Rain, longer days and the shed roof

It's raining, again. It shouldn't be a surprise should it? It must have been one of the wettest winters on record.  Yet this morning, it was dry, clear and quite chilly.  The hens seem to be enjoying the slightly longer daylight hours, with the cream legbar, Lucky, and the bluebelle both coming into lay in the last couple of days.  Just in time, as last week I had to buy eggs for the first time in 12 months.

Even the quail seem to be getting a little "frisky".  The males are starting to take interest in the females again, and the odd chirp can be heard coming from the cage.  More good news for us, as the quail eggs have been sorely missed over the winter period.  As a family of five, we can easily get through 36 sometimes 48 in a week if the boys insist on taking them into school as little boiled snacks.

The good news is that the quail hatched at the end of last year should lay well this year.  

We have a total of 10 females (although I'm still waiting to confirm this officially when the mating season starts).

In theory, in the peak of laying, we will get 8-10 eggs a day, and I can't wait.

I know I will have at least one, maybe two males too many as a result of the late hatch, so I need to manage the accommodation carefully to ensure their is not any fighting.

Down on the plot, the chicken pens are empty as a result of the thefts backing in September, and would you believe the metal sheeting on the shed roof has now been stolen.  Nothing is safe these days, so seeing the rain start again has made me realise I need to get down the allotment as soon as possible to at least cover the massive hole and protect some of the tools.  Whilst old, I don't really want to be replacing them especially as thefts seem to be on the increase.

Thanks for reading.