Yes, it has been good and slow!
I took the girls to church this morning and then came home, got changed and have been pottering in the garden all day! The ground is getting drier and drier and some of the beds are in a bad way - the clay soil has just dried out into the most unco-operative of large lumps! I used the electric rotavator on some of it today to try to break it up a little but it was hard work and not terribly useful. The worst bed has just had the squashes planted in it - courgette, butternut and pumpkin - as they don't demand terribly friable soil. I weeded the strawberries yet again, finished strimming around the beds and have started weeding one of them ready to plant the peas.
I have now got three broody hens, whom I have to fight each afternoon for the eggs which they are sitting on! I am hoping to get in touch with a lady near Wisbech to get some more Orpington eggs for them to sit on. We had eggs from her last year and had a good hatch rate.
The ironing heap has been left to rest another night, but there is a good night of TV tonight, so I think that I can use the ironing as an excuse to watch TV all evening.
It's life.
4 hours ago
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2 comments:
Its very dry here,we keep getting the odd shower but its slurped up quickly.Lol 3 Broodies :o) Mines stll sitting but E broke one of the eggs earlier argg it was an accident but she was mortified.Luckily..it was just yolk in there,the remaining banty egg I found pushed out the other evening & cold,I have tucked it back under but again now I think shes wasting her time,its a terrible attempt at hatching weak larff,not sure what to do with her now,she just wont give up tho :oS
Hens ay!
:o)
GTM x xx
I understand the thing to do to make them give up is to put them in a small house on their own, ideally without anywhere to comfortably nest, even a house with a wire bottom so that when she attempts to sit, she can't get her "undercarriage" warm as it will be open to the air. Sounds a bit cruel but I know with hens that sometimes their instincts are just too strong to be sensible.
Luckily have never had this problem as all our broodies have always hatched at least one chick. We have occasionally not wanted to give a hen any fertile eggs and they do eventually give up but it is sometimes weeks of hassle, especially fighting them to retrieve the fresh eggs each day!
Better luck next time - and will keep you posted about the bantam due to bring off her clutch this week. Got everything crossed!
Morgan
x
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