Tuesday 30 September 2008

Lay a little egg for me!!




Eggs !!


We have eggs every day... I'm so pleased!


So, we got our hens on Friday 26th September and got them home about 6pm.... they all pretty much went to bed soon after that and the next day I woke at 06:45 and skipped to the chookery to wake the girls up.


I sat there with a cup of tea and sat there... and sat there... and eventually Beef came out and squinted at me in a “It's awful early you know!” way...


Then Luna came out, then Emo and after about 20 minutes Rocket fell out the roost, straight out the door landing on her chest on the straw outside!!


I think it's the first Sunday that I have been at home that I haven't done ANY work-work.... I spent ALL day outside building, re arranging, buying plants and other Hen related things and actually had the day off work!! Blessings come in feathered packages!


I kind of got myself a feathered admirer too. Beef the ISA Brown decided that I was luffly and wouldn't leave me alone. At one point Robert and I sat on the bench outside the coop and were discussing how we would alter the ladder when beef went in and snuggled in the dirt.


“She's making egg noises” I said remembering my youth on the farm. I threw a bit of straw at her and sure enough she tucked it next to her.... threw another bit and she did the same. “Wow” Robert said.


So we went to stand outside the chookery and arrange bits of wood [as you do when you are waiting for an egg!!! lol] and within minutes Beef came out and quietly said “Bock!”..... I whisked myself back into the chookery, opened the door and... TWO EGGS!!

Ok they were tiny pale eggs and one of them had a soft spot and was leaking but they were our very first eggs. The girls hadn't even been here a full day yet!


That evening when the hens were going in to roost Beef sat next to me on the window sill and wouldn't leave me. She wanted to be petted and wanted to help me preen my messy head of feathers! lol


Beef has laid an egg for us Monday and Today.... lovely brown eggs. Robert says they taste good too!


Now if the other ladies could bring themselves to lay all would be fantastic!


As for four hens being enough..... HA!!! What fool said that? We are now seriously thinking of getting two more.... just two... honest!!!

Saturday 27 September 2008

Here come the girls........




Well, well well.... We got our hens and a swift lesson in “Just 'cause you haven't seen a chook jump 6 foot before, doesn't mean they can't!”

After a lot of faffing about it became apparent that we were getting nowhere with the rescue hen situation so found a local poultry farm and went to visit... well, I say visit but we amazingly had the cage in the back of the car! Not sure HOW that got there!! **innocent grin**

They had a huge field with about 150 chooks of all different shapes and sizes and some fab cockerels... one of which goose stepped around the paddock in a very majestic manor... if only we lived somewhere else. I would SO have him!!

In my head I planned on getting four girls of the same colouring/breed but once we got there my 16 yr old daughter fell in love with a white and black flecked chook at the same time I saw a big fat beefy looking brown hybrid, now named Beef. So instantly the colour coordination plan had failed!

We then spotted a dainty black hen who's feathers shimmered bluey-green as she pecked around the paddock, my daughter instantly named her Emo!!. Then last of all a fabtastical black and silver pebble effect chook caught our eye.

So our new family was quickly despatched into the cage, into the car and into our lives!

Robert [who wasn't excited at all!] was nervously pacing outside the house as we arrived with the girls... queue a big grin that almost split his face in two as he spotted us pulling up. We took the cage round to the chookery and opened the door against the chookery door.

I sat on the ground inside and sprinkled some corn on the floor. The girls bocked quietly to each other and all 8 of us waited for the bravest one to venture out.

The white hen [still unnamed] gingerly stepped out and started to peck at the corn... “oohhh, mmmm,” it sounded like she was clucking. Next was Emo who had a look sideways at the corn, noticed it was disappearing fast down the white hens throat so plopped out beside her shortly followed by Beef and then at last the pebble coloured chook.

They all pecked around me gingerly but making appreciative noises over the corn.

Suddenly Beef made a rumbling noise, then Emo joined in and all of a sudden all four girls were bubbling at each other “Predator! Predator!” I looked up the garden path and saw my Maine Coone cat Each Peach Plum 'n' Pear stalking up to the chookery.... “you're ok girls” I said.... Emo came right up to me and bock-bock-bocked at me in a “If you're the cock round here SAVE US!” she then totally lost her composure and shot through the kitchen window into the lap of my 16 yr old daughter. At that point the pebble hen amazingly went from standing on the ground to being perched 6 foot on the edge of the chookery fence!!!

I stood up with my mouth hanging like sporran round my throat in total amazement!! “BOCK BOCK” she screamed which kicked me back into reality and I scooped her back off into the chookery while my son shooed Peaches away.

Then began a frantic staple-gunning of netting around the perimeter! I will be buying netting for the whole roof today!! Sheesh!!!

So... from that magical transportation she gained the name Rocket! Tis just the white hen we need to name now and apart from the obvious names, snowy, milky, Blanc... etc etc nothing fits her.

I'm sure she will reveal her name to us in due course!

Rocket seems to be the more vocal of the girls. The slightest movement and she is off clucking at the others to BEWARE BEWARE!

My son woke up at 07:15 to find me having my morning tea in the chookery and with a big grin asked, “Cor! Did you find any eggs yet?” lol ..... soon Torin... soon.

Wednesday 10 September 2008

September...Where IS the sun?

Lots of changes and business meetings and suchlike ..... The Green parent magazine now sample in the packs and are also going to be giving away one of our competition packs in their winter issue. Here is a photo of the pack!

We've given up on the incompetence of Royal Mail and signed up with a courier company ... there are only so many 'undelivered' packages a company can cope with... sorry Royal Mail but you are pants!


We have also started the ball rolling to find distributors for Mama Packs. It's proving difficult to get the message across that we want them GIVEN away... I think most of the emails we have had from people have asked if we “Have any objections to how much is charged” the Mama Packs are to educate, initiate and open the eyes of families around the nation to a more ethical lifestyle... to introduce companies to families that can offer them an alternative to gak chemicals. NOT to make someone a tidy profit...


One will notice that the packs are marked at £0.00 ...


Still waiting for Innocent smoothies and other similar companies to contact us so watch this space!


We are off on a short adult weekend with friends so no blogging until we return... hopefully with news of our Chooks!!