Adventures in the life of an English allotment
The past week has seen our beautiful little Silkie hens busy exploring their inside coop. Although they are still quite timid, I have managed to handle them quite a bit and even had one take a tentative peck at the chick crumb in my hand. But their lack of names has been concerning me. Before... Continue Reading →
The rain this morning stopped me walking down to the allotment as early as I had planned. By the time jobs were done at home, it was almost lunchtime before I arrived on site. I met Geoff at the gate and said hello. My first priority was Pop and checking on how she was doing.... Continue Reading →
Today was a very busy day at the allotment. I got down early to make sure I had fed the chickens before receiving a cockerel from a colleague who took three of our work chicks. Unfortunately, she can't keep Napoleon so I had arranged for a local farmer to come and collect him. Abi arrived... Continue Reading →
I walked down to the allotment this morning, never dreaming of how much would happen. There are weeks when nothing much happens then everything seems to happen on a particular day. Today was that day! After saying hello to everyone, I began to clean out the chicks. Steve dropped by and said they looked a... Continue Reading →
The dreaded heat continued so I walked down just to sort out the chickens. Other jobs can't wait until it's cooler this evening! I stopped for a chat with Geoff, Andy and Tracy until it was too hot. Then I retreated into the shade of the main coop. Rey is getting braver although she is... Continue Reading →
Late morning, we walked to the allotment excited to see how many chicks Cliff's broody had managed to hatch. The heat was already climbing significantly and we knew we would have to wait until evening for it to be co enough to do anything other than feeding the chickens. We arrived to find a few... Continue Reading →
Today I walked down to the allotment in fits of excitement. Tracy had sent me a couple of photos half an hour earlier of four black pallets stacked on our plot. I couldn't wait to get started! When I arrived, I immediately went to feed the chicks. They seem to be doubling in size every... Continue Reading →
Over the past few days, my husband has been busy caring for the chickens and digging over the plot while I have been at work. When I arrived down today I was astonished to see how much bigger our chicks have grown in just a few days. They are massive! It looks like we might... Continue Reading →
Today we wandered to the allotment wondering how Leia and Rey had got on with the other girls. When we got to the main coop, we discovered that Leia wasn't coping well. She had tried to hide behind the food bins. I caught her and placed her up on the top of the nest box... Continue Reading →
We had a slow start today and decided to pop down to the allotment at lunchtime. Just before we left, I popped in to check on the chicks. To my horror, I found a chick on top of the netting we had put on the top of their coop to stop them getting out. I... Continue Reading →
This morning we were busy preparing for the arrival of the new chicks. Works can't have them anymore and my colleague who is taking three chicks isn't able to have them due to risks associated with COVID-19 for her family, meaning all 9 chicks will be here for a few weeks. Fortunately, work is lending... Continue Reading →
At work we have been keeping 9 fertile eggs in an incubator - yesterday in the midst of the chaos of coronavirus, we welcomed the arrival of nine wonderfully gorgeous fluffy chicks! When I arrived this morning, there were seven little faces looking at me from the incubator. The first two chicks arrived yesterday to... Continue Reading →
I walked down late this morning after doing some jobs at home. I found Geoff sitting in his coop with his favourite chicken on his lap. We had a quick chat about the weather before I mentioned about recording the cockerel crowing in Mick the Greek's coop yesterday. Curious about whether the cockerel would recognise... Continue Reading →
This morning, we walked down to the allotment determined to get through the massive list of jobs that I have been ignoring due to the inclement weather. We made a start by feeding Leia who seemed quite perky this morning. I put her out and left her happily exploring while we went down to the... Continue Reading →
There are many different types of rain. Some comes at you sideways, finding every gap in your clothing and flooding it. Another is so light it's like walking through a fine mist. Today's was the British classic, drizzle. Unless you have lived in the UK, drizzle may need a little explanation. Drizzle is always accompanied... Continue Reading →
Today the heat was still horrendous but the temperature had dropped a little. Even better was the slight breeze which occasionally gave a brief break from the relentless heat. Due to the heat, I have been leaving the greenhouse door open to allow through flow of air overnight for the Plymouth Rock chick. I managed... Continue Reading →
Today was hot. Boiling. Rapidly approaching the temperature of the surface of the sun. At 5 pm, it was still 32 degrees. It's inhuman. I ran down to the allotment to refresh the chickens water. In the main coop, the water bowl was nearly empty. I refilled it to the brim and for good measure,... Continue Reading →
Late this afternoon, my husband and I drove our Plymouth Rock chick to the vet. We had an appointment not with an avian vet, but a vet who had a specific interest in poultry. As it turned out, he is a fellow chicken keeper and enthusiast. This morning, our chick had been standing a bit... Continue Reading →
For the last few days, our Plymouth Rock chick has been struggling to stand and walk. At first, I thought it was because the other two chicks were picking on her. They were but her legs don't seem to be in the correct position and she seems to be in pain. On Tuesday morning, I... Continue Reading →
Today I ambled down to the allotment in the sunshine to feed the chickens. I started off with the main coop. The girls were all busy enjoying the sunshine with Snap and Holly bagging the best spot. They jostled for position but eventually settled down to some serious relaxing.I topped up their food bowls -... Continue Reading →
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