The long awaited day has arrived and our 6 young hens have been delivered. Three are 'Miss Pepperpots' - mostly black with some lovely ginger details, and three are 'Gingernut Rangers' - you can guess what colour they are!
They should begin laying within a couple of weeks, so if you need eggs we'll have a few to spare (especially to anyone willing to help feed them if we are away!). We wanted to get them in time to lay for Easter - it seems kind of appropriate. The home they live in is provided by a company called 'Omlet' and is really well designed. Fox proof, easily cleaned, lots of space... The very nice man, Darren, who delivered them put the Omlet Cube together and showed us how to handle them and clip their wings. He had just been to Richmond to deliver to Jerry Hall, this confirms me in my view that we are turning unto urban yuppies - but hey, what's sauce for the goose... (not sure that's an appropriate metaphor!).
So it's 'chucks away' at our house, where Tamsin is eggstatic, Rob is eggcited, Sandy is eggcellent and I am prone to very bad puns!
In the photos you will see Audrey (Hepburn), CJ (as in West Wing), Maya (Angelou), Rosa (Parks), Dibley (indeed), Ellen (McArthur). Say hi to these inspiring women (ok I know they are chickens really).
Great minds think alike! Well to be honest it was our youngest son's idea and I couldn't think of excuses quickly enough. The fact that we can only just keep body and soul together in this house (I've even managed to kill a spider plant since September which is supposed to be impossible) should be reason enough for us not to add chickens to the things needing to be kept alive, but hey - we like roast chicken too so what could go wrong!! The Parkinson household is more immune to the label "urban yuppies" since our henhouse and enclosure is painstakingly being built from bits of reclaimed wood and a cheap shed from the garden centre. The Omlet solution looks a lot less work! We should have things ready for Easter 2010.
ReplyDeleteGreat pics, not so sure about the puns, as for being an urban yuppie, why not if it means fresh eggs!
ReplyDeleteThe thing that struck me is that your Omlet henhouse should be easy to move when the time comes for a new Stationing. It looks more aesthetic and much easier to clean, etc., than the henhouse I remember in my youth! Are you getting the eggs you hoped for?
ReplyDeleteMicky,
ReplyDeleteI'm still unsuccessful at making a link. I highlight the 'label' and click on 'Insert link' but no dialogue box appears! Very frustrating! Have you conquered your problem yet? I hope so.
The chucks are still about a week away from laying, but they are very happy, especially now we have put the wider fence up so they have a free range during the day.
ReplyDeleteOlive, you've hit the nail on the head about why we went with the henhouse - Sandy could have made a beautiful one in wood but it would be very difficult to move.
I've not tried a long post since Rachel's hymn, so I don't know if the problem is solved yet. You'll hear the scream of frustration if it's not!
Progress report from the Parkinsons: the wood frame is now painted with preservative and the fox-proof mesh ordered. We have to bury it incredibly deep, or else make a double skirt of it since foxes will dig but won't tunnel. Sorry if I seemed to claim any moral superiority from the DIY approach - I'm not. We always seem to do things the hard way (and probably the more expensive way in the end since material costs add up). We're also not renowned for thinking ahead (eg future moves). Our last Circuit has our manse on the market at present - now boasting a "summerhouse" which is a very grand name for the shed that Neil took the best part of 3 summers to construct whilst we were there. He did think of putting it on the back of a low-loader but then again.....!
ReplyDeleteSounds great Rachel - I look forward to hearing reports of how you get on. So far we have still only been granted one egg by the girls - but soon I think we will have more than we know what to do with!
ReplyDeleteOops, for some reason that last comment was in Sandy's name... spooky!
ReplyDeleteShame! I was rather excited at the thought of being in conversation with your husband!!
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