Ok so i have cannibals in the garden, i am starting to think that chooks really are a descendant of the dinosaurs! Poor Specky has been bullied again and her bum is red raw, separated from the others, brought some violet spray, apparently heals and covers the sight of blood and stop the others from pecking her, well see.
I have discovered the bad girl is Rocky (as i have named her) she has gone mad....little bitch, constantly plucks feathers from all of the others, i tried poking her with a stick, you know as the dog whisperer gives a bite mimicking another dog, thought she might realise I am the pack leader. yes i know I'm mad....
I now have more chick manure than i can handle, phone my local allotments to see if they would like it, the man from delmonte say YES. his name actually is Derek.
I have now found names for all the chooks:
Becky, Specky, Rocky, Ginger, Suzi, Quatro, Amber, Maggie and Bluebell.
Louri said we eat less eggs now than before we got the girls, I've been selling eggs to friends and clients at work, his suggestion, that way the girls earn their keep and it pays for their food, good idea i thought. So he has suggested we get some more chooks, like i need any persuading?
Its amazing how much these girls grow on you, i now find that I am missing them, I leave them in the morning and by the time I get home at night, they are already tucked up in bed, don't get to see them at all it seems.
27.12.10 Today we picked up 4 more chooks, it was dark by the time we got home so put them straight to bed.
They all seemed fine in the morning, so we went out Xmas shopping.
To my horror, on our return I found one of the new girls dead in the run, they had pecked her so badly she collapsed under a hanging feeder, I cant understand how they can do this to each other, I was really shocked. Three days later I found another new chook dead in the coop when I let them out in the morning! I will never again introduce new chickens to the group again, I know its mother nature and how it would be in the wild but its hard to stomach.
All in all, not a good December either!
Here's looking forward to a better 2011
Thursday, 6 January 2011
November 2010
The egg laying is slowing down, think its after the girls are moved, it upsets their systems, a delayed reaction, hope they settle in soon.
Found a farm shop near me, great for getting feed, straw etc.
Roxy, one of my girls is not well, acting strange, all haunched up and not interested in anything, she has lost loads of weight, she stayed like this for a few days and finally passed away, how sad :(
I tried everything i could, nothing worked. Had been in touch with farm for advice, when i told her of the sad news, she very kindly offered to replace her, didn't think it was a good idea, but Louri said yes, so along we went.....didn't want to replace her with another black rock so got another speckaldy instead.
Arrived home and placed her in the run, OMG, it was like Raptor showdown, really scary, poor little girl, they all pecked at her like mad, she ran up into the coop, her crown pouring with blood! WOW I felt so guilty....apparently this is normal and is where Hen Pecked came from.
After a couple of days she settled in fine yay!
14.11.10 Woke up this morning to find husband had cleaned out the coop for me....will wonders never seize?
The cold has really come, the fish pond frozen over, melted a little hole for them.
Specky is limping, he foot is badly bruised, think she may have twisted it coming down the ramp.
Cant believe how stressed out the girlies are keeping me, maybe I'm not cut out for all this, have I made a mistake?
have put cage wire all around my veggie beds, JD keeps insisting to use it as her toilet, not for much longer.
30.11.10 and we have snow!!! everything is covered, poor veggies, poor fish and poor chooks.
Altogether not a good November.
Found a farm shop near me, great for getting feed, straw etc.
Roxy, one of my girls is not well, acting strange, all haunched up and not interested in anything, she has lost loads of weight, she stayed like this for a few days and finally passed away, how sad :(
I tried everything i could, nothing worked. Had been in touch with farm for advice, when i told her of the sad news, she very kindly offered to replace her, didn't think it was a good idea, but Louri said yes, so along we went.....didn't want to replace her with another black rock so got another speckaldy instead.
Arrived home and placed her in the run, OMG, it was like Raptor showdown, really scary, poor little girl, they all pecked at her like mad, she ran up into the coop, her crown pouring with blood! WOW I felt so guilty....apparently this is normal and is where Hen Pecked came from.
After a couple of days she settled in fine yay!
14.11.10 Woke up this morning to find husband had cleaned out the coop for me....will wonders never seize?
The cold has really come, the fish pond frozen over, melted a little hole for them.
Specky is limping, he foot is badly bruised, think she may have twisted it coming down the ramp.
Cant believe how stressed out the girlies are keeping me, maybe I'm not cut out for all this, have I made a mistake?
have put cage wire all around my veggie beds, JD keeps insisting to use it as her toilet, not for much longer.
30.11.10 and we have snow!!! everything is covered, poor veggies, poor fish and poor chooks.
Altogether not a good November.
September 2010
Bought a "Tidy Tent" and have placed it just outside the french doors, finally i have somewhere to put all my bits, should make the kitchen a bit tidier.
Built a raised fish pond for the girls/boys? used log edging and planted herbs around it, really cute in my opinion, transferred the fish over, hopefully they'll settle in with no problems.
Finally the chicken coop arrived, i had it assembled in about an hour and went to Linda's (lady with chicken farm near me) and have bought home 9 girls, Louri helped me from the car, it was already dark so we put them straight to bed, I'm a bit nervous of handling them, I'm sure ill get used to it soon....goodnight girlies xxx
Well, in just 3 days, the girls have eaten every shred of grass in the run, unbelievable?
Rachelle and Stu came to visit, said i am mad for getting so many compared to their 3.
Well its reached freezing point, i was well prepared, ball in the fish pond, all the girls seem ok, none are bothered by the cold at all, i suppose they are wrapped in quilt :)
24.10.10 Well what a palaver today.....whilst cleaning out the coop I started to feel a bit guilty having them shut inside their run, so i decided to let them out and have a little wonder. Half way through I started to panic thinking "if a fox should jump into our garden theres absolutely no way i can protect them" so I decided to get them all back in (she says) OMG!!!!!
why did i let them out? slowly one by one I managed to persuade them with bird seed etc apart from Amber, she had me running round the garden for 2 hours, until I decided to just stand by their door and hold it slightly ajar, she calmly just walked right in....go figure? God knows what the neighbours think, it really was like a Benny Hill sketch, i can even hear the music!
Harvested peppers and aubergines and some more potatoes.
Finally found hardwood chippings to put inside the run so the girls will have something to scratch at, you know, do their Essex 2 step! put them in....they love it, lol, they look so funny!
Built a raised fish pond for the girls/boys? used log edging and planted herbs around it, really cute in my opinion, transferred the fish over, hopefully they'll settle in with no problems.
Finally the chicken coop arrived, i had it assembled in about an hour and went to Linda's (lady with chicken farm near me) and have bought home 9 girls, Louri helped me from the car, it was already dark so we put them straight to bed, I'm a bit nervous of handling them, I'm sure ill get used to it soon....goodnight girlies xxx
Well, in just 3 days, the girls have eaten every shred of grass in the run, unbelievable?
Rachelle and Stu came to visit, said i am mad for getting so many compared to their 3.
Well its reached freezing point, i was well prepared, ball in the fish pond, all the girls seem ok, none are bothered by the cold at all, i suppose they are wrapped in quilt :)
24.10.10 Well what a palaver today.....whilst cleaning out the coop I started to feel a bit guilty having them shut inside their run, so i decided to let them out and have a little wonder. Half way through I started to panic thinking "if a fox should jump into our garden theres absolutely no way i can protect them" so I decided to get them all back in (she says) OMG!!!!!
why did i let them out? slowly one by one I managed to persuade them with bird seed etc apart from Amber, she had me running round the garden for 2 hours, until I decided to just stand by their door and hold it slightly ajar, she calmly just walked right in....go figure? God knows what the neighbours think, it really was like a Benny Hill sketch, i can even hear the music!
Harvested peppers and aubergines and some more potatoes.
Finally found hardwood chippings to put inside the run so the girls will have something to scratch at, you know, do their Essex 2 step! put them in....they love it, lol, they look so funny!
August 2010
Ah....discovered out resident frog is living in the veggie patch, good to see him back, alive and kicking!
After much surfing I have found the perfect chicken coop with a double run....only £294.98 + £17.49 bargain! the run is only 70cm high, so it will fit nicely under the apple tree at the end of the garden, cool.
All my seedlings inside the mini greenhouse are absolutely covered in caterpillars, what the ......? Saw fly larvae, bastards!
8.8.10 flying ants everywhere this afternoon, makes my skin crawl, but fascinating to watch!
Ive been having caterpillar salad nightmares, when will i have decent sleep again?
Have potted all strawberry runners, taken box cuttings.
22.8.10 Plucked my first Braeburn apple, delicious, cant wait for next year, the new tree only have x2 apples on it, and yes i know i should have snipped them both off, but couldn't resist.
Harvested the sweetcorn, maybe a bit too early, not very big cobs.
Most of the different courgette plants have been absolutely useless apart from the normal green ones and the yellow kind, next year will only plant them.
All in all, a very wet August! but good for the plants.
After much surfing I have found the perfect chicken coop with a double run....only £294.98 + £17.49 bargain! the run is only 70cm high, so it will fit nicely under the apple tree at the end of the garden, cool.
All my seedlings inside the mini greenhouse are absolutely covered in caterpillars, what the ......? Saw fly larvae, bastards!
8.8.10 flying ants everywhere this afternoon, makes my skin crawl, but fascinating to watch!
Ive been having caterpillar salad nightmares, when will i have decent sleep again?
Have potted all strawberry runners, taken box cuttings.
22.8.10 Plucked my first Braeburn apple, delicious, cant wait for next year, the new tree only have x2 apples on it, and yes i know i should have snipped them both off, but couldn't resist.
Harvested the sweetcorn, maybe a bit too early, not very big cobs.
Most of the different courgette plants have been absolutely useless apart from the normal green ones and the yellow kind, next year will only plant them.
All in all, a very wet August! but good for the plants.
Friday, 29 October 2010
July 2010
On return from my 1 week away.....WOW! I now have a jungle in my veggie patch!
I have harvested my first fruit courgette, charlotte pots, beetroots, peas and x1 green bean lol!
The raspberries and strawberries are coming ripe, the tomatoes are overgrown but all salads have bolted, shame.
All the parsnips are covered in black flies, YUK, sprayed with a detergent solution.
I have bought some GH staging and had a good clear out.
Sowed:
I have harvested my first fruit courgette, charlotte pots, beetroots, peas and x1 green bean lol!
The raspberries and strawberries are coming ripe, the tomatoes are overgrown but all salads have bolted, shame.
All the parsnips are covered in black flies, YUK, sprayed with a detergent solution.
I have bought some GH staging and had a good clear out.
Sowed:
- salads
- turnips
- carrots
- beans
- peas
- okra (one last time) damn it!
- radish
- fennel
- kohl Rabi
- cauli
- broccoli
- pakchoi
Placed all new into mini GH.
Whilst clearing up found a tiny baby frog near the outside tap, I filled a tub with water and pebbles, rocks for an escape route and a few leaves. Wonder if hell stay?
As usual I always go overboard, so after finding the frog I have decided to set up a miniature pond for him, last night I ordered from the internet, a pink sparkly tub, and some aquatic plants, its going to be so cute!
Well the next morning.....should I be surprised? of course the frog has gone.....and then the pink sparkles with plants have turned up...oh dear!
Harvested my first Patty pan courgette and my Cyprus potatoes, nice size but full of dimples?
Propagated strawberry runners, thyme, mint basil and bonsai pine, put in GH.
Picking toms daily now, also courgettes, put into soup, delicious!
Have started to make up plans for winter and next years veggie layout.
Today I am the proud new mummy of x4 goldfish (Shubunkins), put into tub.
The garden next door has had tree surgeons in this morning, by the afternoon on my return from work cant believe it, they have completely cleared all the garden, including x2 huge fern trees, the old shed and pine trees, so sad! now my garden is completely exposed!
Sunday, 24 October 2010
June 2010
And its raining yet again, I discovered this morning that something (don't think its the cats) has been tunneling for gold in my veggie beds, it has completely destroyed the pakchoi i planted only a few days ago and lights trampled my beans and lettuce, hopefully they will recover! :(
Well it rained all day and all night. Beautiful sunshine today. Came downstairs, looked through the kitchen window and ......BASTARDS!!!!!
Once again the suspect has been at my veggies! Will have to put cloche back over it again after replanting some more spinach and pak choi....GITS!
Unbelievable? what ever it was that trampled my veggie beds had upset both of my Okra seedlings, reset them and thought they would recover but unfortunately not! Will resow some tomorrow and plant them direct.
Also very low on salads since the event!
Navestock flower festival today
Will it be raining? have asked my friend Teri to join me. Wow no rain, but what a disappointment, it was more like a church gathering, never mind. We used the day to visit several garden centres and lunch out, cant be bad.
Sowed:
Well it rained all day and all night. Beautiful sunshine today. Came downstairs, looked through the kitchen window and ......BASTARDS!!!!!
Once again the suspect has been at my veggies! Will have to put cloche back over it again after replanting some more spinach and pak choi....GITS!
Unbelievable? what ever it was that trampled my veggie beds had upset both of my Okra seedlings, reset them and thought they would recover but unfortunately not! Will resow some tomorrow and plant them direct.
Also very low on salads since the event!
Navestock flower festival today
Will it be raining? have asked my friend Teri to join me. Wow no rain, but what a disappointment, it was more like a church gathering, never mind. We used the day to visit several garden centres and lunch out, cant be bad.
Sowed:
- Asparagus
- Okra
- Spinach
- Radish
- Pak choi
- Lettuce
Repotted 3 cherry tom plants to keep upstairs in window together with chilli plant.
Have spotted first tomatoes on all tom plants.
Harvested my Maris pipers today, lots of potatoes but very small, maybe i was a little impatient, i should have waited till all the leaves had died.
Went to water inside the GH, something has eaten all my new lettuce seedlings, one of my Aubergines, not happy! Found the culprit, a very large slug.....just you wait till I get my chickens, they'll have you for breakfast!
Well the mole is back, or at least that's what I think it is, it has tunnelled near my chives, slightly damaging my courgette and newly planted marigolds.
Had a garden tap fitted today, yay! finally no more carrying heavy watering cans, made a wire cage around my veggie beds, hopefully this will keep out our little tunnelling friend.
....
well, so far so good, looks like my cage has worked.:)
Saturday, 23 October 2010
May 2010
First day of May and the weather is SHIT!
Planted some marigolds today, hopefully they are good at keeping bugs away?
Sowed:
Harvested my first pakchoi today YUM!
Planted some marigolds today, hopefully they are good at keeping bugs away?
Sowed:
- Aubergine
- Lambs lettuce
- Lavender
- Sweet bell peppers
- Banana peppers
- Radish
Oh dear, Ive overdone it with the jelly in the hanging baskets, there has been sooooo much rain that they have swelled and are almost spilling over. Took out the bulbs and half of the compost/jelly mixture and replanted the bulbs.
Went to B&Q to get filling for veggie bed No. 2.
Have seen a fox over the past couple of days, discovered whilst emptying compost that it live next door in an abandoned old shed! what does this mean for my future chicken plans?
Harvested my first pakchoi today YUM!Have finally filled veggie bed No. 2, Oh no, JD is not going to be happy as it has taken over her toilet plot, shame.....go next door! :)
My potatoes are in flower!
Planted strawberry plants and fuchsias, look really nice.
Found 2 naughty slugs in my beds, sent them away and put some pellets down. Also had another naughty visitor in my veggie bed, her name is JD, she is in protest, no poo, just a bit of digging.
Its now the end of May and my potato plants have toppled over, googled and apparently this normal at point of flowering.
Tomato plants are full of flowers, wont be long now!
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