On Friday evening, I took Gordon home from the allotment. Naively, I hoped he wouldn't be too loud and that we would be able to keep him in the garden. In the kitchen, I set up a puppy crate with a home made perch for him to sleep on and used a blackout curtain to... Continue Reading →
Smuggling a Cockerel
After filling the kitchen with a small puppy crate and vast amounts of blackout fabric yesterday, I headed out this evening to collect Gordon. As I arrived on site, I ran into Geoff and we had a chat. I caught him up with some news before heading off to the New Coop. Upon seeing me,... Continue Reading →
Tommy Update
I had a lovely message this evening from Cat at Duster's Ark. She had been out to complete a home check for Tommy's new home. The new home passed with flying colours! He will be living in a massive field with proper fox-proof fencing and a lovely large house to roost in. Although he doesn't... Continue Reading →
Goodbye Tommy
Today was a difficult day. Due to a complaint by a local resident, we have been told we have to remove all of the cockerels from the site. As upsetting as this is, it is made worse by the fact that the complainant made no effort to speak to us directly. Instead they went online,... Continue Reading →
All Change!
Another momentous day with the chickens today! This afternoon, I walked across to Nikki's house to help her and Dylan set up their new Omlet Classic. Buying second hand is an excellent way of getting hold of one. The only downside is the lack of assembly instructions which can make what should be a short... Continue Reading →
Busy Weed-kend on the Plot
Today was productive. Very productive! With my husband's help, we managed to clear most of the plot of weeds. The sunshine and rain over the past two weeks has meant the weeds have gone berserk. I armed my husband with the WolfGarten soil tiller and left him with instructions to clear the weeds on our... Continue Reading →
Battle Commences
After being away for a week, I discovered that the weeds had made good inroads into colonising the plot. It's incredible how fast they grow especially with rain and sunshine. Despite it being a busy day at work, I dashed down to the allotment as soon as I could to try and clear some of... Continue Reading →
Celebrations and Funerals
I leapt out of bed this morning and dashed downstairs to check on Cirrus and her chick. From the frantic high pitched cheeping I knew that it was hiding somewhere under Cirrus. Cautiously, I lifted Cirrus off the eggs to find a tiny white ball of fluff. Unsurprisingly, Cirrus was not impressed and pecked me... Continue Reading →
Digging Out the Coops
I ambled down to the allotment at lunchtime today and sat with Geoff and Mick the Greek discussing the events on the site. There had been major works on the bottom of Plot 35 to prepare it for the new tenant. It looks amazing although there is still a little more work to go. When... Continue Reading →
Planting in the Greenhouse
This afternoon, we dashed down to the allotment to drop off supplies for the chickens and compost bags for the greenhouse. My husband dumped the food outside the main coop and got busy digging over the beds. Periodically, he threw some weeds into the Omlet for the Little Weed Destroyers. The lack of Trixie caught... Continue Reading →
The Wonders of Spring
This morning, something incredible happened in the new coop. We had no idea that something momentous had happened until my husband came back from the allotment carrying it. As he put away the morning's haul of eggs, he pointed out a small white-ish egg. He had found it in the nest box in the new... Continue Reading →
A Marauding Hen
Sometimes, I swear there is something in the air that makes the chickens go loopy. When I arrived down on site this evening, there was so sign that this would be a rather eventful visit. Stopping by the Nest House, I collected four eggs which made a total of ten for today! I organised the... Continue Reading →
Bouncing Between the Plot and the Garden
Today was a day spent running between home and the allotment. Our first job today was to get the roof on the shed in the garden. In order to improve the strength of the roof panels, I added some extra batons to the edges. My hope was that this would not only stabilise the roof... Continue Reading →
The Water is Back On!
Today was a very exciting day. A day that for us chicken keepers means the end of months of lugging gallons of water down to the site. On days when the coops needed cleaning out, I would occasionally have to do two trips, one for the chickens drinking water and another to collect enough water... Continue Reading →
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... Continue Reading →
A Glut of Eggs
Today marks the beginning of spring, at least according to the chickens. They have yet to inform the weather which although bright, was quite cold and windy today. As I walked down to check on the Little Weed Destroyers, they all greeted me enthusiastically. Such a welcoming sight was only slightly spoilt by Roxy mistaking... Continue Reading →
Another Day, Another Storm
Just when I was breathing a sigh of relief that we had come through Storm Eunice unscathed, along came Storm Franklin. This storm is gusting at nearly 90 mph and has caused quite a lot of damage on site. I received a phone call early this morning from Derek informing me that two panels had... Continue Reading →
The Three Amigos
The weather was amazing today - bright, clear and with glorious winter sunshine. When I arrived on site, I found Cliff and Michael had moved their chairs to sit in the sunshine as they enjoyed a cuppa. We had arranged yesterday that we would do a tip run with Cliffs trailer to remove some rubbish... Continue Reading →
Painting in the Dark
Today was a day of two halves. This morning, I ambled down with good intentions of cleaning out the Nest House. I stopped to say hello to Geoff and Cliff and ended up chatting to them for a while despite the cold. When Derek joined us, we all put our heads together to work out... Continue Reading →
The Morning Chorus
With my husband and I planning a big Day out, I rushed down to the allotment at 8am this morning. As I arrived, I was greeted by a morning chorus of crows. Tommy's crow is instantly recognisable as it ends with a flourish. It's also longer than the other cockerels which I think must antagonise... Continue Reading →
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