Chris's Weblog – City Chickens

My diary from 2004

Tag Archive: chickens

Chris's Weblog - City Chickens > chickens

Hey Big Spender – RCOM20 Incubator

March 29, 2008 Chickens, Garden , , , ,

imagesrcom.jpg

We finally decided to invest in an incubator and went for the RCOM20 from P&T Poultry. Our savings have taken as much of a battering as the allotment this week as we have also bought some plastic tubing and some netting to build a tunnel.

On Tuesday morning I checked on Pecker, who was initially sitting on three duck eggs and six Wyandotte eggs,  and she was down to three intact eggs.  I took the last three from her and popped them under Misty, our other sitting broody. The hatch is due next Tuesday 1st April. The first try we had this year was with some Silkie eggs and the broody ate them and then with what happened with Pecker’s clutch we decided not to risk any more eggs. I have sixteen eggs here now. They are a mix of Silkie and Pekin so we are hoping for more success with the incubator. We popped down to the plots today even though it was blowing a gale down there we managed to dig over a couple of beds ready for planting up.

maroc13027nc5pekin.jpg

 

How could we tire of hope?
– so much is in bud. Denise Levertov

Special Delivery

February 15, 2008 Chickens ,

This morning I have received a special delivery from Royal Mail. Six hatching eggs from Middlemuir Poultry up in Scotland. After a few hours to settle they will be set under Star, one of my white Silkies, in the broody pen. The eggs are a mixture of black, blue and cuckoo Silkie bantams. I have given the pen a good clean up and a coat of creosote substitute and allowed it to dry thoroughly. I have put in a thick layer of beautiful Aubiose bedding so she should be comfortable in there. Now it’s just a matter of making sure she has plenty of food and water, keeping the little run clean and waiting for twenty one days. It is very early in the season but I am optimistic.

(Optimism dashed, my broody ate my hatching eggs.)

https://www.middlemuirpoultry.co.uk  

 

 

Goodbye Ari and Silva

January 27, 2008 Chickens, Garden , , ,

We made a latish visit to the plots in rare January sunshine. The site was deserted as most of the plot holders would have made an early start and have been tucking into their Sunday lunch by the time we drove through the gates. We took most of the seed potatoes down and put them into the small greenhouse inside the lean to. The seed potatoes we hoped would be harvested and on our plates for Christmas are just about pushing through the compost but do look very healthy. I potted up the Blueberry bought from the pound shop. It looks a bit sorry for itself so I’m not expecting great things. It is in ericacious compost and sheltering in the lean to so should be happy enough. At home we sold two of our lavender Araucana hens today to a nice couple from Yorkshire who arrived with their little boy Elliot. One of the good things about keeping chickens is the lovely people you meet along the way.

Poor Violet

September 3, 2007 Chickens, Garden ,

Violet was one of our three first chickens and today I noticed she was having problems with one of her legs. She was hopping about on one foot and falling over on to her side. Chickens aren’t too sympathetic when one of their own is sick or infirm. They usually pick on the sick one and so I had to isolate her from the rest of the flock. We hope that rest will put her right. Violet is the one on the right. She is a lavender Araucana and lays beautiful blue eggs. She was born in March 2004 and came to us in August of that year. Update – Violet died on Thursday 27th September 2007. I think she may have suffered from a stroke.