May 16th 2008
I have an old chicken hut that is sitting in the orchard doing nothing. I have decided to renovate the chicken hut so that it can become a broody hut for broody hens and guinea fowl.
Each side of the hut has uneven edges as the wood is rotting in places. A few days ago I decided to put by carpentry skills to the test and saw off the uneven edges and make the base of the chicken hut level so that the hut sits on the ground with no gaps between the hut and the ground. I have managed to saw all the edges successfully and the hut now stands on the ground without any gaps.
I have painted the outside of the hut a medium oak wood preserver that is safe for animals and the hut is beginning to look like new!
I have also nailed parts of the sides together where they were coming apart.
The job is to replace the wire netting on the front of the door and then decide what to do with the floor. If I add wood to the floor then it might be heavy to move about and may rot over time but the wood would stop any predators from burrowing under the hut and attacking the poultry. A wire netting floor would not be so heavy and would allow the birds to peck at the grass under the hut but there is an increased risk of predators getting into the hut as the wire netting is not as secure as the wood. Decisions, decision!
If anyone has any advice they would like to give about the flooring of the poultry hut then I would like to hear it, so please leave a comment.
Chicken Hut Poultry Hut
May 15th 2008
For the last three days one of my guinea fowl has been demonstrating unusual behaviour. The guinea fowl in question is called Lightening The II. She is a pure white guinea fowl hen and the only white guinea in my flock.
On Monday Lightening The II didn’t look very well. She was reluctant to come out of the poultry hut and spent the day sitting in the same place unless I got abit too close for her and she reluctantly moved to a safe distance. I noticed that her droppings were a little loose so I checked out my guinea fowl books and decided that she had every guinea fowl ailment in the books.
I made sure that she had access to water and I actually saw her drink which was a good sign, although the books did say that drinking too much was a syptom of various illnesses, so this was also a potential worry.
On Tuesday Lightening The II looked a little better and although she wasn’t rushing out the door with some of the other guinea fowl she did make her way outside and ventured further than the previous day, although she did stay relatively close to the poultry hut.
On Wednesday she appeared more spritely and she wandered about alot. I saw her eating grass and she started to call out to the others which she hadn’t done for a few days.
She is still keeping to herself but she no longer looks poorly.
I am not sure if Lightening The II is poorly. Initially I thought that she might have coccidiosis, but now I am not sure if she is broody or being bullied by the other guinea fowl. I don’t know if it is true but sometimes poultry can pick on a bird if they are a different colour so this may be what is happening as she is my only white guinea fowl. I only question this as I have one pearl guinea fowl and she is certainly not bullied.
I will let you know how Lightening The II gets on over the next few days.
Guinea Fowl Illness My Guinea Fowl
May 14th 2008
Hatty the Hen was recently egg bound. Unfortunately I had been out all day and when I returned and went to put the poultry away Hatty was not behaving normally. It looked like she was repeatedly trying to go to the toilet. As luck would have it my father-in-law was around and I asked for his assistance. He went to pick Hatty up and with that an egg popped out. The problem had been that the egg shell was not hard and this was making it difficult for Hatty to pass the egg. I am pleased to say that Hatty recovered immediately and is now back to laying her eggs as usual, although she has just moved her nest site and it is taking some finding! I’ll let you know when I have located it.
Egg Bound Hatty Poultry Illness
May 13th 2008
I was delighted to find an email from my blogpal nikkipolani with an entry for the farmingfriends ‘foto’ of the month competition.
“I took this photo while my mom, cousin, and mom’s friend took us on a walk around Lake Trévoix in Breuillet, France (a suburb of Paris). There’s a lovely path all around the lake. As we were leaving, we noticed a small enclosed yard where these two llamas were lounging. There was also a busy ostrich who paid us no attention. The light colored llama, however, followed us with his eyes.”
If you would like to enter the photograph of the month competition then the photographs need to have a farming theme and can include the farming landscape, farm animals, farm machinery, farming life or nature and wildlife on and around a farm. Send your photographs by email (request email address via the contact form if you don’t know email address and I will send it to you) keeping the photograph attachment to a size of about 600 x 400 pixels.
Please supply some details about the photograph - the name of the person who took the photograph, when and where it was taken and what is happening in the photograph. The winning ‘Foto’ will be posted at the beginning of the following month, so you have up to the end of the month to enter.
llamas Photograph of the Month Competition
May 12th 2008
The TopVeg website always provide me with excellent seed sowing information.
Farming Friends & TopVeg have now collaborated to create a How To Grow Runner Beans growing card.
Click on the image to enlarge and if you wish to print off this growing card, right click on the enlarged image and then click print picture to print out a copy. If you would like this document as a pdf, just contact farmingfriends and I will email you the document.
I intend to print off copies and then laminate the sheet so that I can use the growing card in the future.
Teachers, children, vegetable growers and anyone interested in growing runner beans are welcome to print off this growing card for their own use.
Other growing cards we have already created;
If you have any other growing cards that you would like Farming Friends & TopVeg to create then please leave a comment and we will be happy to create it for you.
Growing Cards Homegrown vegetables Runner Beans Vegetables
May 11th 2008
Gulliver Geese are specialist goose breeders based in Norfolk. They have over 20 years experience of breeding geese and hatching goslings. It is interesting to hear how Gulliver Geese first got started with geese, I’ll just say it started with film stars!
Gulliver Geese produce;
Day old goslings that are available from April to August in large or small quantities. Delivery is also available.
Geese for sale at the end of the goose laying season. The geese for sale are usually a few weeks old but no longer need heat from a brooder lamp.
Fertile goose eggs that can be purchased between April and August. The eggs can be collected by arrangement or delivered as required.
Blown goose eggs for decoration. Blown goose eggs are available by mail order or collection.
The website also provides excellent information about;
Caring for goslings.
Keeping geese.
Gulliver Geese would certainly be my first choice for purchasing goose eggs, goslings and geese with their years of experience as testimony to their success. They also have an excellent website for information about starting out with geese so checkout their website for all your goose needs today.
Geese Goose Goose eggs Goslings Gulliver Geese
May 10th 2008
The first asparagus spears have grown in the last week so we have been harvesting the asparagus and eating it fresh.
I decided to make asparagus soup and it was delicious and simple to prepare.
Asparagus Soup (Serves 2)
Ingredients
3 or 4 asparagus spears per person.
Butter for sweating the asparagus.
1 and a half pints of vegetable or chicken stock.
Teaspoon of flour for thickening soup.
Wensleydale Cheese to garnish.
Method
1) Melt the butter in a pan.
2) Wash the asparagus and chop in to small pieces.
3) Add the asparagus to the butter and sweat until the asparagus is a bright green colour but not browned.
4) Add the stock and simmer for 20-30 minutes.
5) Liquidise the soup so that there are no asparagus pieces left in the soup.
6) if required, mix the teaspoon of flour with a small amount of cold water and add to the soup to help it thicken.
7) Once thickened, serve in bowls with grated Wensleydale cheese as a garnish.
This soup requires the minimum of ingredients, is simple to prepare and is very tasty. Makes an excellent starter or a light lunch.
Asparagus Homegrown vegetables Recipes Vegetables
