How our garden is growing

We're a long way from self-sufficient, but we manage to grow some fruit and veg. We have an apple tree, blueberry bushes, a few raspberry canes, a blackcurrant bush and some strawberries.

Hubby planted potatoes back in March, which are doing well.

I've weeded and fed my asparagus and what is there is growing well, there just isn't enough for me to take any for myself, even though some of the plants are several years old.  Perhaps if I feed them this year I'll get a better crop next year.

Our onions, also planted in March, are doing well, too and overall the veg garden is starting to look nice and green. There are peas and rhubarb in the far bed.

The veg garden does get a lot of shade, so there isn't all that much space for crops that need a fair bit of sunshine. For this reason we're growing our broad beans lower down the garden this year.

Today I was pleasantly surprised by this little frog that hopped out of a plant on the rockery, luckily not in reach of the chickens.

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From Joy to Sadness in a Week

What a difference a week makes and this last week the difference has not been good.

We had thought our new chickens were settling in well with the two older Black Rocks. There hadn't been the outright conflict we'd seen in the past, but on reflection this could have been because these chickens were younger, and so less assertive, than the last 2 lots of chickens we'd had to introduce to older hens. There had been a certain amount of pecking, but nothing too bad until last Sunday when we noticed Cindy being pecked on the head in spite of her being in a very submissive position. However her head didn't seem to have come to any harm and she seemed happy enough after that.

Monday I was excited because Cindy's comb had grown a bit and, along with her wattles, had turned distinctly red.  When she went up to the nest box around 3 pm I was optimistic that she might lay an egg, but none materialised. It seemed she'd had a false alarm, or maybe a dummy run.
 

RIP Cindy, right, seen here enjoying a dust bath

Around 6.30 pm I noticed she and Stella had gone upstairs, so went to see what was going on.  I noticed the small, bloodstained egg on the ground first, so it was with a certain amount of foreboding that I peered in and as feared, there were clear signs that she was bleeding and it was obvious that she'd had a prolapse. This was something that had happened back in 2012 with 2 Light Sussex hybrids we'd called Anna and Bella, but they lasted at least 6 weeks. We knew there wasn't much hope for a pullet that has just come into lay which has developed a prolapse. Every time she lays an egg it will all be pushed out again.

As it was evening, we took Cindy indoors and made her comfortable. Tuesday morning I took her to the vet, who reluctantly agreed there wasn't much she could do, and I didn't see any point in prolonging Cindy's suffering, so left her with the vet. It was very sad as she was an attractive, friendly bird and otherwise seemed very healthy.

Wednesday afternoon as I was on my way home from my parent's my daughter phoned to say there was something wrong with Stella's eye and breathing.

Stella's swollen eye. Her other eye was fine.

She and hubby took Stella to the vet the same evening and came home with some antibiotics to be administer twice a day. Do you know a good way to get antibiotics into a chicken? We were unable to follow the vet's advice. There was no way Stella was going to let us poke a syringe of nasty tasting fluid into her mouth.

We made a little indoor pen for Stella, so she doesn't have to go back into the cat basket when we can't watch her every move.

She sipped a little diluted antibiotic on Thursday morning and evening, but we didn't have any success on Friday morning, before going to Surrey Poultry to fetch a chicken to replace Cindy.  Caroline, who runs Surrey Poultry with her husband John said we should bring Stella to the farm and she would look after her for her, feeling sure she could get the antibiotics inside her, so we went back home collected Stella and gave her into Caroline's care. If she is successful and Stella recovers, we shall take her home with a Speckeldy friend. 

Here is where we left her, in her own "private room" at the chicken hospital/nursing home. Even half of it is much bigger than the cat basket. She tucked into the food as soon as she arrived, which hopefully will encourage her drink plenty of the water containing antibiotics.

So we are waiting to see what happens and hoping very much to have our sweet, friendly Stella back home with us fairly soon.

April, a Good Time for New Chickens

So, we are still keeping chickens and have been for 6 years now.

At the beginning of this year we had 2 Black Rock type chickens, Frodo and Fudge. Fudge hasn't laid an egg for over 2 years and Frodo stopped before Christmas, but thankfully has now started laying again.

Fudge is the one with the golden neck behind Frodo

We've had Fudge 3 years now, and Frodo, 2.  We bought them each as a pair of chickens. Fudge came with a Bluebell called Smokie and Frodo came with a Columbian Blacktail called Bilbo, neither of whom lasted very long. Smokie convulsed and died dramatically before our eyes and Bilbo also seemed to have a heart attack.

Last Saturday morning we decided to buy some more chickens and went to Surrey Poultry in Ockham where all the chickens, including the pullets, were free ranging. We decided on three young girls, 16 to 18 weeks old, so not quite ready to lay.

Cindy seems to be the eldest of the three as her comb is pinker and better developed. She is a Speckledy, so is a cross between a Cuckoo Maran and a Rhode Island Red.

Stella, our Amber Star is very tame. This breed is based on the Rhode Island White, or Red, or maybe both. It's hard to find out on-line.

Last but not least is Meg the Blacktail, with Rhode Island Red and Light Sussex in her parentage.

All three chickens from Surrey Poultry

Spring Chickens

We decided to buy a couple more chickens last weekend as we're only getting one good egg from our other two at the moment. Fudge hardly ever lays an egg with a decent shell, so it is being eaten before we can get to it.

We've tried giving her extra oyster shell, but that hasn't worked.  I'm wondering if it could be due to a combination of lack of sunshine and her dark feathers not allowing her to make enough vitamin D to absorb the calcium in her diet. On the advice of the woman we bought the chickens from we're going to try calcium tablets with vitamin D to see if that helps. She suggested we mix one into the feed every other day for a week.

There were lots of chickens to choose from:

Here are the two we chose, Bilbo and Frodo - yes, I know Bilbo and Frodo Baggins are male, but hobbits aren't human.

Here is Bilbo the hen. She is a Rhode Island Red Blacktail (i.e. crossed with Light Sussex)

Frodo is the one in the foreground. She's a Black Rock type, but darker than Fudge.

While we were at the farm we saw this handsome Buff Orpington cockerel:

When our chickens were in the cat basket he seemed to take quite an interest in them, walking around and around the basket.

Spring Is On Her Way

So, March is upon us and Spring is already on her way. I thought it was high time I let you know what is going on in our garden.

Spring flowers are beginning to bloom:

such as primrose

and Lenten rose.

I spotted this iris growing through some white heather

 

and a cyclamen peeking through some straw or dead grass.

Higher up the garden I found this cheerful splash of yellow crocus

I took these photos a couple of weeks ago when we had a lovely sunny day and a number of honey bees felt it was warm enough to venture forth. This one was checking for pollen on this daisy.

That day, I also spotted this robin trilling away in the hedge