Monday, April 23, 2007

New Arrivals

As predicted May has turned out to be the season of new arrivals and there certainly were plenty of them. It has also been one of the wettest months for a long while, at times seeming more like winter weather than spring. When watching the weather forecast I guess we have been luckier than a lot of folk who despite having drought restrictions implemented have had a whole lot of rain for days on end. Hopefully that is the last of the April/ May showers now and we can get busy tending our suntans now!
During the winter months we seemed to have an egg drought for a long time as the birds decided to moult for an eternity, then come the start of the year we were engulfed with eggs. Too many to use up so the pigs enjoyed their fair share so as not to go to waste. 2 of the hens decided to go broody at this time, which didn't really affect the supply of eggs, however during May the majority of the remaining hens decided the time was right and now we are back to square one just when folk are asking for eggs. Seems to be either a feast or a famine at times! It means though that we have new chicks appearing at regular intervals so the ones we lost to the fox will be replaced.
We are quite relaxed in our poultry breeding trying not to get too complicated and letting the birds just get on with it. Up to now we have a total of 4 new chicks to 2 hens and should find that during June around 20 more should arrive. It is really nice to watch a mother hen and her chicks as at times they can be so comical trying to fight over one morsel and seem to thrive once taken out into the big wide world.

Some of the new arrivals

The geese as predicted last month all seem to be female as having sat on their eggs for over 35 days all the eggs have proven to be infertile. Just as well we bought some goslings from the rare breed auction and if the law of averages holds true we should have at least 1 gander from the 5. These are our first goslings and I have to admit they are the fastest growing birds I have ever seen. No sooner had they appeared to be comfortably residing in a dog crate in the kitchen than I had to build an outside run for them such was their rate of growth. That coupled with the amount of pooing they do meant it would have been impossible to keep them inside any longer. They are now off the light and seem to be thriving as well. Over the next day or two the run will come down and they can go free range around the place.

The goslings at around 2 weeks old

The lambing, which we had waited eagerly for was over with in 5 days which was quite considerate of them but really exhausting. You can read more about the experience here. Mums and lambs appear to be fine at the moment and the time has come to start thinking about shearing as the ewes are starting to look uncomfortable in the heat which is strange in that even though we have had so much rain the temperature hasn't really been effected. Either that or we are used to the weather conditions up here now!
With the rain came the weeds and boy have they shot away. Luckily the polytunnel has proved it's worth and together with strict watering is awash with fruit and veg. The only problem we have had is that the homemade propagator proved too efficient and cooked some of the seeds we put in there. Not a total disaster as I hope this can be used to our benefit over the winter months to come in providing some greens when if bought from a shop seem to be extortionate in price.
From a personal point of view we have had a good share of luck for many months now with not much going wrong, however last month we had our fair share again in that the main chimney started to play up big time with smoke gushing out of the roof making it look like the house was on fire, the 4th car in two years died and my internet connection has played havoc. One at a time I could deal with but all together meant a fair bit of strain on the family.
If it were not for friends offering help and advice then the pressure would have really been unbearable. The chimney acting up made life hard as the Rayburn uses this chimney and it is through the Rayburn that we cook, get heat and heat our water. However an email to an ACL member saved the day and meant that I had the confidence to sort the problem out myself. It also meant a huge saving financially as I was directed to links, which had everything I required, and at a very low price compared to what I could have found. The Rayburn is now working better than ever and a huge thank you goes to Jules and Martin Woodman for their help. Much appreciated!
The game keeping is going really well and pretty soon I am going to be really busy. I don't know if I could be any busier I guess it is just a case of organising things to fit around each other but no doubt it will get busier as this month we are getting all the pens ready for the birds arrival early in July. Up to now we have managed to balance things out pretty well and my main fear of the garden being neglected has so far proved not to be the case. As long as the outside garden is sorted with the first crops then everything should be fine. One slight problem may be that Bonnie is due another litter at the end of July but she has proven to be very good at mothering skills and nothing untoward is expected.

Bonnie taking it easy

That's it for now enjoy the sun and remember to try and take time out to sit and enjoy what you are achieving. One thing is for sure the work will always be there when you go back.

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