Day four after hatching

Day four after hatching is going well.  The sablepoot chicks seem strong an healthy.........for now.  They say sheep have a habit of just dropping dead when they feel like it.  The same could be said for chicks.
I have done all I can for them since their arrival, with chick crumb and water available and newspaper being changed daily to prevent the spread if any disease.

I had set six eggs from South Yeo Farm in Devon in the incubator.  Five were fertile at day seven.  The the candeling photo below.  Sadly, just because they are fertile does not mean they will hatch successfully, and after three of the poots had arrived into the big wide world, I candled the other two and it was clear that once had stopped developing around day ten or twelve and the other day fifteen or sixteen.  These are guesstimates, based on the size of the air sack in the egg and the development of the embryo.
Still, three is better than none and I am already making a note and trying to guess how many male and female I have.

New land - deal done!

Today I signed my tenancy agreement that starts 1st May allowing me to keep chickens, ducks and turkeys.  I was starting to think I would never ever type the words.   It's been a long time coming but with a little compromise I finally managed to find some.
Sheer good luck and timing has resulted in me being able to buy an old chicken ark from a couple moving house down in Barry.  Twenty pounds was the agreed price. An absolute bargain and perfect for a breeding trio of bantams.

I admit thereis work to do to the ark but structurally it is sound.  I will be thoroughly cleaning the coop to make sure there are no red mite and other little critters, I may even paint the inside if the coop for good measure. Ideally I need a good enclosure to keep the foxes out. I'm thinking of using the herace fencing I have from the allotment, but transporting it is a big problem being 3 meters long and 2 meters tall. The other option is to buy a new enclosure like the one gardenlife.biz sell.  A significant cost which I want to avoid if I can.

It's not just Mr Fox that I am planning to keep out, but the two legged predator as well.  Back in September 2013 I have 13 pure breed hens stolen from my allotment in a neighbouring village. This time I am determined to make it more difficult.

The field is no close to a main road and has a well used path running through it, used regularly by dog walkers, so I am hoping activity and passers by will deter any thieves along with the secluded nature of the plot.  I'm going to use a padlock on the chicken ark initially with a built in alarm.  Any movement on the lock and the alarm will go off.

Yes, this is a risk, there is always a risk, but the alternative is to stop keeping chickens and breeding.  Something that would be particularly difficult for m to accept.  Especially since I have been going to poultry shows and had great fun and success at the Welsh national in January with my Wyandotte bantams.

Better planning needed for hatching

It's not quite a disaster, but I have had to give it a great deal of thought. When I ordered my Sablepoot eggs from South Yeo Farm in Devon I thought I had planned the timing perfectly. The eggs would hatch a week before Easter and mean that a friend could easily look after them for the couple of days that I am away.  That was on the basis that Good Friday was on the 25 April. I've no idea why I thought Easter was that late, and I only discovered my error when in work and the subject of holidays arose.

Normally it would not really matter and rightly or wrongly I have left eggs in an incubator whilst away before, just for a few days. But that was well before lock down and hatching. Timing could not be worse this time. The hatching date of the sablepoots is Friday 18th. The planned date I am leaving.

What to do? Hope they hatch early? Leave them for a friend to look after?  Well there is only one thing to do. Take the incubator with me. 

I have bought a cheap inverter for the car. It plugs into the 12v supply and converts to 220v with a socket for the mains plug. 

Sounds crazy, but the incubator will be in the boot whilst I drive and I can set up the incubator and brooder in the caravan when we get there.  Mad? Maybe but it will be fun to see what happens. And it won't be the first time I have taken the brooder away in the caravan. I did the same last year with a hatch of quail. They all turned out fine.  Although they were a week old before we took them away.

I will let you know how the journey goes and how the eggs fair especially as they are at the pipping stage whilst traveling.  I will need to make sure the eggs are stable in the incubator so they don't roll around and crack.  I may have to leave the dividers in for traveling or, maybe use some egg boxes to set the eggs in, just while we travel.

First hatching 2014

My first hatching eggs of the year arrived a week ago today. Silverlace Wyandottes are on order but it is the Sablepoot Lemon Milliefluer that have turned my head this time.  A little unexpected in a way, but I did find I was being drawn to them at the poultry shows.
One of the main reasons I have chosen them is their size.  I don't have a great deal of space so large rare breeds like an Ixworth are out of the question for now.  I also tend to find the eggs from bantams have a lot more flavour.  They are perfect little hard boiled snack or for use in a creamy omelet.
Of course the looks of the breed have a great deal to do with it as well.  They are not a large breed, a true bantam, and so a dual purpose bird they are not.  My breeding efforts are still targeted at the wyandottes, so I guess this is more of a nice to have.
I'm off to candle the eggs tonight so fingers crossed I have a few viable eggs.

Mission accomplished?

I was starting to believe it was impossible, never going to happen. Then, just one more try, that stubborn streak took over. If I couldn't find half an acre or acre in the local area, why not forget about "livestock" and try for a small piece of land for more poultry.
When I say more poultry, really it is just a place to keep one, maybe two breeding trios.  Somewhere a cockerel would not cause a nuisance, but could serve his ladies happily and provide me with my own hatching eggs.
I was fortunate that in the village the local community council had a piece of land. They would not consider livestock, but chickens were a more realistic option.  I wrote to the Clerk and as it happened he was willing to support the idea.
I explained about my passion for poultry, my enjoyment going to poultry shows and my limited success at the Welsh National and the Royal Welsh Winter Fair.  I sent photos and details of the proposed coop and enclosure.
As if it was destined to happen, I had confirmation by email, the councillors were willing to rent a small space to me, enough for 10 birds. A great result but not after a lot of hard work and constant searching, questioning and badgering.  Sorry if you were one of those people.

It means that I can actually start to keep a cockerel with two of my silver lace Wyandotte bantams that I had earmarked as good breeding stock.  First of all I need a cockerel. Having some difficulty locating one at present I have decided to hatch my own.  So the incubator will be on again soon one the eggs have arrived.
It means I will struggle to hatch my own eggs this year, as I will have to wait for the cockerel to mature, and no doubt when he is ready the hens will go into moult. But I'm willing to wait to get the right trio to hatch the best quality birds I can.
In the mean time, I can concentrate on hatching new colours of quail and maybe some Welsh Harlequin ducks.

Randy Daffy the Duck

Just when you think everything is settled.  The chickens and ducks are living happily together in their new run area and house, Daffy the duck has taken a shine to Treacle the hen.
Poor treacle is being chased around the run, Benny Hill style.  I half expected to see a policeman with truncheon join in the chase.
Sadly, it seems he will not give up without "completing his mission".  Treacle is getting so fed up she is making her way up onto the top of the house and launching her self over the omlet netting into the open garden.  This isn't a major problem, other than she doesn't have access to food and water,and there is a better chance of me and the kids stepping in a freshly laid piece of poo!
So the only solution for now is for Treacle to live with the Silver Lace Wyandottes.  Not ideal but they all seem to have accepted the new living arrangements for now.

Treacle has always been a bit of a loner, never really settling in the larger group of hens.  One of dads army is always having a pop at her for standing in the wrong place.  Perhaps that is why she is a good broody, as she seems happy on her own with her own company.
I'm hoping a week out of the group may help Daffy forget his lust for her.  But that in itself could lead to problems when I reintroduce her with bullying from the other hens.

It's never straight forward with poultry, and it's a bit like looking after squabbling children sometimes, but at least there are not dirty nappies or bums to wipe!

A couple of hours on the plot

Having completely rebuilt and refurbished the chicken run in the back garden it was about time I visited the allotment plot.  I took the opportunity today and made some headway.
I have decided to try the no-dig method of growing potatoes.  Lazy I know, but got to be worth a try.

Having cleared the plot of weeds, I spread a layer of chicken manure and home made compost on top, then covered with thick black pond liner.  I pegged the pond liner down and then cut slits in the liner, used a trowel to loosen the soil and planted the potato, that had been sitting on my window sill for the past 4 weeks, just underneath the soil.
There is no need to plant any deeper as the liner on top will protect the potatoes that grow from going green.  It also means I don't need to weed between the rows. Like I said earlier - lazy gardening.  Let's hope it works.
There is also no need to earth up as the liner will do this for you.  If it all works, there will be even less work to dig the potatoes up.  I will just need to lift a section of the liner, and put up the potatoes, maybe using a small hand fork, but significantly less effort that I usually put in.  Like I say, I have fingers crossed.
I do have a couple of concerns, and that is ensuring the plants get enough moisture and making sure the top growth gets through the little holes I have made.
Not one to put all my eggs I one basket (chickens get in everywhere with me), I am only trying this method with the first early potatoes.  Casablanca is the variety and is supposed to have good disease resistance.
My second early potatoes, Charlotte, will be planted using my usual method, digging a trench, scattering a few chicken manure pellets or grow more fertiliser, covering and then earthing up when needed.

Whilst there today I also weeded the asparagus bed and covered it with a layer of compost and manure.  This is the second year that have been in the ground, so I am looking forward to taking a slightly bigger crop this year.  The few spears we tried last year were outstanding.  I might just try dipping them in a soft boiled or poached egg.

I was please to see the rhubarb was growing, although in comparison to my neighbours plants they doo look quite pathetic.  Hopefully the topping of compost and manure will help them thrive.