Hello and welcome to The Compost Bin. I'm Compostwoman and I live with my family in rural Herefordshire. We have nearly four acres of garden and woodland, all managed organically and to Permaculture principles, which we share with Chickens, Cats and assorted wildlife. We also grow a lot of our own food, run courses in all sorts of things and make a lot of compost!

I am a Master Composter and have spent more than a decade as a volunteer Community Compost adviser with Garden Organic and my local Council.
I'm a self employed Environmental Educator so I run workshops and events where I talk about compost, veg growing, chicken keeping, cooking, preserving and sustainable living. I also run crafts workshops and Forest School/outdoor play sessions in our wood.

We try to live a more self sufficient lifestyle here, as best we can, while still having a comfortable life and lots of fun.


To learn more about us click on the About Compostwoman tab and remember to click on the photos to make them full size!


Showing posts with label sad stuff. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sad stuff. Show all posts

Sunday, 13 March 2016

End of an era ( well a decade, actually)


On Fri I also learned that after 10 years of being a Master Composter ( community composting volunteer) with Garden Organic and Herefordshire Council, mine ( and all the other Herefordshire MC's) services are being dispensed with at the end of March. This is due to council cutbacks.

So, no more helping people on stalls or at garden festivals or in schools as a volunteer Master Composter. If you look back over the archives you will see I have done a LOT of that!

I have to admit I am rather gutted.

I am considering my options, but one of the reasons I was able to offer so much of my hard won knowledge and experience for free as an MC, or for a relatively small fee as an Environmental Educator,  was because I was paid a small sum towards travel expenses; the council paid for any stall fees and also provided PLI at events. So a lot of the time I offered my expertise as a volunteer, even when frankly I was doing far more than the role would normally call for.

If I want to continue doing events and shows (and people want me to, and I want to carry on!) I have to come up with a sustainable funding mechanism, as I can't afford to fund free advice when I have to pay for expensive insurance and all travel costs. Also time I spend doing that, is time I am not spending working at my own business or on my own land or with my own family.

So, various ideas are going round my head at the moment and it's been a hard few days.



Sunday, 5 January 2014

RIP Mango

Sadly yesterday Mango the very poorly Guinea Pig was found to have diabeties. We took her  to our vets  where she stayed in overnight and had blood and urine tests. Sadly she was found to be diabetic but the prognosis was not good and we agreed she was too poorly to survive  :( and so it was decided it would be most kind if she was  put to sleep, saving her any more suffering

If she had been younger, maybe she would have had a better chance , but as an already elderly rescue guinea pig  sadly it was not to be.

RIP Mango lovely piggie.

Thursday, 17 October 2013

RIP Nutmeg Hen - who laid down her life in defence of her chicks.

I write this post with enormous sadness but also enormous admiration.



Nutmeg Hen, the elderly "generic ginger hybrid"  hen, all broodiness supposed to be bred out of her, went broody for the very first time a few months back and, as regular readers may remember, I put some fertile eggs under her. And they hatched! 







She was the most attentive Mother Hen I have ever seen, really astonishingly devoted to her two chicks and her devotion showed in their rapid growth -



they look at least two weeks older than they actually are, due to her good feeding and care.



I took this photo of them all on the chicks 7 week birthday, and am very proud of it.



But it is a bittersweet feeling as later that same afternoon I found the two chicks cowering under a bush crying disconsolately for Nutmeg, who was nowhere to be seen or heard. The Younger Hens were squawking and scanning the skies nervously, in a way that I knew meant "airborne trouble" -  they do this for planes, crows, buzzards and hawks in general. The old ex batt Gang Hens (now sadly down to just two members, Babs and Bunty) were muttering worriedly, whilst hiding deep under a Rose of Sharon bush - their favourite place to flee when scared.

I looked around and eventually found a pile of ginger and white feathers near the Broody Ark along with a few black feathers from Blackie the Copper Marans chick.

Nutmeg was gone.

I am guessing from the feathers ( and a bald patch on Blackie's back) that a Buzzard swooped down on Blackie and Nutmeg tried to defend her chick and so was taken, instead.


As I posted on my personal Facebook Wall

"RIP Nutmeg Hen, brave and loyal girl, last surviving member of the original Spice Girl gang of five, survivor of 5 fox attacks, Top Hen who ruled with a velvet claw and a kind "cluck"

who gave up her life today to defend her two chicks."



In the aftermath the chicklets were very distressed, crying out and looking around for Nutmeg, and I had the problem of where to put them to be warm and safe without her.  I could not give them to one of the other hens to foster as hens do not work that way, instead of mothering them, they would attack the chicklets. So the rest of the afternoon was spent re arranging various runs and houses and the chicklets were moved into a large run with the Eglu attached, as it is the most insulated house. 

I think it was one of "our" Buzzards who must have taken Nutmeg  as I heard a lot of commotion earlier on, then went out and found the two chicks calling in distress and no Nutmeg, just the few feathers. All the other hens were all hiding under things and this makes me think Buzzard rather than Fox, as when it is Fox all the hens tend to go up things.


At least the chicklets know how to feed themselves and are so big and strong and well feathered that they are ok without a Hen to brood them any more.

 Nutmeg's legacy of strong, healthy chicklets. But, such a shame :(

Sunday, 25 August 2013

A dreadful day.


Yesterday was a dreadful day :(

It started out with one of the four eggs under Nutmeg being rejected by her and pecked to bits - an embryo in it but deformed, which is presumably why she rejected it and shoved it as far away from her as possible - broody hens are very good at spotting non viable embryos.

Later on found the flooring was not usable again for the lower Kitchen so we had to go into Hereford and buy new floor tiles, for a room which was only refurbished a few years back and was not scheduled to be re done for many years . And, is taking lots of time for Compostman to do, which he was intending to spend re doing the pool area with the JCB as it is dry and fine.  Grrr.

And then finally at bedtime we were disturbed by knocking from a neighbour, who had accidentially hit Gizzie with their car, on the lane outside our  house.  Gizzie was killed instantly, which was a mercy, but it was horrible. We were all very upset, especially Compostgirl :(

Am glad today is over.

Wednesday, 15 May 2013

RIP Yarrow Hen


RIP Yarrow Hen, who died yesterday evening. She had a good life, well lived. With us she had had 18 months of freedom, after her 18 months in the cruel battery cages.

As those of you who have followed my blog since 2012 will know,  Yarrow was a very special girl; even amongst hens who are ALL special to us, she was a little star. I  am very sad to lose her and miss her hugely, already.

She had been "winding down" for a few months and I am so glad she had a really good last day in the sun; sitting on my lap and being cuddled and told how much I loved her; sitting on the ground in the sunshine soaking up the rays; being cuddled by her flock who all came and collapsed all around her as only hens can do. 

Despite all this, and despite having a normal morning yesterday, by  the afternoon Yarrow was obviously suffering  (not able to walk around, deep purple coloured comb, gasping, not able to eat even the treat of unlimited mealworms). 

I can normally dispatch chickens who are in distress or injured but  this time I found myself unable to kill my pet hen Yarrow, for which I feel ashamed (as I should have been able to help her when she was suffering, but could not). So, I quickly took Yarrow down to Mike our Vet, who agreed her time had come, due to a  combination of failing heart/old age, and who ended her suffering kindly and quickly.

Mike, who as a newly qualified Vet helped Yarrow to recover from a broken leg during his first few weeks at our local practice, has been such a help over the last 18 months.  With all the issues the ex battery hens in my little flock have had, especially Yarrow, he has been such a help, for which  I thank him so much. And I especially thank him for his kindness and understanding as to why I was crying over the death of what many people might dismiss as "just a hen". He was lovely, as are all the staff at our local Veterinary  Surgery. We are very lucky with them.

We buried Yarrow hen  in the wood today, in the place where many other feathery friends are also buried. She liked to furtle around in the wood and it seems a good place for her remains to be buried. I heard my first Skylark of 2013 as we were filling in the hole. Appropriate, I felt.

Fly high, little Yarrow hen and know you are missed and were very loved indeed.

Thursday, 5 April 2012

Fox attack, again.

Have just come inside after burying 8 hens in the wood. One other hen is MIA, presumed eaten by the foxes who killed the other hens. Remaining 3 live hens (Yarrow, Marjoram and Nutmeg) are rather traumatised and unhappy.

We have never  lost so many to the fox in one go before, we had 5 taken in one go a few years back  but this was worse as only one hen was taken and the rest were hidden in the wood ditch for us to find - really  horrible to see :-(
2 of the "new" ex batts survived - Yarrow ( aka Limpy Hen) and Marjoram, also Nutmeg hen, because she is an escapologist hen and was in the garden rather than with the others. And I now only have ginger hens, - all my other coloured pure breeds and hybrid girls died.

I am SO sad, I am still crying now. Burying them was horrible. Especially Comfrey, Cumin and Marigold the ex batts. I felt I had let them all down, somehow. :-(((((
by not protecting them enough from foxes.

RIP Lavender, Treacle, Cocoa, Cumin, Comfrey aka Flappy hen, Marigold, Pearl and Opal hens. I shall miss your feathery antics enormously.

(update Sweetie re appeared the next day!) 

Friday, 8 October 2010

Cat joys and woes

Gloom.

I blogged earlier in the month about Cleo, our lovely rescue cat. She was beautiful and I really bonded with her, and she with me.

But....

Cleo was being terrorised and beaten up increasingly nastily by Tabitha and Tom, our original cats , who are siblings and have been with us for 2 years now.

Cleo was denied access to the downstairs several times and eventually in desparation wee'd in the wrong place twice (on our bed, saturating the blankets, sheets and matress - yuck).

She was shivering and terrified most of the day, hiding next to me under the bench in the study, was not eating much , and there was little way we could keep them all apart in our house and certainly not in the garden (where they were stalking her in tandem and then both beating her up)

so....she has been re homed to someone who has recently lost their only cat and really wants her.

I am so desperately sad about this, as is Compostman and Compostgirl ( oh...Compostgirl! so upset!) ...but after discussion with the behavioural vet nurse, we all think it is for the best.

Cassiopea kitten, who we got 2 weeks ago, as a rescue cat, is a far more feisty little girl and gives as good as she gets, and T and T have stopped bothering her already but Cleo was shy and scared and disabled and they were just getting worse and worse with her.

I am so sad it has not worked out but we have to think of Cleo and what is best for her. Holed up, terrified and shaking, in a room waiting to be pounced on was not doing her any good. Also Tom and Tabby have lived here for 2 1/2 years, from kittens, and they were/are also very upset by all this....

If we hadn't done something now we would have ended up with 3 very unhappy cats I suspect.

And our lives have been a nightmare as well during this episode...for example Tabby followed Cleo downstairs, waited until she was "positioned" on the litter tray and then shot through the cat flap and pounced on her....Cleo now has a badly scratched ear and Tabby has a flea in her ear...


AND Tom Cat sprayed sofa bed in CG's room the day before Cleo left. Boy did it stink, even though he is neutered. Yuck.

Sofa bed was un salvagable as it has a chipboard base which is now saturated and the non removable cushion stuffings are as well, so it went to the tip. Lovely. The sofa bed was 9 years old and had been well used, so I don't feel too bad but it is annoying as it was useful when Compostgirl had friends to stay.

I hate the smell of cat wee


Then I discovered Tom Cat had wee'd in the clothes basket as well as trashing the sofa bed beyond washing, so spent the rest of the weekend rinsing and washing and re washing clothes, which I didn't need to wash at all and now had to try to dry out. House was festooned with damp clothes. On a rainy day. Even with a dolly in the kitchen roof space, still a bit to many for my taste.And this had been the daily round for three weeks.
Washing basket ( wicker) was also wrecked. Bloody Tom Cat. Grrr.

So..the end result of all this mayhem is ....my Cleo cat now gone to new home Crying or Very sad  new owner is a vet nurse at our vets. Much tears from CG and me as well, but it is all for the best. I tried, oh how I tried ! but she was too disabled to fight them off and they were too mean to stop bullying her.


Am sad. Very sad indeed.

Sunday, 31 January 2010

The Sunday morning after the massacre.

Morning all

Thanks for the good wishes, seemed very odd to let the remaining 9 hens out this morning (gulp) and see so few...

Spot the Cream Legbar Cockerel and the 2 Cream Legbar pullets have refused to go into a hen house and have become feral birds, roosting in the Juniper or Wellingtonia trees about 20 foot up in the air..I can't get them to come to me and I can't get them down, so they have become a "problem to be dealt with sometime"

Ruby the Silver Dorking was their Brooder Mum, so I guess they saw what happened to her and have become very frightened?

Anyway, they can fly very well and seem to have the sense to get up out of reach.

If any of you reading this came on one of my chicken keeping courses last Autumn, you would have met Ginger, as, although quite new to people, she was the star turn who whould let you all stroke her and everybody cuddle her and allow me to point out all the chicken parts...I am missing her a lot this morning.

I DID wonder if some of the missing girls had been pinched, but as this happened in broad daylight, from my garden, quite close to the house, it seems unlikely. I guess I am clutching at straws in the hope they might still be alive, somewhere. But not so.

Also 3 of the missing girls were not tame and no one else would have got near them..they didn't squat or come to any one else...so I have discounted the idea and sadly assume Fox(es) had a good meal yesterday...

Feel a bit...at a loose end this morning. Not sure what I want to do, today...think I will continue in the polytunnel, maybe plant some seeds ( always makes me feel cheerful!) and of course take part in the Big Garden Birdwatch for the RSPB.

Have nice days, everyone..

Saturday, 30 January 2010

A SAD and REALLY rubbish sort of day..

Carp morning of utter carpness here, topped off with a second and third helping of even more carpness later in the afternoon...

I am rather sadly minus 6 hens today..a visit from Mr/Mrs/Miss/Master Fox,I think alas ....

I realised something was up after spotting a load of white feathers at lunchtime, searched for a body and found one dead hen( head removed and gone)who was Pearl the nutty White Leghorn, her decapitated body was still warm....

then gradually realised a number of the other hens were MIA... all this in daytime! near to the house!

Henny my biggest, softest, oldest hen, Ginger, Cinnamon the two newish Isa browns ( and ace layers), Bunty the newish Black Rock and another sweet hen, and Ruby the mad broody Silver Dorking, mum to the Legbars.....were all missing....

Not a feather anywhere from any of them, but no sight or sound all day so am assuming they have been got by (probably) a vixen and her teenage cubs....

Am very sad and dispirited by it all....

Have been to pub tonight, eaten and drunk far too much, have returned to open a bottle of wine, have watched "The day after tomorrow" and am going to go to bed soon..


My poor , poor hens......I shall miss you all SO much.

RIP my lovely feather friends.

Wednesday, 26 August 2009

RIP Violet Dorking



I WAS hoping to post nice stuff about my 4 new POL pullets today, but I have sadder news.

I went out last night to lock in the girls and I couldn't find Violet Dorking. I looked all over the hen paddock...and found her dead under the conifer where the girls have their dust baths.

On checking her over this morning, she seems to have died of a broken neck.

She was being bullied by EVERYONE Tuesday morning and I spent a fair bit of time trying to sort it all out and put her back inside Cluckingham Palace for safely, but she was too frightened and wouldn't let me. She went and hid in the branches of the conifer instead, which was a safe place for her to be so I left her to hide there.

A jet flew over late afternoon, I looked out of the window to check all the girls were out and OK and saw her then, but I was busy in the kitchen so didn't go out to see them. I am assuming that she was panicked at some point later on and ran for cover, hitting her neck in the process.

We hatched her out under Sweetiepie our Maran hen, just a year ago:-( and we have watched her grow up. She was a lovely, friendly hen, a rare breed Silver Dorking and with very funny little ways - like most Dorkings she would go broody at the drop of an egg, but she would also follow me around crooning at me and would jump up on my lap given half a chance.

Still, at least I know she died very quickly.

Violet, I shall miss you a lot... :-(



Violet just hatched out



With her sisters and Sweetiepie



Taking a ride on mum.



laying her first egg...

Sunday, 5 July 2009

Sad news about Ginger


This is a hard post for me to write.

When Compostman went to let out the chickens this morning he found Ginger dead inside the Broody Ark, where she had been recouperating in isolation since the fox attack.

Yesterday she spent her second day outside with all the other chickens, running around, scratching around in the soil and generally being a normal hen. She still hadn't laid an egg since the fox attack, but she didn't look egg bound and shock can often stop a hen laying for some time. Also the hot weather has put a couple of the other girls off lay, so we were not worried about Ginger not laying. She looked absolutely fine when I shut her in at 9pm and at midnight Compostman checked on her and she crooned at him from her nest box.

Ginger wasn't injured in any way when he found her this morning, she looked as if she might have had a brief struggle (the bedding was churned up) but apart from that she had ..just...died. So we assume that perhaps she died of heart failure, possibly bought on by another egg in the process of developing, getting stuck overnight. Or, maybe, she just, died.

Ginger and Henny were the first 2 hens I got when I started keeping chickens again two and a half years ago, Compostman bought me an Eglu and Henny and Ginger as a birthday present.



We were all always very fond of Ginger, she was very clever and always keen to come and join in with what we were doing. She also seemed very bright for a chicken and would lead us over to gates she wanted opened...and she had a trick where she would jump up to get food from your hand.



Ginger the amazing jumping chicken! Her feet are around 2 foot off the ground in this photo.

Ginger spent yesterday re asserting her "top hen" status by getting first dibs at any tasty morsel of food and by re-enacting a "coldiz" style raid on the veg garden. She dug a tunnel under the wire and got inside the veg garden then encouraged some of the others through, to wreak a bit of havoc in there....





I tried to take a few pictures of her during the afternoon to show you all she was back in action, but she was too busy to pose for me.



SO, all very sad here and we buried Ginger on the edge of the wood today, near one of her favourite scratching spots.

RIP Ginger Hen, you will be much missed by all of us here at Compost Mansions.
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