soapdragon

Our overnight forecast has gone from - 3.5 last night to + 4 tonight; apparently up to a positively balmy 8 over the weekend. I am quite tottery now as I await my new joint so it will be a relief not to have frosty, slippy pavements all round the village!

Pics required in due course 😉. Have you decided on breed yet?

Our personal experience is that we had three gorgeous Light Sussex bantams in a Classic with attached run, which was the perfect size for them given that they were able to FR and eat the garden most days too! We shut both the run and Classic door at night. If you have (or suspect that you have rats) around then it would be good practice to take the food out of the run each evening so as not to put temptation in their way. Equally, be aware of any food the girls manage to spill and try and clear that asap. Our boys were around 6 and 3 when we got the banties and both loved egg collecting and cuddling the chooks. Others on The Forum have much more experience though and will, no doubt be better able to advise! Good luck with your new venture - keep us updated!

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Don't worry; I've been called far worse 🤣

We always found the grubs and glugs really good - they can discolour which doesn't look great but it's only cosmetic! MIL used the tall metal ones but they often got knocked over (!) and were not nearly so easy to sterilise/clean satisfactorily.

Sorry, CT but all find in south Oxfordshire too! Hope all resolves soon!

As I recall, the origins of BSE were rooted in species eating (as in 'being fed') their own and, whilst I fully acknowledge that the semantics are possibly a little different, the principal surely stays the same? There are lots of other lovely treats that the chooks can have and that will be really nutritious and beneficial for them.

How are the intros going, MH?

To be brutally honest Peter, they may have an even shorter lifespan if they are regularly fed on 'human' food which their systems are totally incapable of dealing with! Pellets are boring for us humans but perfectly fine for chickens. There are many other treats that you can give them which are far, far better for their digestions. You can also make a mash with left over veg and some oats; very good warmed as Blackrocksrock says. Mine also loved mango stones, which they picked clean, as a special treat and the resulting yolks were such a lovely colour! And I swear that they played football with apples before pecking them to death!

Fab minion! Yes, soap unmoulded tho a little swirly on top as I didn't get the greaseproof paper on quickly enough! Smells nice so just have to wait 6 weeks until it's cured! Once my hip is done and I am fully recovered I am going to get a basic needlefelting book as the projects posted are really inspiring! Thanks so much for sharing, peeps!

Made a double recipe of Castile soap this morning (just olive oil, lye and lavender oil). Why, oh why, does my nose always itch madly the very second that I add the sodium hydroxide to the oil and start to mix...... it 'nose' I can't scratch 🙄! All safely tucked up under towels and blankets in the bedroom now until unmoulding on Saturday! I am so tempted by all the lovely needle felting projects....I've even got a couple of books on watch on E Bay as I have quite a bit of wool already in store from when I planned to do 'ordinary' felting with the boys some time ago and I think it would be suitable! Maybe when my hip is done...............................................

Oh goodness..... I thought of 'our' Cinnamon too and had a panic! However, I'll have a look at the website and see what is local to me! Thanks for flagging up!

A central meet up would be great! DM, I know that you are close to M40/M4 .......Patricia W and I are near M40 too and Oxford Ring Road. Apart from Oxford services is there anywhere around Bicester that would suit, do you think? My geography isn't great but would that be about halfway from Midlands/West Country?

If you are looking for two names that are in some way related then I guess they'll need to have one common word which very clearly describes the premise? Chicken Shed/Chicken Chat. Clucking Mad/Clucking Talk. Chicken Whisperer/Chicken Talk. Which Comes First/Chicken and Egg. Henmania/Hentertainment. Henfo/Hengoss. Chick'n'Egg/Chick'n'Talk. I used to be very dismissive regarding big London Ad agencies but now I begin to see why they make big bucks 😂