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. Propped up with a large plank of wood, I quickly removed all the old bedding and wiped down the inside with diluted anti-mite fluid. The slight issue was when leaving it to dry, the roof and side door needed to be open. This of course, was immediately noted by Lilja who likes to escape. Using the poo bucket, I blocked the entrance to the nest box and cautiously headed off to the main coop.
Millie still seems to be struggling despite repeated treatment with cider vinegar and Flubenvet. I really don’t know what’s up with her. I got another dose of cider vinegar down her as I attempted to fend of Tommy who seemed to suddenly take exception to me picking up one of the girls. I trudged back to the new coop and collected all the cleaning equipment and headed back to our plot, depositing it by the Eggporium. Over by the new coop, which I reminded myself needed a name, the inside of the nest box had now dried. In went the diatomaceous earth and new bedding. Lilja was the first to explore and assess my hard work.
Clearing out the old bedding in the Eggporium was quick and mere minutes later, I left it to dry. Now on a roll, I let out the feathery weed destroyers and started to dismantle the Omlet. I love the Omlet. It’s so simple to dismantle, quick to clean and quick to dry. I washed the Omlet whilst keeping a watchful eye on Roxy. Reassembling took place nearly two hours later after a Zoom work meeting. The combination of solar power and internet hotspot meant I took the video call in the shed, much to the hilarity of my work colleagues.
Meeting over, I quickly put the Omlet together and herded Foxy and Roxy back into their run. Locking up the shed, I piled up all the remaining bedding and cleaning supplies onto the trolley and lugged it all home.
At home, the coop cleaning continued. For the broody cage, I wrestled Trixy into the pet carrier, giving her the chicks as safely and quickly as possible. Clearing out the old bedding and replacing it was the work of a moment. However, putting Trixy back was complicated. When I picked her up, I realised a chick had accidentally got tangled up with her and was cheeping loudly in discomfort. As soon as Trixy was in the broody cage, I looked for the chick. It was hiding under her and refused to come out. By the time all the other chicks had been transferred back, Trixy had started doing a weird sort of hop, clearly trying to get rid of the chick. Suspecting it was still tangled in Trixy’s feathers, I grabbed Trixy. She let out a shriek which would have raised the dead and flapped so hard I was unable to hold her and extract the chick. Eventually after a couple of unsuccessful attempts, the chick wriggled free.
Outside in the garden, I let out the silkies and I rushed to finish cleaning the last coop. Fortunately the Omlets take almost no time to clean! Once the silkies were back inside, I collapsed in a heap! Five coops in as many hours. That has to be a record!
So the plan over the next few days is to finish off weeding the plot and start to work on the mini garden plans for the plot.
The Good Life Crewe 
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