The Mcconnochies

Thanks, they are hybrids so I guess we will be waiting till the spring

Hey all, we have had 4 chooks now for about a year, all doing well so far. They moulted about 6 weeks or so ago and we haven't had a single egg since then. I know it is freezing at the moment but I thought we might get some eggs as we did last winter. Any thoughts?

Thanks everyone... I'll keep an eye on them and see if there are any other softies. The other eggs laid today were left in the nesting box so all looks well.

Hi all...I thought things were going well with our girls with a fairly quiet couple of months but I spoke too soon... I just spotted an egg that had been laid outside the nesting box being eaten by teh chickens. It has sparked off a bit of a fight and feeding frenzy. I couldn't see who laid it and I had a quick check and none of their vents seem injured. So, is this normal behaviour and if not what do i need to do about it? Is it likely to be an isolated incident? Andrew

Thanks all...will take a close look tomorrow and take some action.

Excited for you... I wen t on a course run by Cotswold Poulty near Oxford....fantastic to help me have the confidence to get started. I highly reccomend going on something similar. Enjoy

Hey all - I've spotted some mites on the outside of our wooden coup...the don't look like the red mites that I've seen photos of on the internet but they are definitely there and have been for a day or so. Any ideas of what they might/mite be? I've dusted the girls and the inside of the coop...nothing on either as far as I can see. Any hints or tips? Andrew

I have a young bluebelle that is a jumper. The oultry netting worked a treat.

Looks very similar to how we have ours on Miss Moneypenny..she has been fine with it for weeks.

Thanks Olly...I'm now looking forward to cracking it open!!

Thanks Clare - good session on Sunday by the way. Thanks for the advice re the vaseline...I'll keep some on hand.

Hi, we have a new layer (a light sussex). Her first egg was small ( a few days ago) and second a bit bigger and today she laid a whopper. The only issue is that it had some blood etc on it...not much but enough that you could notice it. I've inspected her and her vent has a bit of a discharge of blood coming from inside it (not really enough to get the others interested nd definitely not flowing...just there really). Just wondering if it s normal for new layers to get have this and whether it is likely to clear up on its own? Any thoughts greatly appreciated. Andrew

Oh, really interested in this. Did you get anything in writing or did they point out anything you could print off? We are in Gloucestershire and they just declared us in drought...no hosepipe ban yet though.

Absolutely agree...it was a lifesaver for us.

Looks fantastic...and what a cimbing frame/fort/den!!!