Chicken Theft South Wales - Cardiff

I would never have imagined I would be writing first hand about chicken theft.
It has been almost a year since I started my mini breeding plan for bantam silverlace Wyandottes, along the way I had picked up Bantam Lavender Araucana's, Bantam Croad Langshan's some crested legbar and a rather strange looking lavender Orpington.

The thieves took them all apart from 4 silver lace Wyandotte chicks and 4 lavender Araucana chicks at 8 weeks old plus a crested legbar hen at Point of Lay who from now on is called Lucky.

My show birds and planned breeding stock for next year are all gone and I bet it took the horrible, thieving buggers (toned the language down) all but 10-15 minutes to clear the pen.

Gutted is not the right word.  The shock is still working its way out and I don't think it has quite settled in yet.

It is not the monetary value of the chickens I am concerned about although I'm not happy, it is the impact on my boys who will be devastated that Colin the cockerel and his girls have gone.  I put lots of time and effort into hatching all the birds, looking after them and feeding them the correct foods.
They had a good life and were well looked after, now I don't know where they are or if they will be treated correctly or even slaughtered for meat.

Its almost a year since I had some difficulties and spent significant time off work unwell.  These animals gave me a boost, a purpose and a fantastic hobby, that even if I do say so myself was going very well.  It will not stop me, but I need to solve that long term problem of land and space to keep them.

I have reported the theft to South Wales Police, but to date I have not received a phone call or visit.  Any clues at the scene have no doubt disappeared.  So I have taken it into my own hands to start making enquiries, The local pub next door, my fellow allotment plot holders, I have even contact the local paper and I believe they are going to run a story on it and quote the crime reference number.

 

The chance of getting my birds back in practically nil, but you have to try.

The thieves knew what they were taking.  Whilst they stripped most of the point of lay stock they specifically took 2 of my lavender Araucana chicks that are 8 weeks old and that are almost certainly hens presumably to match up with one of the cockerels they stole assuming they were not related.

What next?  I am not giving up on keeping chickens and breeding Wyandottes, but due to the time of year I will be better starting all over again early 2014.  Gives me plenty of time to find a breeder with hatching eggs but more crucially find a small parcel of land to rent.

Thanks for reading friends and make sure you cheer me up with some nice chicken stories and pictures.
 

The Chickens Move In!

Chicks now down the allotment

After all that work and effort I have finally moved the first of the chickens down to the allotment.  It was exciting but nerve racking at the same time.  It has taken months of planning, hard work and along the way there have been plenty of questions; can I do this, will it work?

Well in the end I took the "oh bugger it" approach.  By that I mean, you can keep planning and deliberating but until you take that first step, or leap in my case, you just don't know how it will work out.  So I did, and I have jumped a little like a skydiver. 

My allotment April 2013

I say skydiver because there has been some planning, but there has also been a element of excitement and free fall.

It has dawned on me that in five days there are potentially 12 new lives entering the world via my incubator set up in the spare room.  Twelve on top of the 4 chicks that were hatched and purchased 3 weeks ago and the 6 chicks that hatched approximately 7 weeks ago.

That's 22, oh not forgetting the 5 hens I have in the back garden!  Eeek!  That's 27!

I only had 3 hybrids in the back garden back in September 2012.  So if you are looking for proof that chicken keeping is addictive, look no further!

I know it is unlikely that all 12 will hatch, in fact my hatch rate has been quite poor at less than 50%, so I can easily see that only 6-8 will hatch. 

The plan is to keep some and sell others on.  I'm not looking for profits, just really making sure that when the chickens leave, they are going to someone who cares and will look after them.  I always feel that if you offer them for free it suggests they are not worth anything, not in a monetary sense but as a living thing, and this I do not feel comfortable with.  I am prepared for the worse case and not being able to rehome, so the only option then is the pot!  Lets hope it does not get that far.

Why keep chickens?

Well obsession, interest, business, pleasure!?  Perhaps all of the above and more.

When we took on the allotment back in 2006 it was an over grown dump.  The chairman of the association offered us the plot measuring approximately 30 metres by 15 metres as a whole.  It is a corner plot and at the bottom corner of the allotments furthest from the entrance and the water.  It was surrounded by trees, brambles, and housed the remains of a chicken coop, derelict shed, sheets of glass, razor wire and not to mention japanese knotweed and weeds at 4 foot high!

800 grams of Purple Sprouting picked April 2013

We took the plot on as a long term family project, encouraged greatly by Rachel my wife.  We knew there was a section that would never be workable for growing produce and so did the chairman, that is why I think he was pleased we took the whole lot.  It saved him the annual headache of trying to gather enough volunteers to cut back the overgrowth and try and clear any dumped rubbish.

The unproductive area is now where we are keeping chickens, and in the future hopefully a couple of ducks and the odd turkey for Christmas.

F1 Kale Picked April 2013

So I guess chickens on the allotment was the plan form day one, perhaps not so many chickens but I'm sure it will work out, even if there is a little Arthur daily action required in the future to restore the balance.

Thanks for reading and don't forget if you fancy Wyandottes, silver or gold lace let me know by email andrew_homer@rocketmail.com and I will keep you updated with progress as and when they become available.

The Chicken Run

Almost finished chicken run

Finally I have managed to get down to my allotment for a reasonable length of time to continue what I has started approximately four weeks ago.
Of the three hour stint, about an hour was spent scratching my head and drinking a cup of tea trying to work out how to construct a door opening that would not fall apart (my usual standard of DIY) and one that was fox proof.
I got there in the end and I managed to cable tie the fencing to the wooden posts and build a door from scrap left on the plot from the previous tenant.

The area prior to the chicken run

A bit of a result for me. Now all I have to do is lay slabs around the perimeter of the fence to deter foxes from digging under the wire/security fencing and secure heavy duty plastic mesh to the roof.  The mesh for the roof is the same material I have used to cover the top half of the door.

It is very strong and there was a huge amount of the material again left behind by the previous tenant.
So far the total cost is only £25 for the whole enclosure and it provides 150 square feet of space.  I admit I have only bought cable ties fence posts and hinges, but I guess it shows what you can do by recycling and being inventive.

Last years onions growing

With all this effort going into the chicken run I have neglected the vegetable growing side of the allotment a little.  I had plans to prepare several beds with manure and dig my runner bean trench to fill with kitchen veg waste.  Neither of these things have happened, and the potato beds are currently covered in weeds and last years cabbage crop.
In future years I am planning on using the chickens to help keep beds clear by using netting around the beds keeping the chickens in (whilst i am on the allotment) and leaving them to free range to scratch to their hearts content.  Not only will the y clear, but hopefully they will fertilise as they go.  That's the theory anyway!

Back at home sowing is in full swing and most window cills are full with leeks, peas, potatoes, lettuce, purple sprouting and Brussels sprouts.  The broad beans sown in February have grown well and are now hardened off and outside ready to be planted, if I can clear the bed that is!

Thanks for reading.  Chick update coming soon.

Vandalism to chickens on the allotment

My Gold Lace Wyandottes

Having been given permission to keep some chickens on my allotment plot I have been researching the potential threats to them.

The Fox is an obvious one but one issue that still needs to be considered and addressed is the security of the chickens from theft or even vandalism.

I read a news story recently from back in January that reported 40 chickens and a turkey were killed on an allotment in the Northamptonshire region.  Police said that they were not killed by an animal. How anyone can do this is beyond me.

This is a significant concern to me being so far from my plot, and there is not necessarily a straightforward answer.

Any poultry or animal could be at risk, even if it is kept on land adjacent to your home.

So how do you reduce the risks?

My allotment plot is a corner plot with the front facing a main road and one site flanked by a public footpath.  Lucky in some ways with the hedges and overgrowth that line two sides but potential risks with the road and footpath.  

The approach I am taking is a subtle introduction of the runs and chickens, not quite camouflage gear, but positioning so that boundaries and hedges are utilised to obscure the view as much as possible from the main road.  

I will also ensure that the hedges are kept at a reasonable height and are kept to shelter and restrict views into the plot. 

I'm sure the tech savvy out there would suggest CCTV web camera to monitor the chickens, however there is a cost connected to this and some reasonable computer knowledge, so my alternative is getting to know my neighbours.  I have given them my contact details such as email and mobile number.  I am in a good position here, I have an allotment neighbour who is retired and appears to live and sleep at his allotment.  He is happy to keep an eye out and report any suspicious activity.

Of course keeping hens at the allotment will mean I will be visiting daily at the minimum.  I will try visiting at different times of the day rather than say 8am everyday. 

This will hopefully deter unwanted attention.

Finally, I can't keep a guard dog on the allotment, but I could invest in the next best thing to live with my hens - geese!  A couple of geese would act as a warning alarm.  

Yes I will need to consider if there are houses in the area and it's likely I will not hear them, but anyone walking onto the plot will be startled and unwanted visitors will hopefully make a b-line for the nearest gate.

Thanks for reading

Chickens on allotments - 1950 Allotment Act

Recently I wrote an article about keeping chickens on allotments and recapped my experience with my local association.  When I first requested to keep a few chickens they refused.  So I decided to do a little research.

My article was published Country Smallholding in the January 2013 issue and I hope it was an interesting read. 
I doubt many will have seen it so here is a little about the law surrounding chickens and allotments.

The 1950 Allotment Act allows the keeping of hens and rabbits on allotments and is viewed as an allotment holder’s right, so long as they are for your own use and not for business or profit. It is worth checking your tenancy agreement if you have one.  Some private landlords may have included a clause preventing the keeping of animals. 

The Act allows for any animal to be removed from the allotment if it is deemed to be a nuisance, health hazard or their well-being is being affected.  Cockerels are not permitted.  This is certainly something to remember.

Allotment Act was enacted to assist post second world war with families producing their own food that was in shortage.  It is still in effect today, however there are some conditions you must meet.

• It appears to apply to Council owned/run allotments or allotments that were previously council owned and then transferred into private ownership.  If you are renting land from a farmer I doubt you will be able to rely on the Act.

• Welfare is paramount - you must have the correct housing and the animals must be well looked after.  Welfare codes enforced by the RSPCA and DEFRA should be followed.

• As mentioned earlier due to noise cockerels are not permitted.

So if you are considering keeping chickens and your back garden is not big enough or suitable, try registering for an allotment, preferably with a local authority. You can grow veg and keep a couple of hens for eggs or even meat.

Thanks for reading

Chickens on the allotment - Work begins!

My plot - the good half approx 2 summers ago

Where are all the chickens going when they have hatched and grown?
I don't have a back garden big enough to house all 12 chickens once grown (assuming all of them hatch), but I do have my allotment and I have spent an hour or so the last two days, clearing the over grown land and starting to build an enclosure.

One sheet of glass

It was hard work, with brambles at least 7 foot high, and enough rotten wood to fuel two large bonfires.  I have emerged relatively unscathed which is quite impressive as I was also moving two sheets of glass (6x6 foot) that the previous tenant decided to use as shelter for his chickens on top of his run.

What I had to work with!

The good thing is that I have a plan and the area is clear, but it will take some managing through the year.  I have Japanese knotweed in this corner of the plot.  A very difficult plant to kill.
I have encountered it several times, most of the time as a surveyor managing commercial property.

Japanese Knotweed - from Wiki

One thing is clear, it is very costly to remove, and from a development site point of view quite often the only sure way of removing it from site is to dig it out dispose of all soil and refill.  Very expensive but a lot quicker than injecting it for 3-5 years to kill it off.

Now I am not in the position on my plot to dig out or inject the plant.  But I have discovered a week killer by roundup, called tree stump killer.  It does in fact work on Japanese knotweed and brambles.  I will need to be very careful spraying close to the chickens.

My chicken enclosure - wont win any style awards

I have taken some photos of the enclosure to date.  There is a long way to go and plenty of fox proofing to be done, but I'm hoping to have it finished by end of March latest.

The pen is currently 12 x 12 foot.  I will be covering the top with a heavy duty plastic mesh.  It has big holes and again was left behind by the former tenant of the plot.
I have a hen house and run (cheap version) in my garage at he moment, so will be moving his down to the plot, but will also be splitting the area in to two breeding pens eventually.

Having such a variety in the incubator at the moment means the chickens may have to live together for a while until I establish if they are good enough breeding stock and find cockerels or hens to go with what I have hatched.  I'm starting to think it would have been easier to have bought 2 trios, but hey, where is the fun in that! :-)

To protect against Mr Fox around the perimeter I am digging the fencing into the ground by about 6 inches and then using chicken wire to create a further barrier underground. On top of the chicken wire will go the soil and then some slabs I have that will hopefully prevent any digging.

You can just see the wood in the right of the photo!

I mentioned earlier the top of the enclosure will be covered with some heavy duty plastic mesh, secured with heavy duty cable ties.  You can see it in the photo on the left.  It had to be cut out of the brambles.


I am still working on the door into the pen.  I'm considering using some old pallets I have on the site or an old wooden front door that, yes you guessed it, the previous tenant was trying to use as a door to his shed. (the shed did not have a roof, but he had a lovely solid house door for it!)

In fact that is a very good point, I do need a dry secure place for the feed and bedding.  As the roof on my shed has blown off twice in the last month, I can not rely on it, so will need a solution, perhaps a plastic container in the pen!

It's difficult  planning these things, hard work implementing them, but ultimately the end product, being able to keep pure breed rare poultry will make it worth while!

Thanks for reading.

Guest Blog by Katy Runacres AKA The Good Life In Practice

Guest Blog Entry for you folks- Enjoy, Andrew

2013 the continuation of our smallholding attempts in Switzerland! By The Good Life In Practice Blogger, Katy Runacres.

Firstly thank you to Andrew for having me as a guest blogger.

Katie with here chickens

So a little bit about myself-I am a 23 year old ‘mad cat woman’ attempting to live a little greener. I started living in my family home in rural Suffolk, UK and now currently in a small apartment in a village in Switzerland. I have been living in the Berner Oberland canton since April 2012 since getting a job here. We have been trying to live as sustainably as we can without a garden by growing herbs and salad on our windowsills, recycling, composting and sourcing other food locally.

We have loved living here but have felt a little frustrated at times that we cannot live off the land better. However, this month we have had good news about our flat and its effect on us smallholding-this dear reader is what I will be divulging!

Our landlord has agreed to give us a small section of land near our house to use as a mini allotment! This means we can finally start growing properly and can plan what we can grow where. We can begin as soon as possible (although may have to wait until the snow has melted!). We hope to mainly use it to grow vegetables like leeks, carrots, and salad crops such as rocket and cherry tomatoes. Additionally, a factor that we have taken a lot of thought into is what we can grow when-a problem when all growing seasonal planners are for UK soil not an alpine village! However, we have asked a local Swiss friend to write up a basic vegetable plotting chart so we know what to plant in when-particularly as often the weather can still be snowy up to April time. We already have some basic ideas to possibly sell or barter surplus stock in the summer to neighbours or friends-fingers crossed!

Moreover, the landlord has allowed us to use an extra piece of sloping, stony land right next to the house for some chickens! This has been our aim and I have really missed having my chickens back home. Therefore, we can now start making plans for up cycling old wood to make a hen coop for 2. The plot will be big for 2 chickens to root around in! We shall start looking for suitable places to get chickens from nearer to spring time when the weather is better and ask around local Swiss friends.

If you would like to hear how the adventure in veg growing and the search for Swiss chickens continues please have a browse at my light-hearted smallholding blog: http://thegoodlifeinpractice.wordpress.com/, or find me on twitter: thegoodlifein and facebook: The Good Life In Practice.

By Katy Runacres

Gold Lace Wyandotte Photos 12 Weeks

They are hardly chicks any more.  12 weeks old and they look like mini versions of the real thing.  Gold Lace Wyandotte Bantam chickens.

I'm hoping that in 4-5 weeks I will find out if they are hens or cockerels.



At the moment one of each would fall nicely into my plans going forwards.








I have 6 Silver lace Wyandotte eggs in my incubator, due to hatch on the 30th January, the day Rhys turns 4!  Could be a nice birthday surprise.....well for me anyway.  He gets a little stressed about animals.

The plan going forward is to breed Wyandottes and I will be selling hatching eggs.

A local school has asked if I will help set them up with a hen house and chickens so that the children can look after them during term time.  They could be the first recipients of the offspring. :-)

I know a lot of schools have been taking on hens, but there is always the little problem of holiday's to sort out.  I guess that's where I would come in and happily take them in for 6 weeks during the summer holidays.  Free eggs - can't complain at that!

Anyway, next on the list after that will be chocolate Wyandottes.
I am very tempted by the Frizzle Pekins, but more recently have been investigating the Silver Appleyard ducks and Buff Orpington Ducks.  They would definitely be an allotment project so lots of work to do before then!

 

I best get my feet under the table with the Wyandottes first of all and the quail that are arriving via the West Midlands on 19th Jan!!  Still work to do on the coop as you can see.  The top level is way to dark.  I have all the materials, just need an hour to knock it together!
I have taken the hardwood panel from the back of the run on the bottom level and replaced with a frame and mesh.
Fingers crossed they will like their new homes.
Next stage is to do the same with the panel at the top level and install mesh on the solid door!  

Hope you enjoyed the photos. Thanks for reading!

Quails, chickens, smallholdings

Photo of Wyandotte chicks at 11 weeks

It's been quiet on the blog front over Christmas and New Year!  So much to do and so little time!  It's been really hard working our way through all the cake, chocolate, biscuits.......
Back to it now though.

Years gone by I have had very little interest in New Year resolutions.  Like most people you tend to cop out and plump for "healthier lifestyle" option.  Not really measurable and no real targets and you've forgotten all about it by the end of January. 

I remember 5 years ago I decided to have a dry January.  It lasted until the 21st January when a friend of mine turned 30.  Very bad planning that, but if your going to break the resolution, why not do it in style!

I have been up to this and that over the break.  I decided to start the new year in the right way with some plans for new additions!
The chicks are doing well.  Pinky and Perky are now 11 weeks.  I started to think one was a cockerel.  It strays from Treacle and is more independent than the other.  That said apart from the darker markings around the neck there is no difference between the two. Let me know what you think from the video.

I have just ordered a 4 foot wide rabbit house and run.  Double level, to accommodate some Quail.
I have liked the idea of keeping them for egg for a while.  My mom has a friend that has a few too many.  So hopefully I may have a few soon.

Photo from Wikipedia

I have also bought a cheap hen house.  Something I said I would never do again.  But being as tight as a ducks backside I could not resist the offer.  It was a 280cm long run, enough I think for a breeding trio. 
We recently viewed a smallholding with 1.3 acres, but have to hold fire for now due to circumstances.  So it is now full steam ahead to get some chickens down the allotment.  

I already have fencing down there and have plenty of paving slabs to dig in to prevent Mr Fox getting in.

So now I'm looking for breeding trios.  I like Frizzles, chocolate and other colours.  Plus I like the idea of  Wyandottes and Lincolnshire buff or Orpington to start with anyway!  :-)
Hopefully I can get to some shows this year as well.

Lots of work to do, so I best crack on!

Thanks for reading and Happy New Year.

Wind, Rain and Frizzle Chickens!



Pekin Frizzle Chicken
Photo from wikipedia

 Well that was a bit of a gale last night in South Wales.  Weathermen are reporting gales up to 76mph!  I'm sure other areas have had it worse, but it woke me up, and I don't wake unless there is a major emergency next door and the fire crews and police are on site with blues and two's screaming.

I was glad to see that the roof on my chicken run was still in one piece, actually I was grateful to see that I had a house left at all.  I was half expecting to see the hens looking like frizzles this morning!  Cute look, but not what a light Sussex should look like!

We have passed the shortest day of the year already, so my mind has turned to spring preparation already.  Back in October I planned my vegetables for the allotment, but having given it some further thought, I will be re-designing and trying to concentrate on some key vegetables.  I may even try celeriac.

At the same time, I'm thinking about chickens.  Now there is a surprise!

I have been thinking about keeping some quail for a while now, the new year may result in the purchase of a rabbit hutch to move this on a little.  Then of course there are the chickens.  

My Wyandotte chicks are likely to be laying in March/April time.  Great news, as the shortage of eggs at the moment is very frustrating. However they could be running with a cockerel and producing fertile eggs for hatching as well.  :-)

My Wyandotte chicks at 8 weeks

There are a few things I need to put in place before I even contemplate purchasing a cockerel.  The main issue being where to keep them.  My neighbours will not be overly happy at a cockerel in the middle of a 1970's housing estate.  So I either need land, not going to happen anytime in the near future if at all so the next option in the allotment.




It needs a lot of clearing before I go down that route, and I also have to consider the impact of the cockerel on any houses in the area.

We will have to see how the next few months go, worst case I guess I could be buying fertile eggs and hatching them again!  Maybe Frizzle's.

Thanks for reading and Merry Christmas!

Pineapple Wine

I am going to blame Ian @allotment4hens and Weeke Farm Chickens @weekechickens for this entry and for the likely stinking headache I am going to have tomorrow morning.  :-)

I warn you now, there is nothing to do with chickens and hens in this post!  But it does deal with wine!!!

About 6 months ago I decided to make some wine.  I had the demijohns and some basic kit from my home brewing fascination.

I found a book by CJJ Berry called First Steps in Wine Making.  It is brilliant, so try and get a copy if you like making your own wines.  Its a great introduction and really is very easy!

Don't ask me why, but I decided on pineapple wine.  No I did not grow the pineapples down the allotment, I live in Wales.  Leek wine would be a better option ;-)  Actually this year it was the weeds, so perhaps, bramble and dandelion would have been more appropriate.

The pineapples were on offer so I bought 5.  1 to eat and the remaining 4 were used for the wine.

Its very easy and in 6/7 months I have gone from this to this

 And tonight, this.  Hic!

Here is the recipe, if you can get hold of a copy of the book I would recommend it.  The pineapple wine is lovely, although mine has a slight fizz to it.  So maybe I bottled to early, but it tastes lovely.

C JJ Berry's recipe for pineapple wine.

Here you go.  One thing I would say, I used a fermenting bin rather than earthenware crock, this way I knew it would not get contaminated as I fitted a bubbler.

Ingredients:
4 pineapples
2 lemons
9 pints water
3 1⁄2 lbs. preserving sugar
level teaspoon Yeast
Yeast nutrient (see instruction on yeast nutrient packet)

Method:

"Top and bottom" the pineapples, then slice them into a one-gallon saucepan and cover with three pints of water.
Bring to boil, and simmer for 15 minutes.

Strain on to sugar in earthenware crock, and add remaining six pints of water, cold. Add the juice of the lemons. Stir well to dissolve sugar thoroughly, and leave to cool to blood heat. Then add yeast (wine yeast, a level teaspoonful of dried yeast, or 3⁄4 oz. of baker's yeast), and a yeast nutrient if desired. (I used a general-purpose wine yeast and a teaspoonful of a proprietary nutrient).

Cover the pan closely for a week and leave it in a warm place, giving a daily stir, and then transfer to fermenting jars or bottles, which should be filled to the bottom of the neck and fitted with fermentation traps. Keep in temperature of about 60 degrees until wine begins to clear and has thrown a substantial sediment, then siphon off into clean bottles. Allow it to throw a fresh sediment, then siphon off into clean bottles and cork.

This is a delicious light wine with a delightful bouquet. 

Thanks for reading and hope you found it interesting.