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

Making Waves

They were so utterly happy when we opened their pen, yesterday morning.

It took them about three minutes before they ventured out, but found the pond straight away.

 Look at his wingspan.

Loads of fun and I could have stood there all day, just watching them. Unfortunately the sitting room called me to start painting. Pffft. 😓

Have a fab weekend !

Patricia xxx...x 😸

PS Did you notice ? Blogger has emoji 🙌

Ducky Business

Here we are. Ready for business. 

Adding to our livestock. 

It's a boy ! And 3 girls. 

They are Muscovy ducks.

Cyril, is his name, with his ladies, safely tucked in the pen for the next few days. 

After that, they can make use of their larger enclosure which also contains the pond.

Their wings won't be clipped and they might well end up back at their former home at Maggie & Richard's (our friends and neighbours). At least they will be able to escape predators and that's all that matters in the end.

Patricia xxx...x

Open for Business Shortly

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

A Broiler Cull

Last Tuesday these chickens (below) were more than ready to be culled. Broilers they call them. To be honest, I don't think we will get them next time. They are over bred and I feel for them. It doesn't seem natural to me (and it probably isn't) that they grow so fast and can hardly take two steps before they have to sit down again.

They were from end of May and in normal circumstances they get slaughtered for meat between the 5 and 7 week mark. Ours were about 10 weeks old.

Anyway, we had a friend, Ruud, to assist us to do the deed. No fussing with an axe, no stress for the chickens or for any of us. A quick snap with three fingers and done.

My brother got stuck in and he urged his kids to come along. They need to know where their meat (that they love eating so much) comes from. My sis-in-law wasn't too sure about all that, but they saw, got bored and played in the straw and hay that's stored in the shed, before coming back to the house and played Lego.

My hat off to my sis-in-law, as she hadn't ever done or witnessed anything like this before, but also got stuck in, plucking the chickens.

They then got brought into the kitchen where my mum showed me how to remove the guts without damaging the gallbladder.

The bile can spoil all the meat. Great care was taken to remove gallbladder from the livers too.

Livers are for our own consumption. The heart and stomach for the doggies.

The chickens got washed thoroughly, inside and out.

Some by my mum,

and some by my SIL, Joelle.

I then proceeded with taking the legs, wings and breast meat off. The volume was just too much to place them in the freezer whole.

Joelle vacuum packed and Bert placed everything in the freezer.

A huge stock pot was filled with carcasses and water and boiled till the left on meat fell off the bones.

My mum then picked all the bones into a pile for the dogs and a pile for us.

The stock has been further reduced and can be used for a myriad of dishes.

It was a whole day's work, but I love the fact that we did this as a family, together.

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