. Fingers crossed all the Light Sussex are still looking good. I can't make out much from the darker shelled eggs but I'm sure the two I thought were dodgy, still are, although I've left them in.Tomorrow or possibly Thursday I need to stop turning the eggs and up the humidity levels, as they are due to hatch this weekend. The first hatch are still in the brooder in the garage, they will be moved to the shed, I think, as it is still too cold and wet outside and the garage scrubbed out before the new hatch go in. The incubator will then be empty ...ready for turkey eggs !! I am going to leave the Dorking eggs for now unless I get a broody hen .

On advice from others I think I may have 4 Welsummer hens, 2 cocks and as for the little one I've no idea. Not sure what is wrong with the poor thing. I wasn't expecting him to survive this long but he has, he hasn't been unwell just a runt. If he ever gets big enough he'll be for the pot.


Photo: Little one on the right and centre

Green Eggs and Ham

OK blue eggs and piglets.

This morning having to get up in the pouring rain at 6.00am to feed the lamb and see to the chicks and chickens was made worthwhile by finding a blue egg in the chicken house, admittedly broken on the floor.One of the Cream Legbars has finally decided to lay. It's not that she is late, she is only just 24/25 weeks old but she has had such a red comb for a while now, that if it was possible I would have thought she was laying away.Then this afternoon I found another blue egg on the ground outside the henhouse.The two Legbars always do things together, shadows of each other !

Then at lunchtime the pigs were delivered. I can't believe the kindness of some people. Simon - the person I bought the weaners from, offered to deliver them to me free of charge as he was visiting friends only a few miles away. As it turned out his plans were changed but he still drove the 2 hours from his home to deliver them as he had promised to do so ! The weaners are super pigs, lovely condition. They have settled in well so far. Although they have been raised outdoors we will keep them in for a few days.When they arrived they had a good nosey around the pen, had a drink and then settled down for a sleep.This afternoon/evening they happily/greedily ate their food, making an unbelievable mess ! We have now left them to settle for the night and will check on them first thing tomorrow, although I am sure my husband's Uncle will look in on them several times tonight : )

And finally for Dad .....Look Dad first picking from the veg patch tonight !!

Wet and Windy

So much of what we managed to achieve over the weekend depends on the weather. The weather over the last couple of weeks has really set us back.Today has been quite cold with strong winds and blustery showers. I had hoped to get the chicks out in their run for a few hours today. They are now 4 weeks old and still under heat in the garage. Although we have been raising the heat lamp at regular intervals it will be good to get them outside in the fresh air. Next weekend the other eggs are due to hatch and I would like to use the same brooder if possible.The chicks are growing well but I still can't be sure what ratio of cocks to hens I have.

Photo: Cock?
Photo: Hen?

Because the weather forecast is bad for the next few days I spent this afternoon whitewashing the stable so we can home the weaners in there for a few days. They are used to being outdoors but as the ark is large and there are only four of them we thought it would be less stressful in the stable. It will also mean they can get use to us without bolting straight through the electric fencing. I think we are ready for them. The feeder and water trough have been scrubbed with Virkon, we have bought their food - sow and weaner pellets and rolled barley. Their owner will bring a bucket of their own food with them so the change over of diet can be gradual. We have bought a spare battery for the fencing, any sign of the power weakening we can change it - we have it on good authority that Tamworths are great escape artist and we don't plan to leave anything to chance !
Anything else we need we can get as and when. Just need the pigs now !

Hatching eggs

I have just candled the eggs I set at the beginning of May.They will have been in the incubator for two weeks this weekend - 12 days now I think. All 6 of the Light Sussex look good ! Such a long way to go yet though.From the 15 Blackrock / Goldline 4 were clear and 2 I'm not too sure about, so 9 possibles but as the shells are dark I can't be too certain.

Until the chicks are safely out of the shell anything can happen.It's just a case of cross fingers and wait.

Tamworth pigs

I have just committed myself to buying 4 Tamworth weaners. Bought unseen, over the phone via the internet !! 'A pig in a poke' comes to mind but I'll just have to trust in human nature and my own instincts. I have spoken to the seller several times on the phone and he seems decent enough, quite like minded I think. He was happy to send me the above photo and is delivering them to me free of charge as he will be in the area visiting a friend. So hopefully my judge of character is good and on Sunday I will take delivery of 4 healthy little pigs.

It's not a breed I have ever thought of owning, don't know why. 'People' seem to either love them or hate them.(maybe hate is too strong a word). The advantage of buying in weaners is that we get the chance to try different breeds, both for character and for taste of meat, then if the time ever came where we were in a position to breed our own we would know which breed to have.

Just waiting for Sunday now !!

Butter wouldn't melt..

He looks as if though butter wouldn't melt....and I should be impressed by his antics but sometimes... !!!

Today he managed to steal a box of eggs from the kitchen work top and carry them to his bed in the other room, without breaking a single one !! He then ate them all.

He regularly helps himself to a pear from the fruit bowl. The bowl is in the hall and he has to stand on his hind legs to reach, he never knocks the bowl down or takes more than one pear. He just very carefully chooses one and then retreats to his bed to eat it. We don't approve and certainly don't encourage it, but it does amuse me to think that he just lies there and thinks to himself 'uuum think I fancy a pear' and just goes and helps himself.
He also can open doors, most annoying. The press down handles are easy, he just jumps up and uses his paws to open them, but most of the rooms have turned door knobs.These he just carefully puts his mouth round and gently turns until they open.So keeping him confined isn't easy.
He is good with the animals though.OK to be honest he's frightened of most of them, not quite sure if to trust the cats, they pretend to be friendly then scratch and hiss, the geese are terrifying and the sheep - well sheep are boring - they don't do anything just stare with contempt.
It's a hard life being a dog.

Animal movement and transport...Red tape

I do believe in 'doing things right'. In general I believe laws are made for the good of all, but sometimes they are so complicated that they are either open to misunderstanding or ignored. I won't break the law it's just not something I do but understanding the new animal transport regulations is somewhat confusing ! Transport not movement.

Apparently I am allowed to transport weaners in the back of a van rather than a trailer as long as the van is cleaned before and after, the crate is secured and large enough for the animals and there is plenty of ventilation. All common sense stuff that you would hope would be carried out as a matter of course.
Then the distance you are travelling comes into question, again regulations make sense as the welfare of the animal comes first and you have to draw the line somewhere. However understanding quite what you can and can't do isn't that straight forward.
If you are transporting animals over a distance of 40 miles you need a transport license, unless it is for 'uneconomic activity'. Some say raising a few weaners for your own consumption is, some say not. If you have one person per animal being transported a license is not needed.
There is more...further reading on the link below.

http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/welfare/farmed/transport/pdf/authguidance230508.pdf

So for us, if we wanted to collect four weaners from a seller 40+ miles away in the van we would have to do it in two journeys, as the van is only a two seater therefore only two pigs at once. However this wouldn't be possible as once you have moved pigs onto your holding you aren't allowed to move any other pig on or off for 20 days. If you did want to wait 20 days and then get two more weaners, that isn't advisable as mixing pigs of different litters and ages creates it's own problems.

We are fortunate that our youngest son holds transport licenses for sheep, pig, cattle and horses so if it came to it he could accompany either my husband or myself, but the law really isn't clear.


The movement licenses and restriction are much more straight forward, sometimes frustrating but clear to understand and there for a good reason.
All animals have to be moved with a license. A copy is sent to Trading standards, a copy kept by the owner, another by the transporter and finally one by the receiver. The movement must then be entered into the movement book of both the owner and receiver. The receiver is then on a standstill. As mentioned above if pigs are moved onto your holding you are on a 20 day standstill for any pig coming on or off your land. For sheep it's 6 days, although we always say a week.
Simple and straight forward, if sometimes restrictive. If only the transport one was as clear.

A breakthrough ?

When I first put the young Legbars and Dorkings in the same house as the older hens I didn't worry too much where they slept. I was just relieved they hadn't been murdered overnight by the others....OK by Mona ! However for the past few weeks I have been religiously going up, after they have settled and gently placing each of them onto the perch. Today one of the Legbars was perching !! Not only was she perching but she was on the highest perch of all.The two Dorkings are sort of getting there, they were perched on the rim of the nest box.The other Legbar, well she was snuggled down all nice and comfy in the nest box as usual and grumbled quietly to herself when I placed her along side the others. Maybe I still have a little way to go with her.

Full of hope and promise and then....

Every year starts the same.....in early spring the garden is full of promise for the coming year. The veg. patch is raked to a fine tilth, the potatoes and onions are planted out in lovely straight lines, the greenhouse is neatly lined with seed trays and we are full of hope for a bumper year.....then ....

..some seeds fail to germinate....first sowing of cucumbers,squash, marrows etc. were a complete failure, those that did germinate look decidedly sick.
Plants look as if though they have lost the will to live...the late rhubarb certainly has, also a strawberry plant.

A mole has worked it's way along the second row of broad beans and all this even before, whitefly, blackfly, caterpillars and slugs do their worst.Oh not to mention the threat of blight on the tomatoes and potatoes and the weather of course...too dry, too wet, too windy !
It's enough to make you wonder, why not just pop to the shops, it must be easier, but then you pick the first of the veg - just enough for one meal, all home grown and tasting wonderful. So next spring you stand looking at the neatly raked garden and tidy greenhouse and start all over again !!

Bees

My bee clothing, jacket with hood and gloves has arrived. I have been assured it is all I need, jeans and wellies will be sufficient protection for the lower body! The idea is, the jacket can be worn by anyone whereas a complete outfit couldn't - I'm 5' 3, my husband 5'11, youngest son even taller and daughter in between. If any of us become seriously keen we can rethink but the bees do belong to my eldest son, the rest of us are mere observers.

The last few days have been wet and windy, not ideal flying condition for bees, so there has been little activity. As they are a small nucleus they are being fed a sugar solution via a contact feeder, placed above the crown board. This will probably need refilling on Sunday, my first chance to see them - weather permitting.

They are fascinating creatures, even more so as I learn more about them.

The only person to have been stung so far is my husband... right on the tip of his nose! Thankfully he is not affected by stings of any kind. I am slightly more concerned as for me a nettle sting will last for 3 or 4 days and be quite painful. I will just have to make sure I don't get stung.

Chick progress

Photos: 19 days old. The chicks have reached the scruffy stage, as far as appearance goes.They have lost their fluffy chick cuteness and have yet to develop their smart adult plumage. They often remind me of miniature vultures.

It has been two days since I have mentioned the chicks !! not obsessed, honest, just fascinated. I have only reared chicks using a broody before so being able to watch their daily development is a privilege.They will be three weeks at the weekend and are growing strong.Today I raised the heat lamp for the second time, the next stage I think will be turning it off for a couple of hours during the day. They are feathering up well and if the weather stays fine at four weeks I might try putting them outside for a short time each day.The order in which their feathers have developed is interesting, I presume it is the same order for all young birds.Within a day or two of hatching their wing feathers started to emerge.Then fluffy little tails which slowly grew into more noticeable feathers, next the shoulder feathers, then either side of the upper breast and, at the stage they are now, the back feathers are just beginning to show.
The Speckled Sussex are feathering up at a slightly slower pace than the Welsummer and their shoulder feathers make them both look as if though they are wearing 'angel wings'.
We have had to put wire netting over the top of the brooder as they are like miniature harrier jump jets, capable of a vertical take off from standstill.They do spend much of the time now, scratching around, attempting to fly and squabbling between themselves.I have offered them chopped lettuce and goose grass, as suggested by various 'how to' books but they have shown little interest so far.They do love jumping to try and catch the dandelion seeds that fly in when the garage door is open, however.

Photo:Above Speckled Sussex 19 days.
Below Welsummer

Wet days and pigs

Today we woke to thick driving rain. I hate it, if it's going to rain - then rain properly ! When the rain stopped mid afternoon it was cold or at least I was, but that could have something to do with getting wet through first thing, seeing to the livestock.
So most of today has been spent doing much needed housework.The house always looks a tip after a busy weekend outdoors.The rest of the day I have spent working out figures in regards to pigs. Buying in weaners once a year to fatten versus breeding our own and selling spare. I haven't got very far. I'm still at the how much do we save buying and fattening compared to buying pork direct from the butcher. Even with the high price of weaners and feed this year I think it's still worth doing. We probably do eat more meat than we would if we were buying it but we know where the meat comes from, how it was reared etc. and that was the main reason for fattening our own in the first place. It is also a lot of fun, the ground gets cleared and the meat tastes good.We could save money by doing more of the butchering side ourselves, especially the processing side, i.e sausages and bacon. That was our intention when we first started but we had family commitments then, which took much of our time.
As far as breeding our own go, that is a completely different ball game but one we would both like to do. It does need some serious consideration, space, commitment, cost, red tape...uuugh I don't know ! Maybe bought in weaners again this year and then we can go through all the what ifs again next year, when we struggle to find weaners locally.

Gardening with.....

...... a pet, well not really a pet, lamb is not unlike gardening with toddlers or a puppy. He didn't keep running off with the tools, like a puppy or need the toilet just as you were in the midst of planting, with grubby hands, like many a toddler but he did insist on tasting everything and came close to being squashed many times by standing so close to me I couldn't move. Apart from the time he ran off......straight across the veg patch. Not sure I will get away with passing his footprints off as the cats !
I did however manage to sow a few flower seeds, direct into the garden, dead head the bulbs and sow runner beans, courgettes, squash, cucumber and melon in the greenhouse. My previous attempt at sowing squash failed miserably and some of the courgettes are looking yellow...too wet or too early ?? Hopefully these will fair better.

Bank holiday catch up

We have achieved quite a few jobs this weekend, but as usual not as many as we had planned. More has been done to the garden, sowing, thinning, planting, weeding etc. The veg. patch is now full as is the greenhouse, we so need more land !
The old poultry house has been repaired, loose boards screwed back, new pop holes made, old ones repaired or blocked off, ladder built, door repaired... now it's just down to me to clean and treat it and it will be ready to move to it's new location.
The stable has been scrubbed out and the animals have been moved to different areas.Grass has been topped and nettles and thistles strimmed.
The fencing for the bees has been completed and the bees have arrived.
More eggs have been set.

So all in all not too bad and there is still some evening left.
Still no pigs though !

All the young stock are growing fast....

The chicks have gone from this to...

to this.....



to this...in 2 weeks; they have now developed back feathers and the start of breast feathers.



Alfie is filling out.....



I didn't manage to scrub out or stain the goose house today. It had sitting tenants...

Bees

(We) eldest son has bees. He picked up a six frame nucleus from Penzance last night, in a couple of weeks time he will collect another.

The photos show the hive how it was for travelling. Today, ( I really must learn about bees! I think this is right ), a dummy board was added either side of the foundation boards? a crown was added to the top of the brood box and the feed bucket added to that, two supers were then added before the lid to cover the feed bucket ; -) in other words the hive is now bigger than in the photo! I will learn, I have just ordered a jacket and gloves....so no excuses now.

Looking towards summer

Now May is here we do seem to have left winter and spring behind and the livestock routine has changed to summer mode.
The lambs have been born and are growing strong. Even though Fred is only two weeks old he has passed the 'it could go either way' stage and is making quite a nuisance of himself, chasing the hens, eating their food and head butting their water trough over. It really is time he moved on.
Annie needs to be sheared and from now on we will be on flystrike watch. Today I mucked out, scrubbed the stable and put some lime to rehydrate ready to whitewash it next week, it will then be ready for any emergency use. In the winter the sheep use the stable as a shelter and are fed hay in it, it is then used for lambing.(No more morning mucking out of the stable or yard for a while :- ) !)
The grass is now growing faster than the livestock are eating it, so for a while at least we will keep it topped to encourage new growth. If we have the hot, dry summer forecast it won't be long before we worry that there is too little grass.Nettles and thistles need to be kept on top of. I also like to stain the goose houses in the summer and again for the winter, so that will probably be tomorrow's job.
Although a frost is still possible, the cold, dark winter mornings with frozen taps and frozen water buckets seem a long time ago and the summer months stretch ahead of us.

I know...but....

This morning we went to Newton Abbott poultry auction and I came home with 21 hatching eggs. I know I said I would only buy from a known source in future but I need to test my incubator in it's new position in the recently adapted shed, which if successful will be it's permanent home and I didn't want to spend a great deal of money or use 'important' eggs the first time around.
I know I said I would buy heavy breeds so if I didn't hatch any pullets the cockerels would be worthwhile rearing for meat but there were a lot of people looking to buy eggs today and prices were going higher than I wanted to pay, so I had to buy the 15 Goldline/ Blackrock eggs otherwise I would have been running the incubator for 6 Light Sussex and that would have been wasteful.
So for the grand total, including fees, of £4.18 I bought 21 hatching eggs. Six Light Sussex and Fifteen Goldline/Blackrock.
In twenty one days time I will know if it was money well spent.

Grass management

If you have livestock grass management is important, especially so if you have limited space like us. It is important not to overgraze and to rest the land to prevent a build up of parasites.
We only have an acre plus the garden and much of our time seems to be spent on moving the livestock around and caring for the grass.

For the first time this year the grass is growing faster than the livestock are eating it. Today I cut the grass in the hen's run, trying to get a balance between it not being so short that they scratch it bare and not so long that it becomes straggly with no new growth at the base. It was really too wet to cut and the rain came again just as I was finishing, so the edges have been left. It needed doing though as the hens feathers were getting wet, also long wet grass is the cause of scald in young lambs (lameness due to inflammation between the hooves). The hens love the grass being cut as it disturbs all the bugs, an extra treat today was the discovery of an ants nest full of eggs.

Over the weekend we will concentrate on the land at the yard. The sheep are going to be moved into the orchard to graze on any delights the geese have left, before I strim the nettles and hog weed. They will then be moved into the paddock and I will top the Fowl's run plus the 'new' ground. The paddock geese will then be moved to the fowl's run to graze on the grass left by the sheep.This also helps to 'clean' the area. The next time the sheep are removed from the Fowl's run it will be the turn of the Orchard geese to graze there. This rotation seems to work well for us, with all three areas being rested from sheep and geese alternatively, the grass stays in good condition and along with a worming programme the animals are free from parasites.