Chick Emporium

I sell hatching eggs for my Buff Sussex bantams, but only having two hens coupled with their propensity to go broody means that accumulating many eggs for customers can be a little tricky. One lady was after 12 and the day after I had that conversation, Herbert went broody. Thankfully the lady in question was happy for me to incubate the eggs I had been able to collect and have chicks rather than eggs!

6 were already under a friend's Pekin as she was so resolutely broody I thought I may as well put her to work, and I put 6 more under the willing Herbert. The chicks would be a week or so apart which is not ideal but is do-able. 5 of the first batch hatched:

I'm awaiting the arrival of the next batch to see how many emerge, but usually hatch rates are good when they're in the care of a hen, and it's lovely for the chicks to have some time with their 'mother' to show them how to be a chicken. Much of their behaviour of course is instinctive but they learn important social and developmental lessons when they're raised by another hen rather than under a lamp.

I also purchased some day-old Rhode Island x Light Sussex chicks - this hybrid is sex-linking so you can tell the boys from the girls. These will be my replacement layers and I was thrilled to find someone who was selling these chicks as I take a dim view of the commercial hybrid industry (as per a previous post), especially as I only had to go 5 minutes up the road from my house to collect them! I also took the 4 week-old 'sister' from a previous batch and she seems to be coping with being the largest now that the chicks have stopped trying to brood underneath her....

They are in a puppy crate in my study overnight and go in an admittedly tiny run during the day. I'm expecting their new ark to arrive this week so if it stays mild they can start being in there full time as the young ones should have most of their feathers. They have an infra-red lamp on for an hour or so to calm them in the evening and I then turn it off once they're asleep.

I also have 8 eggs in the incubator which were given to me by a friend - they acquired them in France while they were on holiday so I've no idea if they'll hatch but I'll candle them at the end of the week and see what's going on...

First Lot of New Chicks

Beatrice the bantam has been sitting calmly on her 5 eggs - she only got up twice but I did give the eggs a spray with lukewarm water on a number of occasions to increase the humidity. All went well and the eggs hatched so I have 3 Welsummer (or at least meant to be!) and 2 buff Sussex bantam chicks. One is actually Beatrice's chick, the other being Herbert's.

I put the eggs from my new Welsummer hens to hatch on the basis that they would be Henry's offspring but they aren't looking very Welsummer-ish, although I'm not sure how variable the colouration is...according to Google Images they're meant to be really stripy but two of them are golden. I thought/read that hens can be fertile for a week after they've been mated so a new cockerel needs over that to ensure any eggs are indeed his. My friend said she thought it was ten days, and I read in another book that it can be a month!! So, I'm not sure who the hens were running with before I bought them, or maybe Henry isn't a pure Welsummer after all. Sadly my new hens were taken by a fox so unless I raise some more from hatching eggs I'm a bit stuck with breeding more.

Anyway, after the sadness of losing hens, chicks are always a welcome sight! Cue lots of pictures of the little angels:

Incubator

I have always been fortunate to have a procession of broody hens with which to hatch eggs for me - they love it and do a brilliant job so have always been rather relieved that I've never had need of an incubator. However, I have just acquired a Brinsea Mini Eco from Flyte So Fancy as I have a rather sad reason for hatching some eggs. 

At the allotments, my plot runs alongside the boundary fence, and opposite me is a field with some beautiful Vorwerk chickens that I admire whenever I'm up there, a cockerel and four hens. The girls noticed one of the chickens was 'lying really still' and unfortunately the cockerel had died, having apparently been fine that morning according to one of the other people up there. 

Knowing that eggs remain fertile for about a week after the hens have been mated, I took 7 eggs and ordered an incubator, as of course there's never a broody hen when you really need one...

I did also think it would be good to have one as a precaution and also to compare natural hatching with artificial. The chicks will be about ten days behind the ones currently under my broody Buff Sussex bantam but will be able to run together in a brooder once they've grown a bit. 

So, fingers crossed for a decent hatch. I met the gentleman who owns the hens and he's very happy to exchange the eggs for a cockerel, which is a great deal as far as I'm concerned as I've got quite a few cockerels already. The hens are beautiful though so I'm looking forward to seeing how they get on. 

Meanwhile Beatrice is sitting patiently with the odd hour off for a preen and a bathe and a peck of grass.

Mulch

I struggle with February. Considering it's the shortest month, it can go on, and on, and on.....

Not helped by the weather. I'm definitely at the 'outdoorsy' end of the spectrum and go just a little [more] bonkers with too much rain-induced incarceration. It was drying up quite nicely then a weather front strolled by and flattened all the crocuses and turned the garden back in to a swamp.

The poor hens. I've had a bit of a sad time these last few weeks on the poultry front, having lost Esme to rat attack a few weeks ago, then Peggy to a kidney infection last week, then my other Buff Sussex bantam Gloria to another rat a couple of days ago.Two of my layers are going to friends of my parents as they recently lost two of their free-range hens to a dog attack.

However, it's a good time to take stock of things and given the state of the ground, no bad thing that the coops are rather sparsely populated. I asked my local tree surgeon if he had any spare chipped waste; he did and kindly dropped off a half load:

All seven runs now have a deep layer (about 4-6") of mulch. There are some laurel prunings which concerned me but having watched the hens closely as they scratch around, they've not been eating any of the material, just pecking about. My hens are experienced rangers and foragers so I'm presuming common sense will prevail. In my investigations as to toxicity of plant material and chickens, I was surprised at the number of things undesirable or even downright dangerous that my hens seem to eat without a problem.

So, with spring around the corner, and the promise of restocking with some traditional utility breeds and rearing some chicks from my remaining Buff Sussex bantams now that Beatrice is laying, I'm not feeling too bad about my recent losses.

Thinking About Chicks

I've had a few orders for hatching eggs already this year, although the younger trio of Buff Sussex bantams are only producing about 1 egg every other day and the other trio aren't laying at all. The Rhode Island bantam hasn't laid since about September although she did have a significant moult and is coming in to her 3rd year so I'm not expecting a prolific supply from her this coming season!

A lady called in at the weekend to collect one of the bantam eggs that I did have (I'd have had 3 to give her if I'd not made cinnamon buns, oops) as her Light Sussex bantam had gone broody which is very early in the year. I'm hoping my little cockerel's fertility levels are ok as they tend to diminish in the winter, or rather, it's the day length that stimulates the hormones. We'll see. I've asked her to let me know how the solitary egg gets on.

We've had a lot of stormy weather and the mud in the runs is terrible. I've been mucking the hens out every couple of days so that they've got somewhere clean and dry to shelter although they do insist on scuffing all the bedding out of the door, or nosing in the neighbours' coop....

It also keeps the eggs a bit cleaner which helps, especially as I sell almost all the eggs the hens lay - it was lovely over Christmas plenty enough spare to enjoy ourselves. There's always enough to go round though so I don't like to turn customers away and the thing they all comment on is that they like having the dates on the eggs - I write it on in pencil so it's possible to use the eggs for the right purpose according to the age.

A very fresh egg (less than 3 days old) is a nightmare to peel if it's hard-boiled as the membrane is so firmly attached to the shell, but it's perfect for poaching and frying because it holds its shape with a tight white and a rounded yolk. The flavour develops and is best from about 3-7 days so that's a good time for soft-boiled and easy-peel eggs for sandwiches. Eggs will keep fresh for about 3 weeks so use the older eggs for scrambling and cooking in cakes where the texture isn't so important. By writing the day it was laid on the egg, I can make sure my customers always get eggs less than a week old, with a mixture of sizes and dates. Some of the hens are laying extra large and double-yolkers which is a lovely treat and makes up for the rather puny ones the bantam crosses lay! 

Thankfully, despite the weather, all the hens are getting a run in the garden and field every day which keeps them happy and gives a beautiful rich taste and colour to the yolks. The hybrids are always keen for a forage but the bantams sometimes need a bit of persuading with a handful of corn or an apple. We're all looking forward to some dry weather and a bit more sunshine!

New Year

Having enjoyed a break over the darkest part of the year, the hens are now laying again, with a few double-yolkers in the next boxes already. I'm still feeding them hot molassed mash with Net-tex Mineral Boost, and some cooked crushed eggshells to increase the calcium levels. Apart from the loss of one hen due to a prolapse - RIP Mary :-( - they've all come through the winter in good condition with bright fluffy new feathers having all moulted. I've had a couple of requests for hatching eggs so once the bantams start laying again with any regularity I'll be able to collect some for my customers.

I'm considering getting some eggs under the first broody I have to increase my stock a bit, and check the fertility of the pair of Buff Sussex I bought last year as I've not had a chance to put Bertie and Beatrice to the test. The little chick I kept back (called Herbert, although he's turned out to be a hen) is still very small and seems to have the poultry version of cradle cap with scabby deposits around his head. He's not yet found the dustbath, preferring instead to scamper about the garden. I feel a bit sorry for him - I mean her! - as she's in with Bertie and Beatrice who are in their third year so rather staid company for a little pullet who wants to bounce around and spar with her mates. 

The garden is looking worse for wear but the crocuses are poking up now and will soon be showing their faces for the bees to enjoy, although I've got rows of snowdrops to enjoy before then.

So, that's the New Year - best wishes to all!

The ducks and the hens doing their bit to ruin the last remnants of grass...

Summer to Autumn

After a summer of hot spells and storms, it appears that autumn is fast approaching. The bees are much quieter and having to deal with wasp raids as well as ejecting drones who sadly don't get to spend the winter in the hive, having done their duty. The new growth on the plants that I cut back a few weeks ago is deep green and hunkering down ready for dormancy, and the annuals are covered in seed pods, ready for collection. Ten chicks hatched and struggled to cope with the heat a few weeks ago, but 9 are now in their new home under a lamp - I kept one chick back as I wasn't sure it would thrive; tucked under the feather duvet of mother hen means it will be warm and spoilt rotten.

Plums, damsons and apples are becoming ripe and ready to pick, eat and preserve. Having found a good jam recipe here I'm looking forward to trying it out on this small haul from a friend's garden.

It's always handy to keep a bee skep in the boot of the car!