Today we walked down to the allotment determined to sort out the overheating problem in the greenhouse. Although the chicks still need to be kept somewhere warm, there is a risk with all this good weather that they may overheat in the greenhouse. I remembered that we have half a roll of wire which might... Continue Reading →
Hedgehog house
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 →
The Great Escape
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 →
Coop cleaning
Today I walked down to the allotment in the sunshine! The British weather is notoriously fickle and after many days of overcast weather, we finally had a warm spring day. Until it started to pour with rain. On and off giving the perfect example of April showers! I checked Dolly first and she seemed reasonably... Continue Reading →
A poorly chicken
Today I dashed down the allotment to check on Dolly. She has a blocked crop on one side and I tried (and failed) to get a dose of cider vinegar down her. When I went in this morning, she didn't look much better. I managed to catch her and tried to get out some of... Continue Reading →
Busy as a Bee
Today was the first day of lockdown due to coronavirus in the UK. No one is to go out except for specific reasons such as medical appointments and once a day for exercise. Fortunately, allotments look to be one of those reasons why you could be outside due to the need to feed chickens. Taking... Continue Reading →
A brief pause between deluges
With some hope of a dry few hours, I popped to the allotment this morning to try and clean out the chickens. It's been a job that I have intended to do for the last 4 weeks however, the weather has had other ideas. I arrived on site to find the usual selection of faces... Continue Reading →
A humdrum update
Work has been crazy the last few weeks and I have barely made it down to the allotment, let alone had time to post an update. Now however, this shall be rectified! Over the past few weeks the weather has been horrendous, repeated deluges, high winds and cold snaps so it has been difficult to... Continue Reading →
The rain, it raineth every day
Over the last couple of weeks the deluge has continued. I have given up hoping the plot will be dry enough to dig over before Christmas. I suspect I will now have to wait until the spring as the next torrent of water is due to arrive shortly. Today we bought six bags of landscaping... Continue Reading →
Winter draws in
The weather has definitely taken a wintery turn over the last few weeks. The leaves have turned yellow and orange and begun to fall. The temperature has dropped significantly and the dark nights have drawn in. Today I went down the allotment with Fiona. We spent several hours cleaning out the coops which were long... Continue Reading →
Of chickens, weaving and weeding
This morning, free from the shackles of work, I walked happily down to the allotment. There were several people down at the clubhouse already so I joined Cliff, Coco, Steve, Chris and Mick the Greek for a while. I topped up Leia and Rey's food and water before hitting on a temporary solution to the... Continue Reading →
A day of chickens and bees
This morning I strolled down to the allotment to see if the ground had dried out. It hadn't. I give up - the weather either bakes the soil to a crisp or it's 6 inches under water! I went to the greenhouse and watched the chicks. When I arrived they were roosting in the nest... Continue Reading →
Chickens are weird
This evening my husband and I went down to the allotment to check on the chicks in the greenhouse. We found them both in the nest box together although the cream legbar looked a bit uncertain about being so close to Leia. She wandered about as I refilled the water bowl and picked up the... Continue Reading →
Introducing chickens
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 →
Drizzle
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 →
Steps forward
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 →
Sweltering in the Sunshine
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 →
A sick chick goes to the Vet
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 →
Return of the sunshine
Early this morning, I walked down to the allotment determined to get lots done before it got any hotter. The temperature over the next week is supposed to rocket up into the high 20's/low 30's.As I arrived, I opened up the greenhouse, fed three hungry chicks and a grumpy Emily before making a start on... Continue Reading →
Between the monsoon showers
This morning I decided to take advantage of the temporary pause in the rain and walked down to the allotment earlier than normal. I arrived to find several people already down including Steve who was busy with a saw, hacking apart the huge milk container by his greenhouse.As I walked down the plot to see... Continue Reading →
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