Spring is in the air

Spring is my favorite time of the year where the days get longer and I can feel the warmth of the sun upon me.  Nature renews herself and everything comes to life.  An energy of new beginnings and life celebrating its existance.

Primroses

Primroses bloom in a variety of colours and the flowers last for ages. They draw your eye with their bright exuberance.

Forget-me-nots - wonderfully romantic to pick some for your beloved.

They are also very aptly named as once you plant them in your garden they spread everywhere so......you won't forget them. 

I don't know what these plants are but they were one of the first flowers to open in the garden and the white brightens a shadey spot.

A couple of weeks ago I was hunting about for Sweetcorn and found her on the nest and she refused to budge.  She was broody.  It must be contagious as the next day Priscilla joined her. They go into a kind of dream state and when I open the hut their feathers bristle and fluff out and they make a growling kind of sound.  After much deliberation we decided to buy some fertilized eggs from Keiths Orps (breeder) and put them under the hens.  It takes 21 days for the chicks to hatch and it is not a 100% success rate. They are sitting on 10 eggs now - so bets down everyone to how many chicks will hatch.

Their mother instinct is so strong that I have to lift them off the nest once a day otherwise they will not eat or drink anything.  The first thing they do is run to have a dust bath.  They flick and rub dust into their feathers which cleans them and gets rid of any parasites.  The laws of nature are amazing - this is not taught but instinctual.

 AND now Hattie is broody.  She tries to peck me when I keep lift her off the nest, which I do a few times a day but she is determined and keeps heading on back.  More eggs????

Chirpy chirpy cheep cheep - chirpy chirpy cheep cheep - Bye!!!!

My how the hukus have grown!

So....where to begin?  So much has happened since my last post.

The hukus are now all around a year old.  Their feathers have filled out and they look like they are wearing beautful, billowy victorian dresses.

Huku flock

Priscilla

The hens are free rangers and just love scratching about the whole garden. I whisper to you that Priscilla hold a special place in my heart as she cherishes her freedom more than the others, we sometimes find her off on her own ever after the elusive morsel and always last to go into the coop at night.

Beautiful Bella

   In my eyes prettiest of the flock 
   Bella. The dark and soft greys are 
   soothing to the eye and suits her 
   gentle character.











The girls all started laying just after Christmas and we suspect Lara started the egg..... oops I mean ball,  rolling. When Chris fried us the first two eggs I found myself looking at it and thinking that I couldn't eat it - felt really strange to be eating something produced by my special hukus.  The yolks are a deep yellow colour and demand from friends and work colleuges outstrip production.

One morning I went down to the Huku Hut and found an egg.  I picked it up and it was still warm. As I held it in my hand I felt a few tears escaping down my cheeks.  How wonderful nature is - a miracle really.

 Beginning of March we moved house and it was only fair that the girls house got a make over too.  Blues for peace and relaxation. Puuukkk puuukkkk.

Getting to know you...

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7E8dC2g_XA

A week has gone by and it's time to introduce you to the 'hukus'.

LARA CLUCK

Lara is a Lavender Cuckoo and she is the curious adventurer and the first to try out anything new. On Wednesday night we went to put the girls to bed and were so excited to see that when we got to the hut they had found their way up the ladder and were already safely ensconsed in their sleeping quarters!  On the farm they didn't have a ladder so we think we have the brightest chicks on the block. So proud.....  Anyway on Thurday as we were watching them they started climbing the ladder one by one leaving Lara the last one in.  She started to cou-cou-cou-cou, neck outstretched and she checked all the corners, looked under the ladder and checked all the boundaries before making the ascent to the sleeping quarters.  The other hens must feel safe knowing that Lara Cluck is looking out for them all.

HATTIE PECKADILLY

Hattie is a Buff  and is the eldest of the hens - 21 weeks and is top hen.  If there are any treats about or one of the other hens are standing where she wants to be she gives them a sharp peck. Chris calls her 'Horrid Hattie' but all she is doing is sorting out the pecking order.

I think she is gorgeous - masses of billowy feathers surrounding a very elegant lady - beak up in the air.

Not so elegant the first time she came down the 'hen walk' though ha ha

PRISCILLA PARTRIDGE

Priscilla is a Partridge and second eldest at 19 weeks.  She has very distinct marking and stands out in the flock.  She is quite a curious bird and is coming into herself.  Loves to scratch about in the undergrowth.

BELLA BLUE

Bella is 16 weeks old and a Blue. She is the smallest of the hens and a gentle lady.  She even eats her food in the most delicate manner.  She reminds me of a Victorian lady in a beautiful gown.

SWEETCORN

She is a Silver and before she arrived we decided to name her 'HEYHO SILVER!' . Unfortunately she is the scardy cat of the flock.  Hides behind everyone and sqwarks (and sqwarts!!) like crazy when you pick her up.  Should we call her 'Cissy Spacegg'?  Well that name would not encourage her to come out of her eggshell would it?  The first time we threw some sweetcorn into the run, it wasn't Lara who ran out first to eat but 'SWEETCORN'.  She loves corn and gobbles it up as quick as she can - looses all sense of her fear.  Not a great pic of her - she is shy remember!

We let them out the run and into the garden today and it was a delight to watch them. It was a whole new experience for them and they looked and acted like jungle chicks.  I think they will be tired little girls tonight!










Whilst they were enjoying themselves we cleaned out the run and the coop. Wow what  G-I-A-N-T poos!

And then we settled down to watch them.  It is very theraputic - calms you down and puts a smile upon your face. Puuuk puk puk.

Cameron and Chris trying to get the girls to have their first taste of slug......not too keen. Yug.

Until next time - keep on clucking!

They've arrived!!!

We had packed the transport boxes into the back of Chris' car Friday night so that we could make a quick getaway Saturday morning. Traffic was busy around Windsor and as the traffic slowed and stopped periodically, I gazed across to the castle sitting above the Thames River.  Incredulously, the castle has been occupied for nearly 1,000 years. How the landscape must have changed throughout the millennium. The royal occupants could never have imagined all the cars, the busy shops, restaurants and roads surrounding it.

We arrived at Keith's our excitement mounting.  A beautiful sunny, autumnal day had everyone at the stables smiling or cat-napping in the warmth of the sun.

Chris, Keith 'Orpington' Gibbons and Kathy

The girls gave Keith a good run for his money......

  

All boxed up and ready to go.

We had a quick run home and unpacked the hens into their new home and settled back with a cuppa tea to watch the girls settle in.

Maui had a look in and wasn't too sure about the warning cackles emiting from the biggest birds he has ever seen.  What are they?  

 

The Huku family found their feed and water in no time.  We had read that it was a good idea to hang a cabbage head in the coup.  As well as enjoying the greens it provides some entertainment for them. 

Blog 4 I will introduce the girls to you.

It's all coming together...

Thursday - arrived home to find a big brown box standing at the back door. Ooooh could it be the arrival of some chicken goodies??? Chris, brandishing a large pair of scissors cut open the nylon strapping and brown tape...........

I was overcome with the plastic-ness of the drinker and feeder..... note the sweetie box on the table LOL!!!

Friday - 10.40am the hen house arrives! 

 Steve and Dan were the expert assemblers and they didn't waste a minute.

I enjoyed watching the erection from this vantage point...  ; )

Chris hammered in a nail to show off his DIY skills and I just got overexcited!

We have hung up the feeder and the drinker.  The feeder - to hopefully stop any little visitors stealing the pellets at night and the water to stop any dirt from being scratched into the water. The straw is in the nest boxes and we have laid a carpet of wood shavings on the floor.  Chickens do not urinate - they pee and poop at the same time.  The white part of the poop is the urea. So it can be rather moist.  As it falls onto the shavings, it clumps making it much easier to remove from the sleeping quarters. I think I will snap on my surgical gloves for this job - or perhaps this may become Chris' chore?




















Tomorrow morning we collect the girls cluck cluck clucketty cluck.  The only chick in the hut now is Chris' chick.....

Ready, steady, go!

Puuuk….puk….puk….puk.

As a young girl I dreamt about marrying a farmer. Now I am a "mature" woman I have held onto part of the dream - to own a few of my own backyard chickens. As I type this blog I sit back and rub my eyes because the time has now arrived and their arrival is imminent ……...hoo – clucking –ray!!!!

Let me take you back a year when I met the incredible Mr Chris Nichols.  Twinkle twinkle hearts a thumping…..is he a farmer I hear you ask? No, he isn’t a farmer but has a BSc Agriculture (Agriculture Economics). He decided instead to follow in his fathers footsteps and work in finance.  So a tentative link to farming…. At least he can manage budgets and money.

Chris and I have chatted long into the nights and through lazy afternoons about owning a bit a land and being self-sufficient.  Indulging in nature – barefoot, sweaty brows and satisfying contentment at the end of the day.  And, of course the chickens clucking round the back door and a small herd of little Nigerian Dwarf goats to kid around with.

 How could we begin the dream, living in an urban environment? Hey! How about getting a couple of chickens!  The breed of choice was obvious – Orpingtons!  Gorgeous, blowsy girls, known for their docile nature and they make great pets. We found a reputable and very helpful breeder, Keith Gibbons. We drove out to his place and were very impressed with his set up. He runs a livery as well as breeding Orpingtons. Everything is very neat and clean. He has kept chickens since a boy, is very knowledgeable when it comes to all things chicken. Even though he was busy Keith answered all our naive questions with much patience.  Cluck cluck. 

Here a link to his website /http://www.keiths-orps.co.uk/

We were going to get four girls but ended up reserving five. There is quite a large variety of colours and could not decide on just one so ended up choosing Buff, Partridge, Blue, Lavender Cuckoo and Silver. We will pick them up on Saturday.  I am sooooo excited and am counting down the sleepszzzzzzzzz

The coop (we were overwhelmed by the different styles available and had to take advice from Keith – watch this space for tips and ideas) arrives on Friday. We still need to make the name plate ‘Huku Hut’ which translated means chicken (Shona) cage (Afrikaans). We spent the weekend clearing the garden in readiness for the new chicks on the block.  

 I wonder how Maui the cat will take to the newcomers……hmmm???