Adventures in the life of an English allotment
So when I arrived down on site this afternoon, I discovered that Cliff's black leghorn who have been trying desperately to save from suspected gapeworm/respiratory infection had died. It looks like she went peacefully in her sleep which is a blessing. I immediately rang Cliff to let him know what had happened. Slightly saddened that... Continue Reading →
Unfortunately, I discovered Cassie had passed away this morning. Although I expected she might, it's always rather upsetting. I comforted myself with the knowledge she had a peaceful last couple of days without being picked on and snuggled up warm in the indoor coop. Cassie was always a bit more timid than her big sister... Continue Reading →
Just before dinner, I dashed down to the allotment to check on Cliff's black leghorn. Each evening I have been going down to make up a fresh batch of antibiotics for her. When I got down there, I was struck by how different the familiar landmarks looked, especially the greenhouse! Making up antibiotics which require... Continue Reading →
Despite my best efforts over the past two days, Cassie continues to go downhill. I have been feeding her water and brewers yeast, giving her baths and kept her warm inside. Sadly, none of this seems to be working. Today, she has spent most of the day asleep in strange positions before I could persuade... Continue Reading →
I arrived down on site early this morning ready to meet with a representative from the Allotment Federation. I got the stove up and running ready for a hot chocolate apiece before going to the car park to let Kerry in. Our meeting was very productive and Derek came to join in for a bit... Continue Reading →
The rain this morning was torrential. One look outside and I decided to go down to the allotment later. The chickens in the garden still needed feeding but it was much quicker to dash from the kitchen to the garden and back to get their food and water sorted. Maude and Mavis were sitting in... Continue Reading →
So today I went down twice to try and help out Cliffs black leghorn. She didn't look very good this morning. Fortunately, I had some Flubenvet powder left from when I last wormed our flock. I measured out her food carefully and added half a scoop of powder. Mixing it in thoroughly took time and... Continue Reading →
This morning, I walked down to the allotment a little concerned about what I would find in the greenhouse. Cliff's black leghorn was so poorly yesterday that I was half expecting to find she had passed away over night. There she was! Standing slightly hunched in the middle of the greenhouse. As I went in,... Continue Reading →
What a day! I can't remember the last time I spent a full day at the allotment, work has been so busy! I arrived down on site at about half nine, determined to finish hoeing the plot. A mere fifteen minutes later and the job was done! I love my WolfGarten tiller, it makes life... Continue Reading →
Today when we went down, we found Millie had passed away in the run. She had been struggling with some sort of problem with breathing and despite all my best efforts, she wasn't able to shake it off. Millie was a beautiful Welsummer, a breed which should lay gorgeous chocolate brown eggs. Weirdly, Millie's eggs... Continue Reading →
Today was a manic day at the allotment. With no broody hens, I could finally clean out the new coop and whilst I was at it I thought I might as well do the other two. The first nest box was so much easier to clean now that Will has added hinges to the roof.... Continue Reading →
This evening, I checked on Trixy's remaining eggs. One had a big pip in it but nothing seemed to be happening and Trixy is spending more and more time off the remaining eggs. Choosing to help the chick, I took it out of the broody coop. Slowly, I gently removed fragments of shell, trying to... Continue Reading →
A quick visit to the allotment today ended with a surprise harvest of strawberries! Over the past few years, we have struggled to get any fruit from our strawberry plants. Happily, Geoff has let us grow some in one of his raised beds. We arrived ready to give Millie a dose of cider vinegar as... Continue Reading →
Yesterday was so busy that I completely forgot to update the blog! Mid-afternoon I ambled down to the allotment, mainly to check on the chickens and to feed them. Four hours later, I was still on site covered in dirt with several blisters on my hands. It always seems to turn out this way! After... Continue Reading →
Today we walked down to the allotment in the glorious sunshine. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. All three bantams were out enjoying scratching and dust bathing. It was interesting to see Trixy outside after her attempt at being broody yesterday. Yesterday, I had to extract the eggs she was determinedly sitting on. The... Continue Reading →
Opening up the nest box this morning, we discovered Nimbus cuddled up with Cirrus and Stratus breathing normally and back to her usual self. as the best box door opened, Nimbus was the first one out and ran the length of the coop to get to the food bowl. There's no sign of strange breathing... Continue Reading →
Sadly this morning we lost Molly. I had been hand feeding her over the past two days and she rallied rather brilliantly last night. She pecked at her own food, drank enthusiastically and gobbled scrambled egg. This morning however, she looked in a very bad way and slipped away in her sleep. Molly and Holly... Continue Reading →
Suddenly the days are much shorter, the nights longer and the temperature drops. The clocks went back yesterday and the change in daylight is really noticeable. I ambled down to the allotment at lunchtime to feed the chickens. As I arrived at the gate, I saw Cliff busy fixing his trailer. Apparently it had come... Continue Reading →
Sad news today from the allotment. After battling a stroke and recovering so brilliantly, I began to think that Pop had nine lives. Unfortunately, she went downhill last week and never picked up. We got a call from Geoff telling us she passed away on Sunday morning while we were away. Pop's recovery from her... Continue Reading →
Over the past two days, Pop has shown some improvement and is now standing independently again. She has just started to take very tentative steps today and I hope this means she will be back to her usual cheeky self in a few days. I am still getting high doses of vitamins into her by... Continue Reading →
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