Friday Night at the Allotment

After spending the entire day wrestling with seemingly endless paperwork and cramming in a visit to the vet with a grumpy cat, I finally managed to get down to the allotment at five o’clock. To say that the chickens were unimpressed with my tardiness was an understatement! I opened up the Omlet door and let the Weed Destroyers out – only Roxy and Trixy came out. Little Foxy keeps being left out which will hopefully resolve itself when I move one of Trixy’s chicks in with them. As I walked down the plot towards the main coop, I heard some fluttering behind me. Turning, I saw Roxy and Trixy running after me at full pelt. It was a hilarious sight!

Between both of us, my husband and I quickly sorted out the food and water. Three eggs collected in each of the coops was an added bonus! Before we left the new coop, my husband managed to catch Leia and I took the boot off her right foot. Carefully, I checked her foot and was relieved to see her foot had healed completely. Upon closer inspection of the boot, I discovered that Leia had managed to put her claws through the base of the boot. It’s a minor issue but it could allow dirt into the boot whilst any injury or bumble foot heals. I put the boot in the shed whilst I pondered how to fix it.

Before we left, we spotted one of the tomatoes had finally ripened! My husband picked it and we proudly took it home. It might not seem much, but it’s the first tomato we have successfully grown in years!

Back at home, I cleaned out the red Omlet, shoving Stratus outside. She has been unsuccessfully trying to be broody for weeks now. Tomorrow is the day to try and break Stratus’s broody streak built putting her in the indoor cage for a while. Broody hens have a higher temperature so cooling them down supposedly helps them to stop being broody. The key word there is definitely “supposedly”.

Tomorrow’s plan, provided it doesn’t rain, to clean out the broody coop at home and the big coops at the allotment. If time allows, I will harvest the self seeded potatoes at the bottom of the plot.