A Month of Chickens (by sarah)

I ment to do this post at the weekend but just didn't get the time! We have now had the chickens a month.

The anti peak spray seems to have worked wonders! And they will now let you stroke them though they do still spend a lot of their time running away from Mary who still excitedly cries 'Chicken!' everytime she sees or hears them.

My dad has decided they are velociraptors and they do have a tendency to come and stare in at you whilst you are cooking, they also tap their beaks on the door. I found this shopping list in his hand writing:

spread, olbas oil, cake, toothpaste, nappies size 5, cheese, bananas, VELOCIRAPTOR

Now cake is a bit iffy but velociraptor?

He says he just needed to check how it was spelt and the shopping list was a scrape piece of paper - I say LICKLY STORY!

But back tot he chickens - their feathers are looking really good!

We are still collecting the stats and the eggometer tells us that we are now under a £5 an egg but we are still out of pocket! However it has gotten down to that in a month and I ended up buying a run so when I do the cost benefit stuff I will do different combinations to show how economic this keeping chickens business actually is! They seem to go through about a sack of food and just over one of straw a month. When the jet washer needs replacing it will have to count as a chicken cost as we are jet washing the decking weekly at the mo but again that should reduce once we build the larger run - but of course you then have material costs for that!

The run should be sorted by the spring hopefully but I'm not too worried about it over the winter but chicken poo in summer will be a different matter!

The girls have been sitting in the autumn sun watching the birds and we do the main feeding and watering when Jean comes in from school - the corn is proving a very good tactic. Jean sprinkles that, whilst Mary sort of throws it about a bit (including on the poor things!), then Jean puts their food out and Mary does their grit. We all check for eggs and if needed I clean things up a bit and put fresh straw in the nest boxes. They mustn't have too much corn as it is a treat but I wanted something where we were properly interacting with them and weren't the scary things that just come and catch them!

They put themselves away in the hen house when it is getting dark but are also now more wary of being caught in the first place! They fluff themselves up if a cat gets two near them and spend their time trying to get into the shed (where we keep supplies) or into the bunny's run to eat his food, he on the other hand has been found eating their bedding in the nest box (though this was the day I'd run out of straw and say had put hay in instead and he loves hay!), I am forever having to remove him from the chicken run as he will eat their food!

We love the chickens! Also they have fluffy legs! (and yes the photo is upside down - I'll try and sort it later!)

Chasing Allotments and Organising Sheds (by sarah)

That horrible sinking feeling when you realise you now have a kitchen full of animal feed sacks and there is no room left in the cupboard under the stairs and you've been thinking this stuff should all be in the shed for a while for ages and it needs to be sorted so the table you bought for a fiver from the school for potting up and mushroom growing can be put in said shed (sounds far more exciting and illegal than what I actually mean!).

So we turfed things and sorted them and took some camping bits out to put in the cupboard under the stairs which were also sorting at the same time and some animal cage bits which are going in the eves of the house with the fish tank etc... and we put hooks in the sheds beams to hang the camping chairs, strimmer and jet washer etc... Found the grate of wine bottles I''ve been looking for to bottle my nettle wine and dandiion wine up in and a couple more demijohns to go on the shelves we built for the purpose in the kitchen etc...

Mary thought it was great - it was her house apparently!

Then we headed off to the Allotments Country Show in the hope of nabbing someone about the fact that I am now not even receiving email responses from the council about how long it is going to take to get one - I go blackberrying along there I can see the empty plots! I found a lady who said she would pass my details on after a long talk about making chutney and pickled things with me and Alaric so fingers crossed.

The weather was a bit pants by this point but Jean and Mary had a great time even though they didn't get to go on any rides - Jean went in her roller blades she picked up last year in a charity shop for like £2! She only fell over once and had her shoes in her rucksack which she changed into after seeing the zumba but by then it was too late to join in!

Mary was most pleased with her balloon dog - in pink as always - it is currently her favourite colour! I worry that people think I am one of those parents that makes their little girls wear pink!

And then I resisted adopting another bunny from the Windmill rescue people - the girls spent ages stroking a lovely little grey thing - Jean was concerned it wasn't walking and was informed that it is disabled with a twisted back paw - at the collected 'awww' from me and Jean Alaric took us by the arms and lead us away!

Apart from all that I cleared out and sorted the top shelf of the 'treats' cupboard (where all the cake making etc supplies are) and placed the chutneys and jams I've been making on there - so yeah guess what everyones getting for christmas! Something home made/grown anyway 😉

Egg-cited! (by sarah)

So we settled the chickens in by virtual of basically leaving them alone then this morning I rushed down to have a look at them, we weren't egg-specting any eggs due to the stress they had been through due to the relocation yesterday etc... But there they where two eggs!

Which I boiled for the girls breakfast - I did soft boiled for Jeany ie three minute dunk in boiling water and then opened straight away where as Mary got a hard boiled egg ie I just took longer about getting it out and knocking the top off!

They both seemed to love the breakfast which is a relief as we find it hard to get Mary to eat much at all 🙂

Jean is now obsessed with the chickens laying eggs - she reckons she can hear when they have done it :/ I think she is just after more egg! Alaric pointed out to her that these eggs will be from the food and stuff they were fed as battery hens and that later ones will be more tasty 🙂

Alaric said the whole thing has been worth it just for the look of glee on my face when I opened the nest box and found the eggs! I am afraid that I am washing them - I know many people say you shouldn't but really just nooooo!

We checked them again around lunch time (due to Jean's pleas that another egg had been laid), there was one more egg 🙂 But no more when I went to check them in the evening and make sure they were all in the hen house for the night. This time the stupid one had worked it out themselves so there was no chicken to have to lift up the ramp - I did however have an escaped chicken when I took the water feeder for a clean and refill. The conversation:

Jean: Mummy you let a chicken out

Me: I know trying to sneak up and catch it

Jean: Mummy that's the wrong way the chicken run is over there

Me: I know

Jean: Oh I thought chickens couldn't fly but they can!

Me: ducking from said chicken I know

Jean: Mu...meee you really aren't very good at this are you

Me: Not helping Jean! chicken walks back into the run

They are supposed to be getting used to the run for a couple of days before being shown the outside world - the others are all scared of the outside - not this one! It is the same on that thinks it is a boy and bosses the others around and it was the only one to escape from the lidless boxes when we were treating them for red mite and it was the first one up the ramp when we introduced them to the run - I think we have Chicken Genius here - it is the one called Felix! Though we have been calling it The Bossy One if I am honest!

First full day with chickens = success, I even tied a lettuce up for them to peak at - they don't seem to have noticed it yet though 🙁

Now She is 8 (by sarah)

Jean's actual birthday is hidden at the end of the summer holidays what with her being born on the August bank holiday - so since she has been at school we tend to do her party in September once she is firmly back at school other wise people forget!

So this year for her actual birthday we went to the Library and had a picnic and went hedgerowing.

We bought the picnic from the Co-Op in order to get more tokens for Mary's Banana toy before the offer ends and then sat and eat it on the grassy bit by the library (think it belongs to the community centre).

Me and Mary sang happy birthday though I have to confess Mary continued with 'clack sheep star!' so not the best rendition ever and she kept saying it was her birthday and 'NO Jean! Mine!' etc...

We went into the library for the putting back of 10 books and the getting out of 14 (just for Jean) and settled in for the creepy crafts that go with the reading challenge they had over the summer known as Creepy House.

Jean finished the reading challenge weeks ago! We have not been able to keep up with her book habit at all - we have tried to encourage more factual books but she's not interested at the moment - she says she wants to be a writer. I pointed out you need to read factual books for that as well which made her pause and she asked me what factual books I was reading and we got talking about tudors and bees and things and she made me do yoda impressions all the way to the library and she mentioned the fact that Yoda and the seer woman in The Dark Crystal sound the same etc... It was a fun outing.

Both of them made bats and got their photos taken for the newspaper - not this photo though that is one of mine.

And she has also decided she wants to do blogging so here is her first book review over on Orange Monster (that being the kids book and illustration blog so it seemed fitting).

Click here to read it 🙂

Oh and she is getting crushes - she babbled at the 16 yr old at the library about languages for ages - confusing him with Lojban 😉

Oggy, Babbit and Bubba (by sarah)

I made this story up for the girls on the way down to London at the beginning of the summer - it is based on a typical day (sort of if you take out all the broken washing machines and cats throwing up and that sort of thing).

Oggy, Babbit and Bubba were Mary's special friends, they went everywhere with her. In the morning Mary would wake up hugging Oggy, Babbit or bubba and would then tell them about her dreams.

When daddy came into the room she would stretch up her arms and called 'Daddy! Out! Out!' and once in his arms having a nice morning cuddle she would call, 'Babbit! Oggy! Bubba!' and Daddy would scoop them out of the cot and Mary would cuddle them all the way down the stairs.

As Daddy cleaned Mary's bottom making it shiny and new, Mummy would make biks! for breakfast which were Mary's favourite but Mary was always cross about this and would shout for 'Oggy, Babbit and Bubba' until Daddy picked her up and popped her into the high chair.

There she would see her biks and demand ilk and Mummy would pour on Mary's special milk and crush the biks up. Mary wanted Oggy, Babbit and Bubba but was too hungry to argue and would concentrate on eating up all her biks so she could ask for more.

After biks, Mary would help Jean get ready for school by showing her big sister how to brush teeth - this mainly involved eating the tooth paste off of the brush and hiding it behind the loo when no one was looking and screaming when the flannel and soap came anywhere near her.

Then it was getting dressed time, Jeany would put on her soaks and Mary would pull on hers, then Jeany would pull on her trousers and Mary would do the same, then the shirt and cardigan. Mary would bring Jeany her shoes crying 'shuoosh shush' and put her sparkly pink ones on her own feet even though Mummy said they were only for parties.

Then Mary would hug Babbit whilst queuing to have her hair brushed, the brushing of Mary's hair was really important, not because she had much hair as she didn't but because her big sister had her hair brushed.

Then Jeany and Daddy would put their coats on and Mummy would tell Mary 'NO!' to putting hers on and Mary would cry but then Mummy would cuddle her and they would wave bye bye to Daddy and Jeany.

'Daddy?'

'Daddy's gone to work,'

'Jeany?'

'Jeany's gone to school'

'Mary?'

'Mary play with Doggy why mummy does some work then we go to the park?'

Mary would nod and set up Oggy and Babbit and sometimes Bubba for their special breakfast of play dough. She wasn't allowed play dough in the living room as there was carpet, nor in the library where mummy was working but she was allowed it in the kitchen but there was no Mummy in the kitchen. After about half an hour Mummy would shout at Mary for treading play dough into the carpet and Mary would cry and Mummy would hug her and they would have no nappy time when Mary would have to remember to use bear chair the potty and Bubba would help by sitting on her own little potty.

Mummy would then redress Mary with clean cloths that were in the right way and not back to front. And Mary would get the pushchair and climb into it. Babbit would be held tight as they went for a walk to the park. At the park Babbit tended to stay in the push chair though did get a bit muddy when Mary decided he had to go down the slide with her.

Mary had a great time on the slide and the swings and the snail bouncer and the green bonging thing. Then it was time to go home and Babbit was put in the washing machine whilst Mary and Oggy sat in the garden with Mummy for a picnic. Mary waved bye-bye to Babbit and explained, 'clean!' to him as mummy shut the washing machine door.

Mary cried and cried as mummy carried her up the stairs, it was nap time but there was such a lot of exciting things to do and see and learn. But then her eye lids were so heavy and mummy gave her milky and tucked her in under ducky blanky and she had Oggy and Bubba and Mummy explained Babbit would be drying when she woke up and then Mummy sang a lullaby and Mary sighed gently into sleep (after a lot of wailing and shouts of NO! NO! NO!).

When Jeany came home from school she zoomed straight up the stairs to wake Mary up, Mary cried, 'Cuggle!' and Jeany cuddled her out of the cott and they played in the bedroom dressing up as solders and pirates and princesses and space men and lizards and cats. Then Mummy called them and they played out side in the paddling pool, Mummy changed Mary into her mermaid swimming costume and Babbit was pegged to the washing line by his ears, Mary reached up her little hands to try and reach him but was far too small.

'No lovely he's not dry yet,' Mummy said and then Jeany helped the sad Mary into the pool where they played with dollies and boats and splashed each other until they giggled and giggled and it was time for an ice lolly. Mary got very sticky and juicy from the lolly but Mummy didn't mind as she went back to play in the pool.

After a while she came and sang inkle inkle ittle star to Mummy and Mummy and Jean and Oggy sang lots of songs together, incy wincy spider, baa baa black sheep, Mary had a little Babbit and the Little Chicken Song.

When Daddy came home he removed Babbit from the line and gave it too Mary who put Oggy, Babbit and Bubba in the bucket seat of her chu chu train and scooted around the garden. Daddy made them Mary's favourite dinner of pasta and peas for dinner with a special treat of Jelly for desert.

Then it was bath time and tooth brushing and snuggling on the settee for film time. Mary was sat on Daddy's lap with Babbit and Oggy and stared wide eyed at the adventures on the screen. And then it was sleepy tired time and Daddy carried Mary up the stairs and Mummy made up a story about Babbit and Oggy and Mary and Bubba.

Then Mary tucked Bubba in and sung her a lullaby and Jeany tucked Mary in and Daddy tucked Jeany in and read them a Mary book and then a chapter of a Jean book and then said nun night and left.

Jeany read to Mary from her book and climbed out of bed to make sure Mary had Babbit and Oggy and re-tucked her in and then Mary was snuggled down and cuddling her friends. Eventually after a few 'oh Mary's' and 'Dean! Dean!' Mary and Jean and Babbit and Oggy and Bubba and Bed Bear and Panda (who was Jean's) were all snoring softly and Daddy quietly turned the light off and removed any books in danger of being drooled on. And with that the moon light and stairs twinkling in from the window and Mary dreamed of Babbit and Oggy and Bubba.