
Old Speckled Hen
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Feathery Fanatic (10/19)
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Old Speckled Hen started following Freezing timescales , Best time to buy? Lots of questions.. , Bird Flu precautions - extended to 28 FEB and 7 others
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PS....you could look here https://www.facebook.com/groups/beehaus/
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I hate to say this but you are going about it the wrong way, even with the best intentions. Get him a membership of a local beekeeping association and a course of beekeeping beginners' lessons. That way he gets his hands on somebody else's bees first and hopefully a mentor to help him through his first year and beyond. Then buy your kit and bees. You can keep bees in the smallest of gardens if you manage how they exit the hive to minimise annoying your neighbours. Bees sometimes get unruly so you have to have a back up site to move them if you need to. I hope you both enjoy the journey. It is addictive and fascinating......oh and no more holidays away from the bees for more than a few days from March to September
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Which brings me back to what I said about the rules DEFRA made up about backyard flocks having to be kept in being about them appearing to be doing something. There's "Ooops, word censored!"ody quite like the Brits in their zeal to conform to regulations. Of course DEFRA has scientific advice but it is largely peopled by jobsworth civil servants What about the ridiculous slaughter regulations for Foot and Mouth when so many other countries vaccinate? What about the ridiculous badger culling farce? A beefarmer has just been successfully prosecuted for taking the life of his bees and the jobs of his employees into his own hands after DEFRA failed to supply him, on time, with a treatment they had agreed to supply. The judge said it was a waste of time and fined him peanuts because he pleaded guilty while the taxpayer picks up a bill for 100K for the VMD's costs. Edited for typo
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I had house up for sale with estate agents for six months. Sacked them and went with houseladder. House was sold and it cost me £100. Estate agents fees would have been 15K. No brainer !
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I wonder what DEFRA are going to do at the end of February if there are cases still. Or the end of March/April/May? I suspect they will re-evaluate the risk for back garden flocks and we will be in a position to let our birds out again scratching our heads and wondering if all this was pointless. We have thousands of birds visiting the garden and starlings foraging in surrounding fields. How much gets blown into our birds' runs? I am at a loss at the wisdom of all this.
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Don't give them away unless you actually know who is taking them. I gave cockerels away thinking they were going to a good home and the chap ate them..... You need to charge something. People are not always what they seem. Sorry if this upsets some of you but it happened to me and upset was an understatement!
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I always get mine off ebay even cheaper. Hens love them http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5KG-WILD-BIRD-DRIED-MEALWORMS-MEALWORM-/131740562153?hash=item1eac5972e9:g:h-wAAOxy039TNYFF