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”
Looks like I am first to get the good news today. I will celebrate with you by having eggs for lunch, but for me it will be an omelette. Enjoy!
Fixing the chicken house sounds like an excellent idea. Those sheep look funny sleeping – I can’t help thinking that they look a bit woolly for summer 🙂
I hope to raise some broilers on pasture when we move out of out city condo next year and I agree with you on Cornish X’s. What alternatives? I’d like to find a broiler that grows relatively (but not supernaturally) quickly. More expensive to raise than a Cornish X, yes, but somewhere in the “reasonable” range.
previously all my meat chickens were red rangers, they grow slower but are very tasty and spend more time actually eating the pasture. The header today is a red ranger, there are still four in with the cornish, because they were growing so slowly I let them go another round, they are nice fat hens now.. c
I love pictures of eggs. They are always so perfect. Today, I relate to the sleeping sheep. It is what I would like to do…
Aah, love those Sheepies, good to see them again 🙂 So pleased Daisy is getting better everyday now. Good to see the chooks are getting with the programme now too. Will we be seeing Daisy in her udder support or have you decided against using it? Laura
Daisy’s got to be glad to have broken out of Alcatraz! A bit of grass, a bit of exercise… She looks healthy and glossy in the sunshine.
Congratulation on your eggs, our chickens here in Germany are not laying . Since they run around in the back field with the horses they may hide their eggs in the hay.
i have used my live trap to catch roaming hens.
how is the old codger doing?
and the family that you helped when the mother was sick?
Quiche is great comfort food with fresh eggs. Delicious.
Wonderful eggs.
Hooray for Daisy’s improvement and hooray for the chooks. Are the eggs on the wee side? Those sheep look like a happy bunch of woollies.
V xox
Love the rooster snap. Beautiful. xx
I know what you mean about the cornish cross meat chickens Celi! Unsettling is a good word for it. But having them free range does strengthen their legs and enable them to carry their big breast. We just harvested our last 16, smoked two and popped the rest in the freezer. But we think that we’ll also go with another meat chicken next year. xo
its always good when a plan comes together..how obliging of the chooks to lay themin the right place..you are teaching them well. I do hope that Mr Berit makes a good job of the Rat House…we don’t want any more nasty minkies popping their bodies through holes to cart off a chook or two.
Have a great day folks
We raised Cornish X last year and ‘unsettling’ is the right word for it. Could almost see them grow…..poor things. I felt so sorry for them….they looked, well, just sad. One of the roosters at 5 weeks started deep , long, mournful crowing. Frankenchickens, if you ask me. Unnatural. Glad Daisy got sprung and is well on the mend. How do you like your helper?
He is completely new to all things farming and is a great worker .. we are getting along just fine!.. c