Adventures in the life of an English allotment
This evening as I wandered around the garden, shutting in the chickens, I realised I had forgotten to collect eggs! As I opened up the Silkies nest box, I found Asperitas and Cirrus closely cuddled up together..it might be more accurate to say that Asperitas was squashing Cirrus but I prefer to think of them... Continue Reading →
Today, the sun was out, the sky was blue and I finally managed to clean out both chicken coops at home. To thoroughly clean both Omlets, get them dry and put in new bedding took the same amount of time as it takes to clean the wooden coops on the allotment. I know Omlets are... Continue Reading →
It's been an exciting day! After waiting impatiently for over a year, the Fylde Fancy Fowl advertised that they finally had painted silkie pullets available! I confess, I may have let out a small shriek of excitement, startling my husband. I immediately messaged the breeder and reserved a gorgeous painted hen. Thankfully, my husband had... Continue Reading →
After indulging in a Christmas shopping session, I decided that with the light going and the rain set in, was the nest time to move the Omlet in the garden. Poor Stratus was looking particularly punk and I was worried about them getting muddy foot feathers. Between Fiona and I, we shifted the coop onto... Continue Reading →
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 →
The last two days, I have been woken up by Gordon doing his best impression of a cockerel. Despite having very accommodating neighbours, I just couldn't keep him in the garden anymore. The fact he set off three times yesterday shows he is getting more confident in his voice. So my plan was to move... Continue Reading →
As things get more and more stressful at work, the escape outdoors becomes essential. After spending hours wrestling with a mountain of paperwork, I snuck out for an hour to the allotment. It's amazing what an hour surrounded by green space can do to your mood. I left feeding the chickens until later in the... Continue Reading →
I ambled down to site this morning to discover the sunshine had tempted out lots of people. I say and chatted with Geoff, Cliff and Michael. Geoff has decided to give away two of his Rhode Island Reds as they have been bullying his other girls quite badly. He is completely unimpressed with collecting a... Continue Reading →
At lunchtime I went out into the garden to check on the chickens. As usual, I had to turf Stratus and Cirrus out of the nest box. As I tried to move Cirrus, I realised how dirty she was. Her previously snow white feathers were approaching a mid-grey with brown muddy flecks. On impulse, I... Continue Reading →
It was definitely a day of two halves - one quick dash to the allotment in the morning, chicken cleaning out at home in the afternoon, and a second visit to the allotment in the evening! Busy it was, but very enjoyable! The first job of the day was to collect Trixy and take her... Continue Reading →
The weather is absurd. When I woke up this morning, it was already 20 degrees. Knowing that it would 9nly get hotter, I dragged myself to the allotment to feed the chickens. Happily, most of the girls had enough water and I planned to pop back this evening to refill with cool water. Tommy has... Continue Reading →
So today was an interesting day. If broodiness was as infectious as Covid-19, I would have less broody hens. At home, Stratus was still sitting in the nest box, blocking Nimbus and Cirrus from getting into it to lay. I had arranged to collect six hatching eggs from Trixy's breeder this evening. As soon as... Continue Reading →
The weather has really not been what it should be for May. Almost no rain in April saw the allotment emulating the driest parts of the Sahara. The seemingly endless days of drizzle in May has provided enough water to make the weeds grow in abundance. Such are the difficulties when growing plants in the... Continue Reading →
Occasionally, in between the rain and frantically busy days at work, I let the silkies roam the garden. It's so lovely to see them explore and enjoy time outside the coop. They continue to get more friendly and will now eat happily from a food bowl right next to me. They never stray far from... Continue Reading →
The last couple of days I have been beavering away on a project - more to be revealed later! When I got home, I went out into the garden to let the silkies enjoy some time roaming the garden. As my husband made lunch, I noticed that Nimbus, our black Silkie, was making strange noises.... Continue Reading →
After spending this morning working, I dashed down to the allotment to feed the chickens. My plan was to just pop down quickly. As it turned out, I spent a manic four hours running around the site trying to complete several jobs simultaneously! The British weather has decided to try to emulate the Mediterranean climate.... Continue Reading →
Over the past week, the Silkie chicks have been living in the coop on our lawn. The first morning, I had to lift out each chick and put her in the run because they wouldn't go outside themselves. Once out, they huddled together and seemed far too terrified of the outdoors to move a few... Continue Reading →
Despite the sub-zero temperatures this morning, the sun was out and the sky was a bright blue. In the sun, it was surprisingly warm and I decided today was the day to let the chicks explore their new home for a couple of hours. The coop is set up in our garden and has been... Continue Reading →
Yet more snow arrived overnight! I have never known so much snow since we moved here several years ago. There is nothing more exciting than opening up the curtains to find everything covered in a layer of pure white. Sometimes if the snow is thicker, the sounds of traffic and other noises of a busy... Continue Reading →
Being a weekend, I spent quite a long time with the chicks. Over the past two weeks, they have grown enormously and their secondary feathers are coming in. Now that they are seven weeks old, I am slowly transitioning them onto grower's pellets. These contain a higher amount of protein than layers pellets, helping them... Continue Reading →
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