We haven't had chickens eggs for over a month now thanks to a combination of decreasing light and rubbishy weather. I was getting increasingly frustrated by the amount of food that the chickens were eating for no reward (and the fact that the cost of grain keeps rising), and was seriously considering rehoming some.
So, this morning when I checked on them imagine my surprise to find one lonely egg in Eglu Rouge.
I am a happy hen keeper again- I just need to decide what to do with my one egg.
Wednesday 28 November 2012
Tuesday 27 November 2012
My Ikea 'hack-stack wormery'
For my birthday, I was given (as I am every year) a crisp £10 note from my Grandmother (known hereafter as 'Nan').
I didn't really know what do do with it- I am losing weight so don't want/need clothes, I lready had my incubator and most of the stuff for the brooder... then, on my birthday trip to IkeaI had a brainwave- I could buy stuff to make my own wormery.
I have always wanted a stacking tray wormery, but have always thought that they were big and/or expensive. Then, on a day out to Ryton Gardens (the home of Garden Organic) I saw one made from Ikea Samla boxes. So, I did what anyone living in 2012 would ahve done, and I took lots of pictures on my cheap iphone substitute. Fastforward a month or 2, and I was in Ikea, and I bought what I needed.
I decided to go for a very small wormery to live in my kitchen next to the sink. To make my wormery I used:
6 5L Samla boxes in Black
1 Samla box lid
1 water butt tap
Black electrical insulation tape
1 block of Coir
I also utilised an old screwdriver and a fondue fork for melting holes into the boxes, and a snap off stanley-a-like knife for deburring.
After building the wormery, I went online and bought 250g of composting worms from Bakefield Worms, which I added along with part of the coir block and a handful of bokashi bran. A couple of weeks later and the worms are thriving and I am getting a very tiny amount of very good looking, sweet smelling compost.
It actually looks quite smart too- and it is working, which is the main thing.
Husband is quite puzzled that this is how I would choose to spend my birthday money, but hey, it was my money and I enjoyed the project.
I am not sure of the total cost- I don't get change from my £10 note, but it wasn't much more than that before I bought the worms.
I didn't really know what do do with it- I am losing weight so don't want/need clothes, I lready had my incubator and most of the stuff for the brooder... then, on my birthday trip to IkeaI had a brainwave- I could buy stuff to make my own wormery.
I have always wanted a stacking tray wormery, but have always thought that they were big and/or expensive. Then, on a day out to Ryton Gardens (the home of Garden Organic) I saw one made from Ikea Samla boxes. So, I did what anyone living in 2012 would ahve done, and I took lots of pictures on my cheap iphone substitute. Fastforward a month or 2, and I was in Ikea, and I bought what I needed.
I decided to go for a very small wormery to live in my kitchen next to the sink. To make my wormery I used:
6 5L Samla boxes in Black
1 Samla box lid
1 water butt tap
Black electrical insulation tape
1 block of Coir
I also utilised an old screwdriver and a fondue fork for melting holes into the boxes, and a snap off stanley-a-like knife for deburring.
After building the wormery, I went online and bought 250g of composting worms from Bakefield Worms, which I added along with part of the coir block and a handful of bokashi bran. A couple of weeks later and the worms are thriving and I am getting a very tiny amount of very good looking, sweet smelling compost.
It actually looks quite smart too- and it is working, which is the main thing.
Husband is quite puzzled that this is how I would choose to spend my birthday money, but hey, it was my money and I enjoyed the project.
I am not sure of the total cost- I don't get change from my £10 note, but it wasn't much more than that before I bought the worms.
Why quails?
Why quails I hear you ask? (well, I don't, but for the sake of this feeling like I am not talking to myself, I am going to pretend that you did) Well, it all started when the chickens had an egg laying break in the summer. I started reading about different sorts of eggs, and quails seemed like an easy way to get eggs (even if they are tiny).
So, I trundled off to a garden centre and bought 2. As I said before, one died quickly, and it has just gone on from there. Long term plan is to keep some Golden Giants for eggs, and to eat the others.
Eat them?
Indeed. When we got the chickens I had an urge to go all vegetarian. Although this has passed now, the longer term affect is that I quite like to know where my food has come from and how it was treated. In the future I would like to raise chickens for the table, but quail seem to be an easy way into to my new 'hatch it, raise it, kill it, cook it, eat it' philosophy.
I want Small Boy and Small Girl to grow up in a slightly simpler way; slightly slower paced, with a real awareness of how simple things can be. I want us to grow our own seasonal fruit and veg, to raise birds for eggs and meat, make our own yogurt and preserves, and, as of Christmas, I am going to make our wine and beer too. Thats a whole new post though ;-)
So, I trundled off to a garden centre and bought 2. As I said before, one died quickly, and it has just gone on from there. Long term plan is to keep some Golden Giants for eggs, and to eat the others.
Eat them?
Indeed. When we got the chickens I had an urge to go all vegetarian. Although this has passed now, the longer term affect is that I quite like to know where my food has come from and how it was treated. In the future I would like to raise chickens for the table, but quail seem to be an easy way into to my new 'hatch it, raise it, kill it, cook it, eat it' philosophy.
I want Small Boy and Small Girl to grow up in a slightly simpler way; slightly slower paced, with a real awareness of how simple things can be. I want us to grow our own seasonal fruit and veg, to raise birds for eggs and meat, make our own yogurt and preserves, and, as of Christmas, I am going to make our wine and beer too. Thats a whole new post though ;-)
A bit of a catch up...
I confess, I have been a very lazy blogger. Last update was in June, around a month after the arrival of Camilla, Kate and Elizabeth.
Lots of things have changed around here since then...
1. Au Pair went back home to Switzerland in July. We enjoyed the rest of her stay, and I know she misses Small Boy and Small Girl very much.
2. We have Au Pair Mk 2 until after Christmas.
3. A Giant African Land Snail called Bob has taken up residence, using electricity for his heatmat and munching through lettuce like the end of the world is nigh.
4. We have 4 more ex-batts chickens now- they have leg rings and are completely unimaginatively called Blue, Green, Yellow and Evil. Evil should, theoretically be Red, except she pecked me and made me bleed and I never got her leg ring on.
5. We also have quail now. I started with 2 japanese quail called Rosemary and Annie. Annie died 3 days after purchase from a well known garden centre chain. I then bought 6 chinese painted quails to live with Rosie, called Jonnie, Oscar, Hannah, Ellie, Sarah and Clare. All named after Paralympians except Clare, who is named after Clare Balding, because when we got her home we noticed that she was bald :-) I then rescued 3 more large quail- to cut a long story short, one is still alive, one was eaten by a fox, one died after being attacked by the living one. Rosie was attcaked too and now lives inside in a large cage. She is really tame and will happily and calmly sit with me.
4. I got an incubator for my birthday.
5. I now have 21 Golden Giant quail eggs in my incubator.
Lots of things have changed around here since then...
1. Au Pair went back home to Switzerland in July. We enjoyed the rest of her stay, and I know she misses Small Boy and Small Girl very much.
2. We have Au Pair Mk 2 until after Christmas.
3. A Giant African Land Snail called Bob has taken up residence, using electricity for his heatmat and munching through lettuce like the end of the world is nigh.
4. We have 4 more ex-batts chickens now- they have leg rings and are completely unimaginatively called Blue, Green, Yellow and Evil. Evil should, theoretically be Red, except she pecked me and made me bleed and I never got her leg ring on.
5. We also have quail now. I started with 2 japanese quail called Rosemary and Annie. Annie died 3 days after purchase from a well known garden centre chain. I then bought 6 chinese painted quails to live with Rosie, called Jonnie, Oscar, Hannah, Ellie, Sarah and Clare. All named after Paralympians except Clare, who is named after Clare Balding, because when we got her home we noticed that she was bald :-) I then rescued 3 more large quail- to cut a long story short, one is still alive, one was eaten by a fox, one died after being attacked by the living one. Rosie was attcaked too and now lives inside in a large cage. She is really tame and will happily and calmly sit with me.
4. I got an incubator for my birthday.
5. I now have 21 Golden Giant quail eggs in my incubator.
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