Thursday 25 February 2010

They grow so fast

It never ceases to amaze me how quick young chicks grow. The Exchequer Leghorn chick is a week old tomorrow, the wing feathers have been showing for a couple of days and now have the black and white colouring of the breed. Today I noticed the beginning of its tail feathers.
Against its mother it seems so tiny and vunerable but it's a tough little thing.

The Indian Game cock has started to show an interest in the darkest of the IG pullets, which hopefully means she isn't far off lay. I just hope she takes the lead from the Australorp and Ixworth and lays in the nest box or I will never find her eggs - they have free run of a large area, which includes many hedges, the pig ark and the stable. They haven't yet squeezed under the gate to find the feed shed full of hay and straw bales.

The Welsummer cockerel hasn't quite manage to catch any of the Welsummer girls, they give him quite a run around and I'm wondering if I might give him a greater chance by closing them into a smaller area.

The goose has yet to lay, the latest she has been since we have had them. I don't know if it is down to the weather or their age. Each day I look but nothing. If she does lay this year we will leave her to her own devices, if we have goslings all well and good but I have no plans to incubate any.

The laying hens are still providing me with more than enough eggs for selling, giving away and for ourselves. The Dorking are in moult and so have gone off lay, which means I have no white eggs for now and one of the Legbars is considering going broody, so is slowing up, reducing the number of blue eggs. Once I start keeping the Welsummer eggs back for hatching I will only have 'egg' colour eggs to sell and although they taste the same the coloured shelled eggs are always the most popular.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi!

Just came across your blog from a link on another. You have some lovely photos. Wish my vegetables looked as large and healthy as yours do! If you would like to swap blog links I'd love to list you on my Blog roll at the Gofarmer Blog

Sandra said...

Thank you. Looking at the muddy mess that is now the veg garden it is hard to believe that only a few months ago it looked so green. Happy to swap blog links, just popping across to yours now :)

Anonymous said...

how are you getting on with the egg selling? i had to put a sold up sign up today... the eggs are coming in fast. but the buyers faster.. wonder if i should put my prices up.. but its a nice round number...

Sandra said...

It's going really well. I haven't put a sign up yet - a very kind neighbour has been spreading the word for me. How much do you charge and have do you pack them, do people bring their own boxes or do you provide them? I read somewhere if you provide them they have to be new -the local ag.merchants charge 25pa box so I need to source them from somewhere cheaper.

Anonymous said...

i sell them for £1 for 6 - i prolly should put the price up.. but it covers our costs.

I encourage people to bring their own boxes - i understand you are not allowed to use old boxes - but they can...

Sandra said...

That's what I've been charging. Tim thinks it should be more but a £1 coin is handy, especially as I am thinking of putting the boxes on the steps with an honesty box.

Crazy rules but still ..I will probably buy afew new ones and the hope if people revisit they bring their own.