Adventures in the life of an English allotment
Today was a manic day at the allotment. With no broody hens, I could finally clean out the new coop and whilst I was at it I thought I might as well do the other two. The first nest box was so much easier to clean now that Will has added hinges to the roof.... Continue Reading →
Another busy morning today saw me arrive mid-afternoon at the allotment. Upon my arrival, I walked down to the main coop to check on Millie. She seemed alright although she is clearly at the bottom of the pecking order. What was wonderful to see was that all of the girls were on the perches including... Continue Reading →
This morning when I checked on Trixy's coop to discover a dead chick. It was at the back of the nest and it was difficult to get to it without being eaten alive by an irate broody. Once I got it out I checked it over. There didn't seem to be anything particularly wrong with... Continue Reading →
This evening, I checked on Trixy's remaining eggs. One had a big pip in it but nothing seemed to be happening and Trixy is spending more and more time off the remaining eggs. Choosing to help the chick, I took it out of the broody coop. Slowly, I gently removed fragments of shell, trying to... Continue Reading →
When I checked on Trixy this morning, there was a new little arrival! Light brown and incredibly fluffy, I only caught a quick look before Trixy got in the way. By this point we had hatched one millefleur and two partridge bantams. The question was, would we get anymore? After work, we did another check... Continue Reading →
After spending the afternoon in the shed wrestling with paperwork, I gave up. Granted it was much nicer to look outside and see the plot with Roxy busy foraging away. But paperwork is still paperwork. My ancient laptop battery holds minimal charge but the solar power set up meant I could plug it in to... Continue Reading →
I got woken up this morning by my husband excitedly telling me he could hear cheeps from Trixy's cage! I leapt out of bed and ran downstairs. Sure enough, I could hear a high pitched cheep! Cautiously, we tried to move Trixy's feathers to have a look but she wouldn't let us anywhere near. Later... Continue Reading →
With the weather still dry, despite the promised torrential rain, I ambled down to the allotment with no particular plan. Upon arrival, I sat with Geoff and Mick the Greek and we put the world to rights. This is an absolutely essential part of allotment life - so many world issues could be solved if... Continue Reading →
A quick visit to the allotment today ended with a surprise harvest of strawberries! Over the past few years, we have struggled to get any fruit from our strawberry plants. Happily, Geoff has let us grow some in one of his raised beds. We arrived ready to give Millie a dose of cider vinegar as... Continue Reading →
Today was boiling hot. So hot that we decided to do very little apart from feeding the chickens. With the weather being so hot, it's incredibly important to keep their water bowls full. Whilst my husband refilled all the water bowls, I got busy checking the next boxes for eggs. Not a single one! Moving... Continue Reading →
So after arriving back from a couple of days away, I was curious to see how Trixy and Stratus were doing. Trixy's eggs could hatch as early as Friday - she has sat so brilliantly, it's very exciting to see if all her hard work will pay off! Stratus on the other hand is struggling... Continue Reading →
So today was an interesting day. If broodiness was as infectious as Covid-19, I would have less broody hens. At home, Stratus was still sitting in the nest box, blocking Nimbus and Cirrus from getting into it to lay. I had arranged to collect six hatching eggs from Trixy's breeder this evening. As soon as... Continue Reading →
This afternoon I got a very exciting call from Cliff. I immediately dropped everything and, only stopping to grab my allotment key, ran out the door. When I arrived, I found Cliff was sitting outside his bench with two utterly adorable furry friends. The eight week old spaniel puppies are so friendly and happy to... Continue Reading →
Yesterday was so busy that I completely forgot to update the blog! Mid-afternoon I ambled down to the allotment, mainly to check on the chickens and to feed them. Four hours later, I was still on site covered in dirt with several blisters on my hands. It always seems to turn out this way! After... Continue Reading →
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