In Use Again

That's our Wendy house for chickens, that is.

Our oldest and the only original one left (after foxes and mink had a go), Bluebell decided to retract from the newcomers in the coop and settle down to become broody. For the first time in three years.

She sat on two eggs and a few days ago we welcomed a little chick (only one) into the world.

Out came the Wendy house, but this time we've placed it on our patio area at the house, so we can keep an eye on her. We weighted the little coop down with 2 concrete slabs. Yes, it can be windy here, but the reason for this is that our dogs (or maybe a fox) wouldn't be able to lift it up with their noses.

I can't show you photos from the chick and her mama, because they don't venture out yet. I can tell you though that it is a black chick with a white patch at the front.

A bit like this :

Ha ha ha ! Honestly !

Funny that. The first time we noticed this kitten (Pixie) was in the hen house, before she decided to come and live with us for good.

If we didn't have a black chicken in the coop, and if Pixie wasn't a girl....or a cat... alrighty !

What have I been doing over the last week ?  Well, cutting up and dividing pork. Our last two pigs have now found homes into several freezers with several households. I've cut chops,loin roasts, thick pork belly slices, taken out the tenderloins, back ribs, spare ribs and cut 2 legs and one shoulder into manageable roasts. Two legs are curing at the butcher's for ham.

We've made about 25 kg of sausages and hopefully today I can start with the mortadella/bologna/luncheon meat.

I am in the process of dry-curing bacon and some of it will be smoked.  

Not much goes to waste as I have made brawn from the heads, and cooked all the bones too. The meat that was picked off the bones is for the dogs, and I can tell you, it is still a substantial amount that shouldn't be thrown away. 

Thanks for visiting.

Comments are very much appreciated, even if I don't always reply, they are always read.

Patricia xxx...x

On the Farm

Over the winter months our hens and roosters have been picked off one by one by a fox, until we had only 2 chickens left. We only have one of our first chooks still here, but she's not in these pictures as she's sitting on a nest. Good girl.

This big boy is Sigi and he's our fourth cockerel in the period of a year.  Around this time last year we had a visit from the mink and that beast killed  the boy of that time and four girls.
Our feathered friends are not allowed to extreme free-range in the garden anymore. They now stay in their run with 4 ultrasonic fox deterrents and electric fence, the latter is in the process of being installed.

Ah, the ducks !  We had 3 female and one male. Now we have only 2 girls and himself, Cyril.
One of the girls flew off, came back, flew off, came back..... flew off and never came back.  I think Cyril then went looking for her, because he also flew off and didn't come back either.  Luckily he was spotted at his old home at our friends/neighbours.  It was a full 2 weeks before he could be caught and was delivered back to his girls. Not before we clipped one of his wings though. We managed to do the same with the ducks just after he left for his holiday.

We still have 2 pigs, they've been with us for a year now, but soon it'll be time for them to go. 😩

I'll leave you with a picture of the cutest kitten

Okay, one more then...

Thanks for visiting.
Patricia xxx...x

Oink Oink

It's been a while since I posted something about these girls.
They just go about their daily business of eating, sleeping,  rooting, playing and .....
escaping.

Well, it is not a daily business, the escaping, but often enough. Little bastards.

Each time we repair and reinforce the fence some more. Next step. Rolls of barbed wire. That'll teach'em.

These little madams  have about half an acre to roam on, but oh no, they prefer rooting in this piece of stony ground.

This lot doesn't seem to grow as fast as our previous pigs. In my opinion that is probably because we don't feed these ones 'finisher'. They are fed with fermented oats and barley, barley meal and whey (to which they are addicted) We also give vegetables and fruit from time to time, but it's not their favourite. You'll get their full attention when you come with a bucket of fresh grass clippings. Nom nom nom.

At this rate they'll be here for a while yet. That's fine by me.

Yesterday we had to say goodbye to Irma La Douce (the white chicken in the front). She was not well and we had to bite the bullet and relieve her from suffering. RIP, lovely girl.

Patricia xxx...x

Hilarious !

Well, I think it is funny. But then, I'm easily amused...

Remember we had just the one chick ?

The chick has grown considerably and they have joined the rest of the flock in the 'big house' a while ago.

When the sun sets the chooks go in for the night and perch high up, on the rafters of the hen house, waiting for one of us to come and close up for the night.

And this is what we witness every night.

Mammy's boy or Mammy's girl is not yet clear, but every night the 'little one' nestles itself underneath mother. Sometimes facing the same way, other times like in the picture above.

How long this is going to last for, I don't know.

Hilarious.

Patricia xxx...x

The Survivors ...

are safe for now.
But not before that dastardly mink paid a second visit in broad daylight. We were just on our way to get the survivors to a safe place when we heard the commotion. It ran off, after some serious chasing by Bert, Nil and me.

The dogs had to move out of the garage to make room for these two.  

The Wendy house for chooks was easily moved.

They have gotten over their initial shock and it is obvious in their behaviour that they feel secure now.

The boot room has been emptied (of destructible-by-dogs-things) and the dog beds placed underneath the stairs. Xena, the cat, likes this setup.


A mink trap has been placed in the chicken coop at the suspected entrance. Fingers and toes crossed.
Now we'll have to put our thinking caps on, how to secure the chooks in future, which will involve a lot of  hard labour.

Patricia xxx...x



Edited at 9 am to add. We trapped it !!!!

An Eerie Silence...

....has come over the hen house and run. But I  am inwardly screaming, pinking away a few tears.

We always say goodnight to the girls and Arthur the 3rd, when they are settled high up in the rafters of their home, before we close the door. We didn't clip their wings, just so they could find higher ground in case of an emergency.

This morning when Bert went to say good morning he thought to himself that it was so quiet. Normally there is a lot of racket going on while Arthur is chasing the girls for a bit of nooky.

When he opened the door he was in for a shock. 

Two hens have escaped the carnage that happened during the night or early morning. A consequence of the tiniest hole that would accommodate a mink !

This is the least offensive photo of the carnage.

Mammy hen and baby where safe in the Wendy house. The question is for how long ?

And what about the two survivors ? I can't possibly let them sleep there again tonight.

I am quietly screaming !

Who Lives in a House Like This ?

Nope ! It's not the volunteer Nil. Lol @ Jules.

Broody Hen Number One has finally squeezed a chick out of an egg !

And we moved them into the Wendy house. They were making themselves vulnerable to foxes, crows, magpies, mink and whatever else, by fleeing the chicken run and wild camping.

The turquoise arrows are for your benefit or you possibly wouldn't spot the chick.

Thank goodness the broodiness is over for another year (or so we hope)

The other chooks are thinking what tasty bits did they get ?  The same as you, but you wolfed everything down in no time. Tssk.

Finally the Chicken Wendy House is in use.

Have a great week.

Patricia xxx...x

Meanwhile on the Farm.

How about this, eh ?  The broilers have a new feeder, fabricated by Bert (after I had shown him this on Pinterest). 

Nevertheless, he had taken me by surprise because I din't know he was doing this. They now have two such feeders and it is mucho better than the one on the floor, which is always full of wood shavings.

And this is how you fill the feeder. They get a mixture of chick crumb (which they prefer), mixed grains and an organic complete chicken feed, which comes in pellets.

We bought a spring cabbage and hung it on a piece of string in their enclosure. Oh boy, do they love this.

Now about the piggies. I uploaded 4 short clips of  the little rascals. Be sure to turn up the volume and start with the first one.

Piggies, working away outside. Bert walks by and into the barn.

They have to come around the bank and the corner and then they wait to hear Bert in the barn.

They go in and ..... I leave you to see (and hear) for yourself.

That's better !

They are addicted to milk whey. 

The first time we got some from our friends Sophie and Ruud, they weren't convinced. Now, all has changed. They 'demand' or pester us for it.

Talk about conditioning. The pigs ? Or us ?

Have a pleasant week ahead !

Patricia xxx...x

Broiler Chickens

Ahem.

Yes, we eat meat.

No, I don't have to justify myself.

I prefer to know where my meat comes from and reared as freely and natural as possible. If we can raise the animals ourselves, all the better.

So here we are. Fifteen broilers, now just over two weeks old. Friends of ours also raise their own and when they got theirs we asked to bring us some too.

The little chicks were only one day old when our friends bought them. They kept these and their own 35 under a heat lamp for a good week.

The chicks have been here now since Friday or Saturday ( I can't keep up with the days) and they are doing well.  

They run after  flies, midges, buzzing things..., they eat a lot of food and drink copious amounts of water.

They love to stretch one leg and one wing at the same time, which I find funny.

In short, they are healthy and content as far as we can see. We keep a watchful eye to make sure that it stays that way.

I have added a very short video clip just to see if this malarkey works.

Patricia xxx...x

A Wendy House for Chooks

Broody hen Number Two has left the barn and her eggs behind for home. She really has had enough ! Scratching away with the others and no sign of broodiness anymore.

Broody hen Number One who came home a few days ago is still sitting on the nest, but in the coop, trying to hatch straw.

That leaves us with broody hen Number Three. She is still in the barn. But soon we will need that enclosure for 15 broilers, so madam will have to move again.

On Wednesday, I surfed the internet to see what's available in hen houses. We need something for broody blummin' hens and hopefully a chick or two.

Found something and ordered it. Today it was delivered, in flat pack.

Fragile, indeed. I don't think it would stand up to one winter storm. But...we can easily bring it into the barn once everything returns back to normal in the hen household.

We started assembling the Wendy house straight away. It looks like a doll's house next to the other one. 

Saturday evening, Number Three will have a new home near her other family. Fingers crossed it'll stand up to scrutiny.

  

Flappy is thinking of moving in.

Patricia xxx...x

Mourning Their Leaving

But also joyful that they've been in our lives for five weeks.

We dropped off Mikaela and Keegan  at the train station in Killarney on Friday noon. Not waiting for the train to arrive and seeing them get on it, leaving us behind, we opted for saying our goodbyes on the platform and had them waive us out.

Am I getting more emotional as I get older ? After having had so many volunteers over the years (close to a hundred, or maybe more), this goodbye was the saddest for me. Still, the majority of volunteers hold a special place in my heart.

Before they left they gave us a box of chocolates (all eaten now) and a postcard. I hope they don't mind me showing you the card.

They sent me these photos from the train. Munching their bacon butties which I made for their lunch.

Is it just me or do they look really tired and exhausted in these pictures ? Maybe it's good that they got away.

In other news, the piggies have been let outside. This happened a week after they arrived here. 

They are in a restricted area until they are big enough not to be able to fit underneath the electric fence. They love being outside.

I've planted all the tomatoes, peppers and chillies in the tunnel today.

 Oh, and the tangled up  the runner beans. Hopefully they'll find their way up.

In the back I have four cucamelons, I am curious as to what the results are going to be.

The chickens are driving me around the bend. Three out of seven are broody, so we placed them in the barn in a separate enclosure from the pigs. That was on Thursday. Today the white one decided she'd had enough of the holiday and made her way back home.

She's sitting inside the hen house on zero eggs.

The other four and the cockerel thought that was a great moment for them to get out of the coop and wander around a bit.

All fine and dandy, until I found them going hell for leather in the raised veggie beds.

That particular bed wasn't planted up, so I hope they found some leatherjackets and slugs. But they have ruined my radishes and rocket in another bed. The little feckers !

Patricia xxx...x