Whopper Egg!!

I know its been a while since my last post, its been a hectic time and I have been concentrating my efforts on our new cupcake business (http://www.lottiescupcakes.net/ should you be interested :0)  )

Anyway I went to collect the eggs this morning and found a whopping 3inch egg in box! The picture below shows how big it is in comparison to Beryl's regular egg!

Weekend update

Ah I’ve finally got five minutes to sit down and update you on the chickens!

The chickens have been very well behaved for the last couple of days, they have got into a very good routine.

We cleaned them out yesterday and we attached the old dog run again, this time we pegged a ground sheet over the top so they couldn’t escape. 2 hours we were in the garden tidying hedges etc and not once did they come out into the run. Stupid birds, they had fresh green grass to eat and a nice pile of fresh feed. We decided as they hadn’t ventured out we would move the chicken hut to a new piece of grass. Only thing was the hut half collapsed the bedding tray all fell out and the chicken got covered in straw!

James ran to get the screwdriver to screw it back together and we managed to get the bedding try realigned and slotted back into place. The poor chickens’ fresh grass is now covered in straw and the chicken hut looks like something out of the wizard of oz!

We didn’t get round to building a new run for them this weekend. We went to look at wood and chicken wire at the garden centre but my word its expensive. We thought we would have a good research online and get it delivered.

(written: Sunday 27th Feb 16:00)

Day 6

The chickens seemed pleased to see me when I got in from work tonight. I think they had probably had a nice day in the sunshine.
I topped up their food and they pecked away. I did see Mavis have a go at Meryl though which wasn't too good. Video below:

I sprinkled some feed on the ground for Beryl which she seemed to enjoy, she pecked away for ages. If you watch until the end she looses her balance and nearly slips off the end of the ramp.
Video below:

Day 5

Apologies for the lack of blog yesterday, time flies when you’re having so much fun! lol

I managed to get home before it got dark to go and have a chat with the girls before tucking them in their cosy house for the night. They had managed to knock their water container over. I propped it up again and filled it to the top with water. They were all very thirsty and didn’t seem to mind the presence of a human while they drank themselves silly.

I just got an image of a drunk chicken then, I mean drank themselves silly with water!

James had given them some potato peelings yesterday morning and they had gobbled them up. I was looking round the garden for something to give them but other than nettles there didn’t seem to be anything. You can give them nettles, they like them apparently but I’m not too sure, I wouldn’t want nettles stinging down my throat!

Beryl seems to be getting a little braver and doesn’t really mind you peering in, Meryl on the other hand is like a wild bird, she flaps and runs away as soon as she hears you coming down the path. Mavis is filthy from the wet mud and now looks sort of browny white as opposed to white, white when we first got her. Beryl seems to be filling out a bit now as well, she looks very happy.

James will be building a bigger run this weekend so they will have plenty more room. I’m not sure how well James is going to get on building said run. We may need to call on the services of Woodisse senior!

All the grass has been eaten in the area they are in, we need to buy some woodchip so they don’t get so muddy.

We were advised to block the egg laying area of the coop up so that they did not sleep in it. Now that 5 days have passed they will now know not to sleep in that area so I removed the cardboard.

Day 3

The Great Escape

We opened the house door up to let the ladies down for their breakfast, the run is not very big so we put the old dog wire fence round the coop. I suggested that we opened the main door so that they could have a bit more room and they could spend the day outside in the bigger run. James agreed unwillingly as he was a bit concerned they might fly away. I was sure they would be ok and convinced him to let them out.

Mavis was the first to venture out. She seems to be the more confident one of the three of them and first to do everything. Meryl just seems to be lazy and after a feeding frenzy she returned to the bedroom!!
Beryl seems to be the baby of the group and is a little shy.

We came back into the house to have our breakfast, standing up occasionally to make sure none of them have flown away, lol!
I thought a nice picture of the chicken house from the living room would be good so I go and get my camera. I look out into the garden to see Mavis strutting across the grass near the pond! The little devil had escaped!!  I shouted to James that Meryl had escaped. He was less than impressed. I stood giggling in the living room until I heard 'don't just stand there woman!'  I dived into my wellies and legged it outside. I told James he would just have to be brave and catch her. I on the other hand, still too nervous to pick them up was supervising James :0)

We decided to try and scoot her near to the chicken house with the lid of the composting bin. This back fired as she escaped through the fence to the outside of the garden! (I knew we should have got the fencing done last year). James ran round to try and direct her back into the garden which she kindly did. I thought I could use the empty composting bin to contain her, this frightened her even more and she ran out of the fence and out of the garden again. James ran round again and scooted her back in.  I managed to escort her back into the old dog run and contained her in there. We then moved the run to the door of the chicken hutch and persuaded her to get back in to the safety of the roofed coop! Meanwhile Beryl and Meryl were trying to get out! Luckily we managed to catch them in time and they went back into the coop as well. Phew!

They are now all in the bedroom of the coop and haven't ventured down. They are probably debating the next escape plan!

Its all good fun at Number One Samsons Cottages this morning :0)