Solstice Greetings, Merry Christmas & Happy New Year
It's the Winter Solstice, shortest day of the year so time to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year plus a little ramble on eggs.
Poultry & Chicken Blog
Ducks, Chickens, Quail in the Back Garden
Yearly Archives: 2018
Weather, Blood Egg Problem & Business
Bad weather, feeding greens, egg production business, blood spot eggs, sleeping in the nestbox and the joys of a reliable automatic door opener.
Moulting, Cleaning, Winter Preparation
Helping the moulting hens with extra protein explained. Cleaning out the chicken run and preparing for the winter to come.
You Must be Joking!
One of the hens lays a tiny egg, but which one? Chocky moulting and playing with the autumn leaves falling into the run.
Laying Slowing Down & Care with Feeding
As autumn arrives with the daylength reducing, egg laying slows down. The hens need the right diet to lay well and be healthy, so limit the treats.
Hens in Space! Alien Hens Land!
Some fun pictures of hens on a spaceship in the future and a little bit about the history of hens in space. Plus evidence hens come from another planet.
Ethical Considerations Regarding Rodenticides – Rat Poisons
An email from a reader about an article on the web site raises some ethical points about how we handle controlling vermin like rats.
Helping a Fellow Bird Out
Sometimes chickens can really surprise you, I didn't expect mine to act as they did when they saw a cat trying to catch a blackbird.
Hot weather, stopping the hens escaping.
Hot hens but they're happy enough, spoiling them with garden waste, roof repairs to the run and putting a new fence around the main run.
How Many Eggs – Feeding Cat Food to Hens
Answering some chicken questions. How many eggs should my hens be laying and should I feed my hens cat food or dog food to help them get through the moult.
Cleaning and Feeding Hens
Cleaning the coop is a weekly 10 minute job but the run takes a few hours every few months. The thin eggs problem sorted and the hens are now getting their treats again along with their feed.
Watch Out – There’s a Fox About
Most of us rarely see a fox and they tend to be dead on the side of the road. In my whole life, I can only recall seeing a fox twice. That doesn't mean they're not about though. Foxes are shy and elusive creatures. Because we don't see them, we might think there aren't any around. But they are around.
Poultry Keeping Books Clearance
A surplus stock clearance of poultry keeping books including incubation, hatching and rearing, starting with ducks, starting with turkeys, starting with geese and organic poultry. When they're gone, they are gone.
Training Chickens, Pasture Maintenance & Thin Eggs
You can train your chickens a bit! Fixing the pasture run that they've left bare after the winter and a thin egg problem. Solutions for thin eggs.
Alternative Ways of Feeding Chickens
I've been researching alternative feeding regimes for hens using food and garden waste. Whilst not being of interest to big commercial producers, these systems make a lot of sense for smallholders and home keepers to consider.
More Snow, Egg Production Up
Well Thursday's snow caused consternation in the flock who sent Chocky down to check things out before following her. Egg production on the increase as the days are getting longer. No news is good news on the Avian flu front.
Chickens in a Cold Winter
It's pretty cold here at the moment, -8 C last night, which means we have to help our hens cope with the cold winter. It's a bit of extra work but not too much and anyway they're well worth it.
Making the Hens Work for a Living!
Taking a lead from alternative farmers whose chickens are workers in an integrated pasture management system. Hens can be a real help on a veg plot and for keeping a lawn in tip top condition,
Eggs and Feeding Hens Better
For maximum egg production hens require maximum nutrition - balanced feed designed to pack in as much as possible. Layers pellets or mash do this but is it right to feed them like that?
No Excitement – Avian Flu Update
It's all routine at the moment, which suits me fine. After losing Bob we don't want any more drama. A brief update on the current Avian Flu situation.
Outwitting a Chicken – Just!
Deep cleaning after Bob and Avian Flu warning. Feeding greens in winter and outwitting a chicken who was leading me a merry dance
Avian Flu – Prevention Zone Declared in Wales
All Wales is now an Avian Flu Prevention Zone and home poultry keepers should take the measures described to comply legally and protect their birds.
Farewell Bob
In my last post, Bob was recovering well and I was confident she'd be 100% in just a few weeks. Sadly that wasn't to be.
Bob Looking Better!
Bob the hen made a miraculous recovery. From death's door to fairly good health overnight. Still going to treat for worms, coccidiosis and disinfectant the runs
Little ‘n’ Large Eggs, Poorly Bob
The difference between a large and small egg. Bob the Hen is very ill and I fear she's not going to make it.
