New chicks update 2 weeks on

One of my little friends from the farm

Well, I have been busy over the last few weeks, sowing broad beans and leek seeds, looking after newly hatched chicks, lambing..................yes Lambing.  At Humble by Nature as it happens in the Monmouthshire area.  A lovely farm owned by Kate Humble and her husband Ludo Graham.  Their tenant farmers are Tim and Sarah Stephens and they are all brilliant, lovely people.
If you get opportunity to visit on a course you will not be disappointed.  I will be posting a short review of my experience soon.  In the mean time click on the link about to see what the farm is all about.

With all this going on I feel that I may have neglected the blog and my poultry posts recently, although some of you may be thinking thank goodness for that, he has stopped talking!

7 of my 11 eggs hatched, unfortunately the Salmon Faverolle was not a healthy chick and was suffering so I had to deal with him as humanely as possible.  That's where Andy @chickenstreet and his great blog came in very useful.  Gave me that confidence that I was doing everything right.  Have a read if you get chance.   Chicken Street Blog

Silver Lace Wyandotte Bantam Chick

Croad Lanshan chick

So I have 6 chicks left, all looking healthy, 2 of them being Croad Langshan on the Rare Breeds Survival Trust watch list.  The other 4 are Silver Lace Wyandottes.

I have 4 more eggs in the incubator.  It was a little unexpected and un-planned but I was offered them recently and I could not refuse.
The question is, what next?
I could keep hatching, but it will take a long time before I will be hatching my own eggs, so I am considering buying a trio or two of birds.  But what breed?  So much choice and not enough space.  One that needs careful consideration.  Any ideas would be welcome.
In the mean time I'm going to plough on with my Wyandottes and experiment with colours. 

I am also starting to considering getting some turkeys to rear for Christmas time.  But that's for another entry so come back soon and find out how I will be preparing! :-)

Thanks for reading

The search for land

My search for land has been ongoing for a long time, it seems to have turned into an epic!
It picked up pace after I returned from a Smallholding Course at Humble By Nature  delivered by Liz Shankland.
I haven't quite given up on finding some close to my village, but it is proving very difficult.

I have been talking to farmers, the Community councils City council, local poultry keepers, my allotment association and searched various property websites.

I have discovered that the ideal land is too far away at circa 9 miles, and land prices for agricultural use vary a great deal.  I have seen prices quoted at £7,000 -£10,000 per acre for 4-7 acres, I have also seen asking prices of £15k per acre.
I have not really seen any land to rent.
It's not easy!

If anyone else has tried this rather than moving home to a house with land, I would be interest to know how you approached it and if it worked for you?
If you did find land are you treating it as a hobby or trying to make some sort of living out of it?  How did you go about establishing if there was a demand for your service?

You should be able to leave a comment on this entry or if you are on twitter I am @Homer_Andrew and my facebook page is www.facebook.com/backgardenpoultryhatcher

Thank you for reading.
Next entry will have some photos of the little Wyandotte chicks.  I am also pondering whether to try and train one of my hens!!  

Broody Speckledy Hen

As I type my Speckledy Hen has been sat on her eggs in her new Broody Coop for the last 7 days.  Only 14 days to go - fingers crossed!!!

My first broody coop

I bought my first broody coop recently on the basis that I would put my broody hen in there to stop her from upsetting the other 2 hens.  The egg laying was all over the place including in the run.
I should really introduce my hens.

Treacle - Speckledy Hybrid
Pudding - Bluebelle Hybrid
Custard - Light White Sussex Hybrid (one of my originals) AKA "Big Bird"

Treacle is broody and has been for 2/3 weeks now.

Here she is with Rhode Island Red chick that she hatched earlier in the year.

The farm I bought the eggs from agreed that if they were cockerels they would have them back.  Guess what?........Yes it was a cockerel.  Beautiful looking bird and when it started cock-a-doodle-doing I knew it was time for him to go.  My neighbours would not thank me, mind you neither would my wife and 3 boys.

After moving Treacle into here new home, I found myself searching eBay for fertile hen eggs for sale.  This was not the intention, but I could not help myself.

I saw a lovely looking bantam hen in the October 2012 issue of the Country Smallholding Poultry Magazine.    It was a Bantam Gold Laced Wynedotte.
As luck would have it there were 6 eggs on eBay.  I bid for them and WON!!!


So, lucky Treacle has now been sat on the 6 eggs for the last 7 days doing a great job.  She does need reminding to get of the nest and have a drink and food every now and then, but a small hand full of corn tends to encourage her out.  Saves me being pecked as I try and pick her up.

I'm hoping they will hatch, not the best time of year I know, but I would love to be able to breed from them as they are very pretty birds.


I will keep the site updated with progress, and if by some miracle the all hatch, I will need to be finding homes for some!!

Thanks again for reading.