Early Morning at the Plot

I sprung out of bed this morning, threw on my wellies and headed out the door before breakfast to feed the chickens. The sun was out, the sky was a gorgeous shade of blue and although it was still a bit nippy, it definitely felt warmer than a few weeks ago!

In the Omlet, I was greeted enthusiastically by the Little Weed Destroyers. So keen was Roxy to get at me that she tried to take a chunk out of my hand! Cursing underneath my breath, I removed the water bowl and headed off to fill it, nursing a battered hand. Slightly mollified by fresh water, I escaped any further pecking by disappearing down to the main coop with their food bowl.

In the main coop, Tommy stood guard. As I stepped into the coop, he launched himself at me. Thankfully, I was wearing wellies which stopped any further chicken related injuries. I know there is no way Tommy and Roxy can have been working together to attack me, but it certainly felt like I got attacked every time I went near a chicken this morning! The key is to distract Tommy when he gets grumpy and sunflower seed usually do the trick. I held my breath to see if they would still work today. They did and I tool advantage of his being busy scoffing seeds to refill the water and check they had enough pellets. Stealthily, I crept out of the run and opened up the Nest House. I turfed out Sadie and opened up the nest box. There was Cora. Sighing, I tried to shoo her out without alerting Tommy. Needless to say, it didn’t work and I ended.up having to fend off Tommy with the piece of wood I use to block the Nest House door when cleaning it out. In a small confined space, Tommy is much more intimating. I managed to corner him with the wood, leaving the door as the only escape route. He took it rather begrudgingly and I slammed the wood down to block the entrance.

Poo cleaning commenced and I also collected two eggs to add to the one egg from the Omlet. At the last moment, I roved the wood, jumped back and slammed the door as Tommy came charging through the entrance. I don’t know who was more miffed, Tommy or me!

Over in the new coop, Leia and Flora are still ruling the roost. One of the partridge bantam hens was perched up high to escape being picked on by the others. I hand fed her, ignoring the indignant shrieks from the others who were not happy at this preferential treatment. Fresh water and refilled food bowls gave me enough peace to be able to collect an egg from the nest box. The bantam girls haven’t started laying yet, but surely they have to soon?! Triple checking that all coops were secure, I headed back home wondering how many more times I will be attacked by an irate Tommy and a desperate Roxy. There’s no news yet about Flockdown restrictions being lifted and until they are, Roxy is going to be a nightmare to keep happy!

So if the weather keeps dry over the next couple of days, I will dig over the beds and finish off cleaning the greenhouse ready for planting over the weekend. There’s definitely a lot to look forward to over the next few weeks!