The weekend starts and farewell Blondin the cockerel.

 Beautiful day here today, fine and sunny and warm with a hint of a breeze.

I did the usual jobs and spent the morning pricking out brassica plants. After lunch Compostman and I went up the road to Hellens Manor to set up the stall for this weekend's The Garden Festival. I and fellow Master Composters are on a stall all weekend, promoting home composting but because I am the one organising our stall I needed to take compost bin, wormery, display boards etc etc and set up at the site.

The organisers are a lovely group of people; the whole event is one I love to attend and Hellens Manor is a delightful place with fabulous grounds and house. One event I always look forward to doing!

We set up and chatted and enjoyed the sunshine and then, with the stall sorted out as much as I could, we came back home. I will be there from 9 am until early evening, both days this weekend.

Later on though, my evening took on a sadder note as I had to dispatch Blondin. He was a magnificent specimen of a cockerel and very attentive to the girls but very noisy, even by cockerel standards and he also kept on leading the hens down the Wood, into fox danger. So for several months I have been trying to re home him but with no joy. He had also begun to be a bit more aggressive towards us.

Tonight though over the space of an hour he launched a series of unprovoked attacks on me and despite repeatedly being cowed, he kept coming back at me, chasing after me and attacking my back. When I got him in the hen run  he repeatedly flew at my face with spurs and claws outstretched. If I had not taken evasive action he would have injured me I have no doubt, as he had already injured my leg and arm.  I cannot have that sort of behaviour in any animal we keep, and so I quickly caught him (and have the further scars to show for it!) and without further ado killed him.

I hate doing that. I really really do hate it but this was beyond the usual posturing  I would expect from a Cockerel. Blondin had been getting more and more aggressive to all of us over the last couple of weeks and tonight the level of aggression went way over what I was prepared to accept. Poor Blondin.

So, a mixed sort of day here at Compost Mansions. I hope the weekend goes better.

April

April has come in with a damp and dull start, not sure if that has any significance other than being dull? I was really hoping for more good weather as I want to get on with the veg garden.

Compostman dug over some of it today, so I now have somewhere to plant out the broad beans. he has prepared the onion patch so when we next get some dry weather I will lay down some compost and wood ash and get planting onion sets. I have quite a few already growing in modules in the polytunnel along with onions grown from seed so I am trying lots of different methods this year.



The cockerels continue to crow at random and early hours of the morning - or even middle of the night - last night Blondin was crowing at 2 am! I think I am going to have to re home at least one of them as the pair of them sit and crow at each other, sometimes they crow in unison, just for a change :)


After I was woken by Blondin last night I got out of bed and tripped over Tabitha Cat; she was fine but I wrenched my right arm and it now hurts. Ow. A shame as I wanted to get on with clearing up the path down to the log circle in the wood, but my arm hurts too much and the rain is horrible so I won't be doing that today.

 
I had another walk down and around the wood and admired the daffodils, no bluebells yet but some lovely primroses and the start of the wild garlic - yum!

I also spent a fair amount of time listening to the Buzzards calling as they wheeled and soared overhead.
I then went and hid from the rain for a bit inside of the polytunnel and potted up some plants and had a tidy round.

I have a poorly Compostgirl at home, she had to be collected from school yesterday and has been sick several times and is not a happy bunny :(. Lots of bed rest is in order but I suspect we will watch a film, later.

No April Fools , here- I did not see any really good ones this year - anyone spotted a cracker?

He, is a she... and other chicken news.

In other news, Blondie the chicklet has been re named Blondin the ( escapologist) Cockerel - he has finally perfected his crow ! Blackie is ( I am pretty certain) a pullet and is already a HUGE one  - she is only 11 weeks old and is already far larger than the adult hens.





And we are having some fabulous sunny days :) The autumn colours are finally here :)

Chickenailia catch up

And welcome back to my mad world of the Chickens!

I didn't really feel I wanted to post a "chickenailia " post in July after the sad loss of Ginger, and then I got ill and it was all far too busy here so...basically the hens laid lots of eggs in July, ....and two of the Dorking girls and Sweetiepie spent most of July being broody....

So...here is a catch up post for July and this month! ...the egg and general behaviour report for all things chicken related here at Compost Mansions ;-)

The biggest news is that both the Cockerels and two of the Dorking girls have gone.

I drove to Monmouth on a very wet Sunday afternoon to meet the lovely Witch Hazel and her husband to hand over Cap't Flint, Willow and Buffy. They have become the foundation of a breeding programme at Witchhazel's place and seem to have settled in very well!

That reduced my Compost Mansions flock to Henny, Babs and Goldie the Black/Rhode Rocks, Sweetiepie the Maran, Attilla the Barred Plymouth Rock x Maran and Ruby and Violet the remaining Silver Dorking girls.

And Long John Silver Dorking the remaining cockerel.

I was hoping that the removal of the other cockerel from the Orchard would make LJS a happier bird and that he would also accept the two remaining Dorking girls into his harem of "the big girls", but sadly he continued to be very aggressive to them, actually injuring Ruby quite severely. He also persisted in the "crowing all night" antics, despite there no longer being another cockerel to crow at.

I spent another 5 days trying to find a new home for him, whilst attempting to ignore his chasing after me, Compostman and Compostgirl... a couple of times he actually made contact with me......

Then one morning last week he attacked me as I turned away from letting the hens out of their run and gouged my back quite deeply, in a place about head height on Compostgirl.... so that was that.

I shut him in the empty Eglu overnight, with water but no food, and the following morning I killed him, plucked him and dressed him. He is now in the freezer.
I felt bad about doing this as I never like to kill an animal BUT I could not have an aggressive bird around the place, no matter how pretty or rare breed.

Since then calm has reigned in the Orchard, Violet has now chosen to go in Peckingham Palace with "the big girls" and Ruby has gone very broody and took up residence in Cluckingham Palace, sitting very firmly in one of the nest boxes!

A very broody Ruby!

Everybody else has returned to being happy and friendly with me and each other.
Babs and Goldie continue to lay an egg a day each and now have poor little Violet to pick on so they are no longer bottom of the pecking order. Sweetie and Henny lay 6 days out of of 7, lovely dark speckled eggs.

The girls laid lots in June and July, which is really pretty good, from 5 egg laying hens they have averaged more than 6 each per week.

The Silver Dorkings continue to delight, Violet Dorking is very sweet and clucks and croons at me and follows me around, she lays lovely small very pale tinted eggs. Only Ruby laid every day in June and July, as Violet was Broody for 6 weeks. Ruby has been broody for a week now and it is Violet who now lays an egg a day!

Violet Dorking

You have already met the two new POL ISA Browns, who look like my beloved Ginger, one is sooooo like her she has been named Ginger2, the other is also a character and has been named Bunty ( spot the film reference there?)

THANK you all, my lovely, lovely girls, you make my life very happy :-)

And there are more new developments to report, but that will come another day.....

Chickenailia catch up - March and April

I didn't really feel I wanted to post a "chickenailia " post for March, after what happened to Genghis and Cathy :-(


and the end of April sort of has passed me by as I have been sooo busy in the garden, polytunnel and wood......and I have realised I haven't given you an update on the hens for over 2 months!

So...to make up for my tardiness...the egg and general behaviour report for all things chicken related here at Compost Mansions ;-)

We are now into long days, an early start and a late bedtime for the chickens. The sun rises at about 5 am, although, bogglingly the silly males (Capt'n Flint and Long John Silver) often crow at 2 am ( why? it is dark then? so why crow?)

The days are lengthening noticeably and thus egg laying really starts to improve as it is controlled by day length ( which is why caged hens are kept under artificial light for most of their lives, to maximise egg laying :-( ).

The girls all look happy with this extra natural day length and seem pleased to be able to eat bugs and worms for longer and are mostly all laying an egg a day. Good job I now have a regular clientele for eggs at school .....otherwise we would be overwhelmed with eggs!





Henny laid 27 eggs in March and in April she laid 25!...she lays the biggest eggs! 90 - 100 g dark brown speckled whoppers!

Ginger has laid well both months (26 and 28), she is the Number 1 hen and by far the most intelligent of them all...I seriously worry about how bright she can be, sometimes it is quite scary! Henny and Ginger are now 2 1/2 years old and have been with us for just over 2 years, so they are doing very well for us and it is lovely to see them as the leaders of the flock..much brighter than the 2 males I might add!


Attila laid 18 eggs both months, many of which were soft shelled or shell-less... she really is not much good at this egg laying lark...ho hum..I forgive her anyway ...

Sweetiepie has now gone mad bad bok bok broody again but laid 22 eggs during March and in April ...she is now though puffed up like a powder puff, bok bok hogging a nest box and really quite behaving quite potty! I like letting a broody hen hatch out eggs BUT it means a long wait to get an egg laying hen AND, of course, the chick may not be a hen, but a cock instead...



Yet again though , the absolute stars of egg laying and general loveliness are Babs and Goldie! Yep they laid the most eggs and the most splendishous...! Babs and Goldie laid a magnificent 60 eggs out of a possible 61 for March and April.

I am seriously considering buying more Rhode Rocks from Oxenhall soon, as these two have been SUCH good hens, brilliant layers and such friendly hens as well.

The big girls laid at total of 157 eggs in March and 147 in April, which is really pretty good, from 6 egg laying hens they have averaged 5 per day, which isn't bad going I think! AND the egg laying was 5 or 6 a day from the 6 laying hens from mid Feb.

The Silver Dorkings continue to delight, Cap't Flint the naughty cockerel is on a re homing list..I hope to give him away in the next week ... Cap't Flint chases Compostgirl every time he sees her and *I* have had to push him off with my foot and show him who is boss!

Long John Silver still lives in Cluckingham Palace with all the big hens and they are HIS harem. He leads them off into the Wood at every opportunity! Long John Silver is reasonably friendly and I hope that continues.

Ruby, Violet, Buffy and Willow are very sweet and cluck and croon at me and follow me around! And, of course, they are all now laying!




Dorking eggs are small (55g)at the moment but with the MOST amazing yellow yolks! Even more so than all the other hens! See what egg mayo sandwiches look like made from ther eggs....





The Fab Four Dorking girls coming into lay means even more eggs for me to sell and I recoup all of the feed bill as well, now. I have now 4 regular customers who LOVE the eggs and think they are fabulous!

Egg mayonnaise sandwiches, home made bread, salad, eggs, mayo...mmm delicious!



THANK you all, my lovely, lovely girls, you make my life very happy (and now you are finally paying for all the layers pellets and corn, I am made even happier!)