Keeping chickens

The new feeder and drinker are saving both waste and time

November 2, 2010
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Since putting the new feeder and drinker into the chicken compound we have cut down on waste and the amount of time we have to spend looking after them.

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Our chickens are moulting heavily

October 31, 2010
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Two of our chickens are losing their feathers as they moult, while the other chickens help by plucking them out and eating them. The poor things are really feeling the cold.

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Our chickens are such messy eaters

October 25, 2010
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Our chickens are such messy eaters – they throw more of their food on the floor than they swallow. With so much going to waste, we’ve decided to do something about it.

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Mucking out the chickens

October 6, 2010

The chickens’ compound was starting to smell – it was time to dig out two years’-worth of droppings and use them to fertilise the plot. It was a smelly, messy job.

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September was a record month for eggs

October 3, 2010
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September was a very good month for our flock of eight hens, who between them managed to lay more than 200 eggs, which is a record for us. What did we do right?

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The chickens go back undercover

September 28, 2010
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Three weeks of bad weather have left the chicken run rather waterlogged, so reluctantly we’ve put the tarpaulin over their compound again.

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Has the great moult of 2010 begun already?

September 3, 2010

Oh dear. It looks like our second-tier chickens – the second batch of three we bought – may be starting to moult. That means loose feathers, cold bottoms and, probably, a decline in the number of eggs laid. That’s a shame, really, as our three most recent hens (numbers seven, eight and nine) are only [...]

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Should we let sleeping hens lie?

August 19, 2010
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One of our chickens is reluctant to put herself to bed inside the coop at night. Instead she perches on its roof and waits for us to come out and tuck her in.

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Our little bruised chicken

July 19, 2010
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The chickens are still not happy. One of them in particular. In short, the old chickens haven’t yet forgiven us for bringing home three newcomers. Rather than taking it out on us, though, they’re blaming the invaders.

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Our new hens are getting hen-pecked

July 13, 2010

Our new hens are being viciously pecked by the older members of our flock. Settling in these three newcomers is proving to be a lot more difficult than we had expected.

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