Hello, I'm back

Hello everyone.  The blog is back!

Last year was a disaster on a number of counts and I got very disillusioned with the whole smallholding/gardening/better life/blogging scenario.  Farmers markets were tried and not a success, farmgate sales weren't any better, so I basically gave up.  So much so that we have had no winter veg this this year at all, apart from potatoes and onions and a few carrots.  Hubby has not been pleased to have been buying veg all winter.

Anyway that was last year.  I'm pleased to say things are back to normal again now, probably better actually.  I have renewed vigour and enthusiasm and the garden is looking all the better for it.  This is because I am having to follow a gluten free diet; that change has been overwhelming for me in terms of the amount of energy I have, the enthusiasm and willingness to get stuck in more than I think I've ever had.  Its fab!

So onwards and upwards.  I've got lots of ideas of things I want to change/improve/do on the smallholding so I hope you'll stick with me as I go through them.  Please feel free to comment on anything you feel you need to - I always look forward to reading your comments.

A few photos to see how things have changed/improved etc -

The polytunnel at the moment - Spring cabbages and overwintered salads on the left hand side.  More salads, radishes etc on the right.  Rest of right hand side bed is first early potatoes, put in a fortnight ago

Overwintered salads, and seed trays full of flowers, leeks etc

Peas under the cloches, the rest dug over and muck applied.  Only a small (weed-infested) piece left to dig over (top left)

Looking back towards the house.  Fabric fleece over some more spring cabbages, that aren't doing very well and so will get pulled up.  Canes are in for my Carnations

Garlic growing very well, despite only going in a fortnight ago

The 'new' veg patch.  Daffodils in the foreground

The patch being cultivated.  All poultry houses are now in this bit - two chicken houses (one currently empty and waiting for the new arrivals, hopefully at the end of the month) and one duck hut

Hubby's cultivating equipment! 

Mycoplasma in chickens

Having lost one of my Exchequer Leghorn hens last week to this horrible disease I decided to do a bit of research.

I noticed that said hen had developed an abscess on the side of her face just under her eye, which had caused her eye to close completely, and was utterly blind on that side.  I left her for a few days to see if it would clear up of its own accord, but come Monday it hadn't got any better so sought veterinary help.

An injection of antibiotics was given and another appointment booked for three days after.  It was on the second visit that I was given the bad news.

'It's a highly contagious disease,' the vet said, 'one that if the hen gets over it, will cause her to be a carrier of the disease for the rest of her life and then obviously infect the rest of your flock.  The hen will not be as strong and fit and she was previously, considerably a poor doer, and therefore may not lay any eggs.  I think the only cause of treatment would be to euthanaise. Sorry!' he said.

Well I was stunned as you can imagine and came away from the vets with a doomed chicken in my cat basket.

I pondered the pros and cons all afternoon, until Hubby came home and we discussed it.  The outcome being that it would be no life for her if she was 'not quite right' for the rest of her days, and I didn't want to risk the health of the rest of the flock.  So unfortunately she was put down.

The disease is one that affects the respiratory tract and immune system, swollen sinuses are typical of the disease - see pic below.  It can also affect the kidneys.

Not very attractive, I think you'l agree.

The disease affects chickens, ducks, turkeys and wild birds, so take care if wild birds can get access to your drinkers, feeders etc as the disease can also last on these implements for a couple of hours too.  Stress i.e. moving birds into the flock, new housing, weather changes, changes in diet, is a major factor in this disease erupting.

Basic hygiene and welfare standards are paramount in the control of this disease.  Vaccination is possible, but only available in large doses, so would be expensive.  Veterinary treatment with antibiotics is possible, but with the outcome as described above.

A sad day, but everyone else (touching wood), is fine.

Stats today -
Sales = 1/2 dozen eggs £1.00
1 bunch of Daffodils £0.50
Expenses = nil
Eggs produced = 5

2014 Garden started

Today has been the day when I feel that we have made a start in the veg garden, or garden full-stop really, for 2014.

Michael has dug over and added manure to the two beds in the polytunnel, ready for one side to be filled with new potatoes.

I have weeded the microgreens, also in the polytunnel, which are coming on a treat -

Apart from a few rows in the middle, which were Beetroot, Chives and Basil, plus one row of Rocket which hasn't grown, all the rest are doing just fine.  I'm well pleased.  Some of these I may leave to grow on, especially the salad leaves as Michael is beginning to moan about not having any salad's recently - partly due to the fact that I won't let him buy tasteless tomatoes and cucumbers from the supermarket!

I also did a few tidying up jobs - collecting up some smashed glass from under the fruit trees in the veg patch, where a cold frame had been; moved some left over Laurel plants - left over from a job of Michael's, which will come in handy for my Laurel hedge that I've been wanting for years, am also going to do some Topiary with it too, if the plan comes off; plus I've made a start on the hoeing, which already makes the place look better.  I even cleaned out the three chicken sheds.  So I feel good tonight that things are moving in the right direction, I can go to bed happy and tired tonight - the weather helped too, it's been gorgeous and sunny all day.  Already looking forward to see what I can accomplish tomorrow.

Stats today -
Eggs produced = 7
Sales - 1 dozen eggs
Expenses - Nil

Chickens tonight

Hi all, we're on chickens tonight - Exchequer Leghorns to be precise, a breed profile.

These are one of the breeds that we bought from the auction last September time.  I was attracted to their stunning plumage, their upright and proud strut and general all-round handsomeness!

Just to remind you here's what mine look like -

Tom, with Barbara and Margo

Now Tom is a lively cockerel, loud with a look at me attitude, which is typical of the breed.  He is my wake-up call at 5am, regular as clockwork, regardless of whether it's light or not!

The breed is reported to be a productive egg layer (although I haven't seen any signs of it yet, but the hens were quite young when they came to us last year), usually about five eggs laid per week, but not a meat breed, being quite light in body frame.

The cockerel has a large comb, as you can see from the photo above, and the females should flop over, this is normal.  They are active birds, happy to roam about the paddock next to the house, and because of their light bodyweight can run at a fair speed!

Unfortunately having read up on them, they are not a maternal bird, so I shall have to invest in an incubator if breeding is going to be successful.  They can also be quite aloof, as I've found out, often running away even when the red hens come running towards me.  I do believe they have got friendlier over the months though. 

I often catch myself watching them more than the other breeds, their feather patterns are mesmerising and they are such a proud show off, of a breed.

Apparently they are not a breed for the faint hearted, but I enjoy having this trio of show-offs around, they make the place feel special!

Look at that stunning plumage, the black shines irridesant green when the sun shines on it.

If anyone knows of any Exchequer Leghorn breeders out there - I'd appreciate them letting me know, as I haven't stumbled across anyone else who has them yet.  They might not suit everyone, but I love them.

Daffodils & Poo!

Evening all!  Thought I'd give you an update on one of our new ventures.

Remember me telling you we had decided to grow some Daffodils?  Well Michael had been reading up on the subject and said we needed to feed them, make them grow healthy and strong, with lots of flowers!  So we need poo and lots of it.  Enter bags of Kayal poo (my horse).  Collected from the stables in the trailer on the back of the tractor and we set about emptying the bags.

Obviously we had help, in the end we got so that we stopped scattering it about and let the 'unpaid' help do that for us, well, it's what they do best!

Keep going Michael, nearly there!

Thanks girls, you're doing a fine job!

Well that's about half way down the lines of bulbs, and would you believe it, we ran out of poo!  A whole trailer load of the stuff and we were short by about half a dozen bags!  Oh well, still plenty more to go at down at the stables - guess what we're doing next weekend too!

There's plenty more where they came from, and recyclable too, will refill over the next few months!

Stats today - 

Eggs produced = 4

Sales - Nil

Expenses - Nil

Norfolk Poultry Club show Sunday 20th October 2013

I spent a fabulous few hours yesterday the the Norfolk Poultry Club show held at the Norfolk Showground.

They usually hold three shows a year - March, August and October and there was a good number entered.

I went to gain some contacts in Poultry.  We are planning to expand the flock here with some different breeds and I wanted to know who to contact when the time comes.  I definitely know we are going to have some Ixworth's as they are a dual purpose breed, so that if stock doesn't make show standard we can fatten them up for the house.  And I was lucky enough to meet Joyce Taylor who breeds and shows Ixworth's and who took best rare breed with her three year old Ixworth hen.

Best in show went to a Wyandotte bantam, a delightful little girl -

Reserve Best in show went to an Old English game - sorry not the best photo, but she wouldn't stand still

Some more pictures from the day -

Touloose goose

Lots of Call ducks on show

Polands

Wyandotte

Norfolk Grey - another possibility for here

Frizzle hen

Gold Sebright - my favourite, so probably having some of these

All in all I had a great day, just wandering round talking to enthusiastic people about their chickens.  Well done Norfolk Poultry club, a brilliant show.

Stats today - 

Eggs produced = 5

Sales - 

1 x 1Kg Tomatoes £1.00

Expenses - 

Nil

Another home produced tea

I was going to do a blog post on Orpington chickens tonight, but I think I'll save that for another day, because our tea tonight was so good and nearly all home produced I just had to tell you about it.  I've had a lovely day concocting our tea, I do love spending a good couple of hours in the kitchen so I thought I'd share it with you.

We had -
Bacon, Leek & Potato pie with Romanesco in a cheese and mustard sauce with steamed cabbage.
Followed by -
Apple pie and Ice cream

Just Yum!

Home produced stuff was -
Leeks, potatoes, tomato, eggs, Romanesco cabbage, cabbage, apples; oh and of course all the pastry was homemade.  Haven't got any home produced bacon at the moment, it's still on the hoof!

Here it is -

Bacon, leek & potato pie

My plateful!

The Apple pie

And the best bit it is, there's leftovers for tomorrow nights tea, I do love a cooking session where you can cook for more than one day.

Stats today

Eggs produced = 6

Sales -
2 x Cabbages £1.30
2 x 1Kg bags of tomatoes £2.00

Expenses -
Nil

Update on the new arrivals

Just thought I'd update you on the new arrivals.

Today was scorchingly, stupidly hot, 34 degrees centigrade at lunchtime.  When I let the laying hens out, they all ran straight under my horse trailer to dust bath and chill.  Now the new ones, apart from Colin the Buff Orpington cockerel who's in with the laying hens, are in temporary accommodation in a large shed until their new hut is built.  Now this shed has an openable window, but that's all for ventilation, so on welfare terms I opened the door and left it open.

Three hours later they still hadn't come out!

'I'm not looking.  If I ignore it, it will go away'

'Don't look Elsie'

'Maybe you're right Mavis'

He's getting braver

'Hey Ladies, look out here'

'Now, how do I use this again?'

'On second thoughts'

'Right, come on, follow me'

'Look Mavis, I did it'

'Thats enough for one day'

He is darn handsome

Bless them, I am so impressed with them, really glad we bought them, AND, they all went back in the shed for bed, what clever little chickens they are.

Stats today -

Eggs produced = 14, including one from the Exchequer Leghorns girlies

Sales -

1 & 1/2 dozen eggs £2.70

2 x bags Tomatoes £2.00

Expenses -

Nil