The chickens that we were able to transfer into the layers house, laid some EGGS!
I was thrilled to find these six eggs, laid in the proper little laying box with its little door for collection. No more crawling all over the loft in the barn trying to find eggs. There are more chooks to catch – I had better get on that. Berit our helper is presently thoroughly cleaning out the Rat House chook house. He is going to turn the interior into a fortress. I have decided to move the chickens back in there. Instead of abandoning it to the pigs. But this time there will not be any tiny holes or gaps for any bad bastard mink to slip through.
Sheep sleep. This is what they do best.
Another rooster. No mistaking this one. I think I may have to start another batch of layers. They can grow over the winter and hopefully be laying by spring. It should work. Especially with our new and improved chook house. The Cornish Cross are still growing at an alarming rate. I find them unsettling. Even though they are a lot cheaper to grow- I don’t think I will raise them again. They are scary looking. Having little Mr Pink is there only makes it scarier. I do hope she is a hen. We are short of hens!
I never showed you Daisy’s injury. And I won’t – it would make you feel unwell. However the big hole in her teat, that runs around three quarters of the circumference leaving the lower half dangling at an odd angle is slowly filling in. It is looking wonky. But I feel that the milk canal is protected enough that now she can go out onto the grass for a few hours. There is no infection in the actual wound which is a relief. So late last night she was allowed into a tough paddock and she had a few hours grazing. Her mastitis always gets better when she is eating her greens. The wound is still being treated at last four times a day.
I am making a quiche for lunch today with my guaranteed fresh eggs.
I hope you have a lovely day
Your friend on the farm
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
38 responses to “A Small Success”
All of those colors in the red ranger’s feathers, amazing. Daisy’s udder size looks much more manageable and less pendulous, yay! Her bovine boulder holder will help even more when she is able to wear it, hopefully.
we miss you kim! Come back!! c
Fresh eggs are the best! I love how the sheep have figured out that the cement is a cooler place to rest!
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
The mornings I go down to Home Farm to collect eggs – that is the morning we have soft boiled eggs with toast soldiers. It is really a kind of reverse snobbery. This enjoying an egg that is only a few hours old. Then the bread – oh the bread. Lar is the official bread maker and he makes a bread with eggs and milk and butter that could steal your soul. The bread toasted golden brown, still tender inside; then cut into crisp soldiers. The perfect cooked egg spilling deep golden yolk to be caught quickly and popped into your mouth. The finest restaurant in the world can not even begin to compete. We lucky ones. We fortunate people who live in the country.
Oh yes we are, i cannot help but think how lucky we are.. now, though i am quite fond of my soul – where is that recipe for the bread!?
After years of making whole wheat bread as our house bread Lar started making my fifty year old recipe. The recipe came from a free booklet put out by Robin Hood Flour. The book is tattered and torn and grease stained but I am still using it. I will E Mail you the recipe immediently. Cheers Virginia
thank you!! that would be grand… c
I hope your chick supplier doesn’t charge more for pullets than a straight run. I’m not one to complain, but that would make me mad. Who are the ewes in today’s shots?
this was a new small heirloom chick place that i was trying and I cannot bear to call and complain, they are such a sweet couple.. On the top of the root cellar is marcel. Standing by the tree is your Minty, and sleeping in a curl is Tilly.. such good sheep. such a tiny flock now.. c
Gorgeous photos Celi! Our young rooster has just started crowing 🙂
Is that Marcel? If so, he is all grown up, which is a happy outcome given his rocky start 🙂 Content, productive chooks are a good barometer of life.
“Sheep sleep”
Your words and photographs suggest a terse verse book for bedtime, Celi. I’m certain that children and their mommies would love it! 🙂
Just quietly there is a children’s book in the works, it will be a great surprise! c
mmmmmmm not anymore, lol
Can’t wait, Celi! 😉
http://mrsbutterfingers.com/wp/?p=704 is the link to Wickedly Wonderful White bread on MRS.BUTTERFINGERS.COM. I do hope this gives you the recipe Celi. Happy bread making – Virginia
Fresh eggs, indeed. Those are probably still warm! The sheep look healthy and nappy (for nap time). How nice to have a chook house fortress! I’m so glad you have a young man to help out and learn from a pro–maybe one day he’ll have his own farm.
Small or big, Celi, a success is a success! I bet that quiche was pretty tasty, too, though, you know me, I would have made some pasta! 🙂
Too bad about all of the roosters and, thought makes perfect sense, I didn’t realize that the growth rates of the various chickens varied so much. Rare is the visit that I leave you without having learned something new. Have a good night!
I wish that I could wake up to fresh eggs every morning. Supermarket eggs just don’t cut it.
Such a nice thank you from the hens for their new home. I hope for you that this rate of production keeps up.
Sheep sleep, funny! I particularly like the one sleeping against the tree. Creative. Poor Daisy, I can’t imagine. Just the description of her poor teat made me cringe. Hopefully the infection will stay away and the greens will fix the mastitis! ~ April