New Chickens

Yep, we now have our two new (well, second-hand actually) chickens.  Bob went to collect them a week and a half ago along with three for Rob and Becky - Rob was still building the run when Bob set off!  I have to say that these have been the easiest chickens to get settled that we have ever had.  The first time we introduced new ones to our existing ones was just so traumatic that I seriously thought we'd never do it again.  All the books you read say to keep the two lots separate, but so they can see each other and so get to know one another . . . . it was like a cock fight with chicken wire between them and one chicken even pulled a claw out in the violence.  It didn't get any better and they were 'at each other' all the time until we eventually just put them all in the run together and let them get on with it - they still fought but eventually settled and sorted out the pecking order.  We then bought some chickens from an old farmer-type and he suggested we collect them in the evening when ours were going to bed, dust both the new ones and the old ones with mite powder which has a smell, so they all smell the same and then just pop the new ones in the house on the perch next to the others, shut the door and leave them to it in the dark.  The next morning they wake up and they've got new friends who smell the same as they do.  It works and although there was a little bit of pecking and sorting out the order it was much less traumatic for all.  We did this with these ones and they didn't even argue or peck at all and have all settled down together really easily and quickly.  After a couple of days, we let the new ones out of the run for a few minutes while we were close by and made sure they found their way back to the run.  They now come out with the others and roam around all day quite happily together.  They know the lay of the land and know to go back to the nest box to lay their eggs.  After Bob picked them up, we put them all in Rob and Becky's chicken house and collected them at dusk so we could do the night introduction.  When we went to get them, one was standing up, neck stretched almost saying 'Me, me, pick me!' so we did and she's called Mimi because of that.  The other one is a bit smaller and has no feathers at all from under her chin (mmmm, do chickens actually have chins?) down to her chest in a very neat stripe almost as if she'd been to the barber for a shave or has grown sideburns.  So, she's called Sweeney - either after the barber Sweeney Todd or after the John Thaw / Dennis Waterman programme which featured sideburns.  They are both laying well, as are Horse and Lottie, and so we are back to being able to give eggs away, make lots of cakes and squander extra eggs in Yorkshire puds.

Our flock of four - from left to right Sweeney, Horse, Lottie
and Mimi

We have now cut all our wood to length ready for splitting - we're going to hire a log splitter to get the job done as it would take forever to do by hand.  We have set out some old kerb stones we had lying around (you know I can't imagine not having all this stuff around to use for various projects) for the base of a log store at the end of the 'carpark'.  We are going to use the old roof trusses from the wriggly tin barn for the roof with walls just a couple of feet tall.  Then we are going to try our hand at a random slate roof to use up some of our pile of old slates from the original house roof - it should look really nice when it's finished, especially when it's crammed full of logs.  Do you know, I'm getting quite passionate about log piles!  There is a very definite warm feeling of wealth and security in having a log store full of wood, a freezer full of pies and a shelf full of jam - who needs money?!  Well, OK we all do, but there are different riches too.

By the way, for those of you who are Facebook-minded, Bob has finally taken the plunge and set up a Facebook page (under Robert Shelton Furniture Maker).  Reluctant though we were, it seems it had to be done as websites are just soooo last year!

New cooker

So, what do you think of this idea?  We do quite a lot of cooking and thought that two cookers - matching of course - might be a good idea, as well as the woodburner which has an oven and hotplates.  Or do you think that's perhaps a bit over the top?  For a short while, we did have two cookers in the kitchen.  We bought a new cooker when we moved out of the caravan (so, three and a half years ago) and it has been fine until a couple of weeks ago when the cooling fan stopped working - this blows cool air out under the knobs and stops them getting hot when the top oven or grill is on.  As we had taken out a cover plan we got the engineer to come and have a look.  He couldn't see anything obvious, but thought it might need a new control panel, so he put it all back together again and, as if by magic, it all worked again (loose wire???).  Anyway, he went off to order a new part and we later got a phone call to say they don't make that model anymore and the part was obsolete and so the cooker would be written off!  Can you believe that, just three and a half years old and still looking almost new (I cleaned it before the engineer came!) and it was to be scrapped - what a throw-away society we live in.  So, after much rigmarole with them suggesting a shiny steel replacement, etc we went for one that looks exactly the same but has a gas oven as well as hob.  The electric oven used to take ages to heat up and because Bob makes bread most days we felt we were wasting a lot of energy and money.  So, we now have a new LPG cooker and are trying to get used to a gas oven again - it is nice to only have to wait a couple of minutes for it to heat up.  Bob has had to amend his bread technique to take into account that it is not a fan oven and I made a disastrous sponge cake which had to have its middle cut out, Bob is just about back on track with the bread and I think I know what to do with the cake next time, so we'll get there.  We have the other cooker in storage and will decide what to do with that shortly.

The new hedge across the field is now planted and rabbit-guarded and some of the plants already have tiny, bright green buds on.  It's mostly Hawthorn with a few Field Maple, Gelder Rose and Hazel as well as some tiny holly plants which I dug up from around and about.  There is also a Rowan and two Crab Apples in among them, so it should look quite nice if it all takes.  It's not chicken-proof yet though and they just go wandering off up the field to see what's going on under the neighbour's bird feeder and chat with their cats.   Luckily Rob and Becky don't mind and said they actually spent about an hour just watching the chickens the other day.  We have had to fence off the bottom of the garden outside the kitchen because the chickens suddenly decided to scratch the lawn up and had made quite a good job of it in just one day!  So they have been excluded and I think it came as a bit of a shock to them which is why they have adopted Rob and Becky!  We are getting our two new chucks next weekend and Rob and Becky have decided to take the plunge and we are collecting three for them at the same time.  This could get interesting because they are planning to let them roam around like we do when they are at home and as ours often wander down the field they are bound to meet.  That could either mean fighting for supremacy or they'll be best buddies and think they are all one flock and all come running when we call.  Watch this space!

Our current project outside is firewood.  Ben and I spent an afternoon chopping all the Oak we got out of the quarry wood last winter to length ready to be split and that should hopefully be ready to burn next winter.

The bigger diameter Oak for splitting . . . . 

. . . .the smaller Oak stacked ready for next Winter . . . . 

. . .  and then there's this - right had side for next Winter and
left for the Winter after . . . . 

. . . and this from our end of the hedge-laying . . . .

. . . and this which the quarry people left for us to pick through.
There are some really quite big logs in among this tangle.  So,
that should all keep us busy for a while!  Oh, and of course
we need to build log-stores all over the place to keep it all dry.

Ben starts his new job tomorrow at long last.  This morning we went on a tree identification walk to up his plant knowledge a bit - part of the initial surveys he will have to do include recording the type of plant-life, trees and hedges there are in the area which in turn gives and indication of the type of animals that may live there.  So, a steep learning curve ahead I think - course he has an intimate knowledge of Hazel and Hawthorn from laying the hedge here, so that's a start!

This is Bob's latest creation - a sweet little writing
desk in Cherry and Burr Maple for a lady in Oswestry.
Isn't it pretty?