Pecked

It's not been a good week for the "Little -Uns" here in the Renaissance garden.

First their was the incident with the rat and now we have injury.

Probably as a direct result of the forementioned incident stressing the birds.

Two of the little Barred Rocks have had their heads badly pecked.

They will be okay but we've had to seperate them from the others for their own safety.

Don't know who the culprit was but I'm hoping we've seen an end to it as things calm down again.

Hens welcome home party

"A woman in Buffalo has just held a welcome party for her chickens after a year of being without them. Monique Watts lost her hens Buttercup, Minnie, Meg, Tilda and Mama Effie a year ago after someone had reported her for keeping them illegally. She hadn't realised that there had been a recent city ordinance banning residents from owning chickens.

Monique started keeping chickens in her backyard as she was conscious of where her food came from. She was upset to have them taken away from her and decided to fight for a change in law and to get her pets back. With the help of her councilman she managed to get a new ordinance passed allowing residents of Buffalo to keep up to five chickens as long as their neighbours agree to it.

After welcoming her hens back Monique plans to continue her fight as she believes the ordinance is still restrictive. She believes that everyone deserves to have fresh eggs and she wants keeping hens to be completely legalized."

Extract from Omelet Uk Newsletter 23rd September 2009

Rat Update

Okay just a quick update on yesterday's post, sensitive souls should turn away...

The rat got into the caged pen with Plum and chicks, they were terrified as was the rat who had somehow managed to get in but couldn't find a way out.

I had to evacuate the birds all the time keeping an eye on that rat.

Then I called my husband and asked him to come home and get rid of the rat, he told me to shoot it.

My response was that I didn't trust myself not to miss so he came home and shot the darn thing. A quick, clean kill but still horrid.

A Mischief of Rats

One of the downsides of keeping poultry - rats.

I saw one in the garden yesterday evening eyeing up the chicks (who aren't really chicks anymore but more like minature chickens).

I'm afraid I'm going to have to resort to this, the cats don't seem to be doing their job.

Introducing - The Kitchen Garden - Francine Raymond

UK Hen keepers and readers of Country Living will need no introduction to

Francine Raymond of The Kitchen Garden

But did you know she has a blog? Find it by clicking on Diary at her website.

Go to work on an egg

It's 50 years since the Little Lion on eggs was launched and as part of their

celebrations the British Egg Marketing Board is giving us the chance to watch

the orginal Tony Hancock "Go to work on an egg" advertisements.

Take a look here

Aracauna Cockerel

Cute huh?

Don't forget you can join us on a "virtual" apple pick, we're posting photographs from the orchard on our website over the next few days, you'll find them in theWhat we are doing section

Araucana

We're still fully occupied with apples, the chicks continue to grow at an astonishing rate and I'm rather taken with this little Araucana Bantam hen ( the lilac grey bird) belonging to a friend of ours. I'll show you the little cockerel another day. In the meantime don't forget you can join us on a "virtual" apple pick, we're posting photographs from the orchard on our website over the next few days, you'll find them in theWhat we are doing section

Harvest time

It's harvest time and the apple crop seems to have disrupted posts on The Chicken Daily.

Normal service will resume shortly in the meantime if you'd like to join us on a "virtual"

apple pick you'll find daily photographs from the orchard on our website you'll find them in the
What we are doing section

Oh by the way chickens love windfalls!