Big News!!
We have added a few more dates just to keep us ticking over until January next year. I know.....January already. Sorry folks. I don't know if its my age. Alright then, it is my age, but this year has flown so much I think I have missed most of it, or forgotten it. Either could be true at this stage.
Our new dates are:
Sat and Sun 26th and 27th October
Sat and Sun 23rd and 24th November
Sat 14th December
Sat and Sun 11th and 12th January 2014!!!
Our new booking system is also now on line and easier to use. Click HERE to book.
Read our Testimonials page to see how we are doing.
Come and join us to learn all about chicken keeping and avoid expensive pitfalls. As a bonus, you get to enjoy our homemade Lemon Drizzle Cake and Cream Scones as part of our Cream Tea.
Thursday, 19 September 2013
Wednesday, 18 September 2013
Updates On the Girls
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| Wilson Betty and Keppel |
Its always nice to see how my girls are doing. I still think of all the hens I sell as my girls. I shouldn't ....but I do. I like to see how they grow and how they look when they blossom into beautiful hens.
I also love to hear how their new owners feel about them.
There is one thing for sure, chickens certainly get under your skin. Everyone who has them seems to love them immensely. That is why I am probably a self-confessed addict. Now I breed my own, I have to give myself a stern talking to, that "NO I cannot keep them all", and other such things as "Now you know you bred these to sell DON'T YOU" and I tell myself "If I can just keep another white one.....or a brown one...or isn't that a lovely colour variation." The excuses go on...and on. I am definitely a lost cause.
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| I saw someone in that shed with some food! |
Here are some of my latest adoptees, kindly supplied with my thanks, from Jean and her husband Steve.
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| Speckled Hybrid with Crest coming up |
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| Legbar based hybrid |
Three of the latest batch
Friday, 13 September 2013
NEW Easier Booking for our Courses
Good News!!!
We have managed to get a simplified booking form so you can book quickly and easily on any of our courses. Get to it from this link BOOK HERE or indeed from the Courses page itself.
If you have any difficulty with the form please let us know and we can get it sorted for you.
The nights are drawing in rapidly now and your chickens will be laying fewer eggs in response to the shorter days. They might even be starting to look a bit straggly and bald in patches. Don't worry, they will be back to their beautiful selves in about 8 weeks. One thing to watch out for is pecking. Sometimes those blood feathers poking through the skin are a little too irresistible for coop-mates and they may peck them. Have your blue spray handy to disguise the spike. Watch out for damaged quills which may bleed freely and attract more attention. You might have to segregate your girls from each other if it becomes a problem just while the feathers get chance to get more robust. Our Aunt Sally is in solitary at the moment because she just looks like a hedgehog and is luring attention from the other gang of girlies. She is having a particularly drastic moult and for her own safety I have put a temporary area up in the run so she can have a bit of peace. They can still see each other so she won't feel too lonely and ostracised. Poor Aunt Sally!
We have managed to get a simplified booking form so you can book quickly and easily on any of our courses. Get to it from this link BOOK HERE or indeed from the Courses page itself.
If you have any difficulty with the form please let us know and we can get it sorted for you.
The nights are drawing in rapidly now and your chickens will be laying fewer eggs in response to the shorter days. They might even be starting to look a bit straggly and bald in patches. Don't worry, they will be back to their beautiful selves in about 8 weeks. One thing to watch out for is pecking. Sometimes those blood feathers poking through the skin are a little too irresistible for coop-mates and they may peck them. Have your blue spray handy to disguise the spike. Watch out for damaged quills which may bleed freely and attract more attention. You might have to segregate your girls from each other if it becomes a problem just while the feathers get chance to get more robust. Our Aunt Sally is in solitary at the moment because she just looks like a hedgehog and is luring attention from the other gang of girlies. She is having a particularly drastic moult and for her own safety I have put a temporary area up in the run so she can have a bit of peace. They can still see each other so she won't feel too lonely and ostracised. Poor Aunt Sally!
Monday, 2 September 2013
Happy New Arrivals
New hens nicely settled into their new home with Phil. These are an example of one of my speckled ladies and a black coloured hen. They are 10 weeks old in this picture and 12 weeks old below. Quite adventurous. Thanks to Phil for supplying the pictures.
Wednesday, 28 August 2013
All Quiet on the Western Front
Now that the glorious heatwave is over and we have normal Summer weather (ie mixed and not particularly hot) the chickens are beginning to settle into life and destress. The quantity of eggs is getting better. I managed to get away with no illness. I have also broken my remaining two broodies India and Aunt Sally. India will sit on anything egg shaped and goes broody very quickly. She is not great as an egg layer but when she raises some chicks for me, she is perfect and for that reason she is worth her weight in gold.
I currently have chickens at 16 weeks, 9 weeks, 6 weeks and 3 weeks old, and they are coming in with interesting colours. Glamorous Gordon is half Australorp and half Cotswold Legbar and is very thorough at making sure his girls are attended to in the romance department. So thorough in fact that I need to get cracking (excuse the pun) on some chicken saddles to protect the backs of the girlies. I thought a fetching brown vinyl with orange binding and yellow braid would look mighty fine.
We have now obtained a load of Bobby Dusters to apply the diatom powder to your coop. We are selling them for £27 so drop us a line if you would like one. Click HERE
I currently have chickens at 16 weeks, 9 weeks, 6 weeks and 3 weeks old, and they are coming in with interesting colours. Glamorous Gordon is half Australorp and half Cotswold Legbar and is very thorough at making sure his girls are attended to in the romance department. So thorough in fact that I need to get cracking (excuse the pun) on some chicken saddles to protect the backs of the girlies. I thought a fetching brown vinyl with orange binding and yellow braid would look mighty fine.
We have now obtained a load of Bobby Dusters to apply the diatom powder to your coop. We are selling them for £27 so drop us a line if you would like one. Click HERE
Sunday, 21 July 2013
Weather Tips for Keeping Chickens Cool
The heatwave is showing no signs of cooling off just yet so you need to be thinking about how your chickens are feeling.
They will be hot - very hot.
They cannot sweat so have to lose heat through their combs or by panting.
You MUST make sure they have plenty of fresh water daily. They will not be eating much but they will drink for England. You will probably notice that egg laying is somewhat reduced. This will be a combination of the heat stress and also because their nutrition is less than it should be because of reduced food intake.
Give them a boost by making up a "mash" of stuff they will always eat, like thawed spinach, frozen sweetcorn, other leafy green veggies or carrots chopped up , a bit of poultry spice for additional minerals. Blend it with a splash of cod-liver oil and moistened layers pellets (or whatever pellets they are on). If you keep the sweetcorn and spinach slightly frozen they will probably enjoy the cooling effect.
Mixed Corn will heat them up so avoid if possible.
Make sure they have enough shade to escape the direct sun. Orpingtons particularly and other very feathery breeds can suffer terribly in the heat. Some chickens also like to paddle in cool water so a shallow tray filled to ankle depth (on a chicken that is) will be welcomed. A greenhouse gravel tray is ideal. You could also cool their water down by putting some ice cubes in with it. If you have poultry electrolytes to put in the water that will help them cope better or a poultry tonic.
Keep an eye on their drinkers so that they are not going green and building up a slimy biofilm on. This is not healthy for them. This will build up rapidly in hot sunny weather.
At night make sure they have enough air. A makeshift temporary door made of chicken wire, very securely fastened to the coop will allow the cooler night air in and keep them safe.
They will be hot - very hot.
They cannot sweat so have to lose heat through their combs or by panting.
You MUST make sure they have plenty of fresh water daily. They will not be eating much but they will drink for England. You will probably notice that egg laying is somewhat reduced. This will be a combination of the heat stress and also because their nutrition is less than it should be because of reduced food intake.
Give them a boost by making up a "mash" of stuff they will always eat, like thawed spinach, frozen sweetcorn, other leafy green veggies or carrots chopped up , a bit of poultry spice for additional minerals. Blend it with a splash of cod-liver oil and moistened layers pellets (or whatever pellets they are on). If you keep the sweetcorn and spinach slightly frozen they will probably enjoy the cooling effect.
Mixed Corn will heat them up so avoid if possible.
Make sure they have enough shade to escape the direct sun. Orpingtons particularly and other very feathery breeds can suffer terribly in the heat. Some chickens also like to paddle in cool water so a shallow tray filled to ankle depth (on a chicken that is) will be welcomed. A greenhouse gravel tray is ideal. You could also cool their water down by putting some ice cubes in with it. If you have poultry electrolytes to put in the water that will help them cope better or a poultry tonic.
Keep an eye on their drinkers so that they are not going green and building up a slimy biofilm on. This is not healthy for them. This will build up rapidly in hot sunny weather.
At night make sure they have enough air. A makeshift temporary door made of chicken wire, very securely fastened to the coop will allow the cooler night air in and keep them safe.
New Course Dates
We have just set some new course dates for this year as response has been very positive. We thoroughly enjoy running them and look forward to meeting more of you!
Sunday 4th August 2013 (5 places left) See Course page for new dates
Sunday 25th August 2013
Saturday 7th September 2013
Saturday 21st September 2013
All start at 10:30 in the morning giving you time to have a little lie-in and lasting for 3 hours. We tend to run over however so leave enough time to ask plenty of questions. It costs £38.50 per person
Please book via the blog course page here or from the Heswall Hills Henporium courses page here.
If you need to ask any questions before you book please email us by clicking here
Sunday 4th August 2013 (5 places left) See Course page for new dates
Sunday 25th August 2013
Saturday 7th September 2013
Saturday 21st September 2013
All start at 10:30 in the morning giving you time to have a little lie-in and lasting for 3 hours. We tend to run over however so leave enough time to ask plenty of questions. It costs £38.50 per person
Please book via the blog course page here or from the Heswall Hills Henporium courses page here.
If you need to ask any questions before you book please email us by clicking here
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