It has been a sad week for us all...
Elizabeth chicken is no more. she seemed a little bit down and struggling a week or so ago, then she seemed to get brighter, and then went down hill fast. Then, on Friday morning I went out to the eglu that she was in isolation in, and she was gone, eyes closed.
So now there are 5- 1 of the original girls and the 4 new girls. I think that we will rename some more when we move as there is room for more.
RIP Elizabeth.
Tuesday 16 April 2013
Sunday 7 April 2013
Building the new hen house
I think that I may have mentioned that we are moving house...
That also means, logically, that the chickens ar moving house too. One of the first posts I did he was saying how great the eglu is. I still think it is great, but we are parting ways, eglu and I. Not because the eglu isn't a good piece of kit- it is- I can just not justify having one standing empty whilst all of the chickens huddle together in the other.
"Why not a cube?" I hear you ask (well, I don't, but that's what you might ask if you were here, which you are not, just little old me in the kitchen in the middle of the night with the sound of the fridge in the back ground). I like the cube, but there are issues for me, mainly the ladder. My choices will not 'do' a ladder. Also, there is the small matter of the cost. I know it is brightly coloured and that it will possibly last forever, but that isn't going to cut it for me right now- I wanted bigger, and wooden. "what about red mite?" (again, you are just the voices in my head). Risk I am reasonably happy to take right now- we don't currently have mites and haven't had sign of them in 9 months of chicken keeping- I would rather have the hen house I need now with extra diatom and mite kill as extras.
Anyhow, we built it. Given that we bought it brand new, cheaply from the famous auction site, it went together brilliantly, the instructions made sense and everything. The run is also built, but I am less sure about that. Sure it will be fine for all of the feathery ladies that I have planned.
The weather has been glorious, and we have spent 2 days in the new garden, trimming and generally enjoying our new land. We have found food in the garden- quinces, sage and almonds. Not a bad start alongside all of the apples, pears and plums that we were already aware of. Small Boy and Small Girl love the garden, they run up and down the paths and hide behind trees... I couldn't wish for more, it is idyllic. The house itself is lovely too- very different to our current 4 bed semi, built in the 60s- I am going to have a pantry and a utility room! It is strange to think how different the 2 houses actually are- I am so excited about moving.
That also means, logically, that the chickens ar moving house too. One of the first posts I did he was saying how great the eglu is. I still think it is great, but we are parting ways, eglu and I. Not because the eglu isn't a good piece of kit- it is- I can just not justify having one standing empty whilst all of the chickens huddle together in the other.
"Why not a cube?" I hear you ask (well, I don't, but that's what you might ask if you were here, which you are not, just little old me in the kitchen in the middle of the night with the sound of the fridge in the back ground). I like the cube, but there are issues for me, mainly the ladder. My choices will not 'do' a ladder. Also, there is the small matter of the cost. I know it is brightly coloured and that it will possibly last forever, but that isn't going to cut it for me right now- I wanted bigger, and wooden. "what about red mite?" (again, you are just the voices in my head). Risk I am reasonably happy to take right now- we don't currently have mites and haven't had sign of them in 9 months of chicken keeping- I would rather have the hen house I need now with extra diatom and mite kill as extras.
Anyhow, we built it. Given that we bought it brand new, cheaply from the famous auction site, it went together brilliantly, the instructions made sense and everything. The run is also built, but I am less sure about that. Sure it will be fine for all of the feathery ladies that I have planned.
The weather has been glorious, and we have spent 2 days in the new garden, trimming and generally enjoying our new land. We have found food in the garden- quinces, sage and almonds. Not a bad start alongside all of the apples, pears and plums that we were already aware of. Small Boy and Small Girl love the garden, they run up and down the paths and hide behind trees... I couldn't wish for more, it is idyllic. The house itself is lovely too- very different to our current 4 bed semi, built in the 60s- I am going to have a pantry and a utility room! It is strange to think how different the 2 houses actually are- I am so excited about moving.
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