Egluntyne Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 I am getting my two new ex-batts on Sunday! I am calling mine Dougal and Ermitrude! Dougal? That is a blokes name, Martin. Why not Florence...that is a very pretty name and goes beautifully with Ermentrude! Congratulations Martin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted March 4, 2008 Author Share Posted March 4, 2008 It was Martin who talked me into having 6 instead of 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin B Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 It was Martin who talked me into having 6 instead of 4 I like florence, will have to ponder on that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 I liked Posh & Pecks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popcorn Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 Not really on the 'grey' theme - although they were filmed in Black and White if that counts as grey?..... ...I'm talking about your bluebelles Lesley and about naming two of them Prudence and Primrose (Pru and Prim) after the 'Prudence Kitten' TV program on Watch with Mother from the 50's and 60's. I found a link here: http://www.sausagenet.com/program.asp?mode=view&progid=959&progname=Prudence+Kitten Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted March 4, 2008 Author Share Posted March 4, 2008 - I'd never heard of them Gina....... and I watched plenty of black and white TV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyren Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 ....and then we're having 4 Bluebelles in April - so I'll need 'grey' related names Muriel Lady Jane Agnes (novel by Anne Bronte) Dorian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted March 5, 2008 Author Share Posted March 5, 2008 I had Dorian (and Earl) on the list for the boy kittens but they didn't feel right........ I'll have to wait and see what the hens look like I think.... We have a resident fox at the moment It is driving Jazz mad and she runs off as soon as we let her out, following fox tracks. It's a bit worrying as the fox may have gone out towards the main road......... It is mangey looking and has been marking it's territory extremely well - it reeks of fox everywhere, even opening the bedroom window makes the house smell. It has been around for a few weeks - we know that because Jazz has been rolling in fox poo , but now seems to be happily strolling around a lot of the day...... It amanged to scratch at the electric wire around the hens last week when the battery was a bit low so we've had to make sure that the batteries are all up to strength and change them often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louise Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 Hire a man with a gun Lesley In fact its a shame you are so far away I know just the person Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted March 5, 2008 Author Share Posted March 5, 2008 Matthew is away at the moment but when he gets back I thought I'd tell him that the fox goes across to the end of the next field where he raises his pheasants....... then he will shoot it for us We have a gun but neither of us have the stomach to shoot it - unless it was in the process of killing our hens perhaps....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 I'll have a crack Lesley.. in fact Phil's brother is a top shot. My lurcher would have taken it on she hated foxes with a vengeance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted March 6, 2008 Author Share Posted March 6, 2008 Don't worry....... it will be gone as soon as Matthew gets back this weekend Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trish Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 Hi Lesley, sorry I've not been around in ages. What a time you've been having. Sorry to hear about Skye, poor thing but I agree that a sheeps main aim in life is to die. I had a friend who's dad kept sheep and they are fickle animals at the best of times. They would appear halthy and then just drop, or fall off things, walk into things etc. Did you every get to what the problems was? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
One Man Banned Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 nice to see you back Trish A xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted March 6, 2008 Author Share Posted March 6, 2008 Hi Trish! By the time she was collected, it was past the stage where they could have checked her over! There was nothing obvious....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trish Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 Just a thought, could it have been preganacy related? Do you have any signs of possible lambs with any of the other ewes? Lambs are soooo cute and fluffy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted March 7, 2008 Author Share Posted March 7, 2008 It could have been pregnancy related Trish - there are a couple of things which cause sheep to just keel over....... You can't tell whether thay are pregnant until about a week before, when their udders start to swell. Farmers have their flocks scanned as if you have a lot of sheep, it costs very little. With just a few sheep, it wouldn't be worth it. We love surprises Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paola Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 You always seem to have plenty of those Lesley Hope your fox problem gets sorted soon. My dog loves rolling in fox poop also Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted March 8, 2008 Author Share Posted March 8, 2008 All our bees are dead We noticed on Thursday that there were a lot of dead bees being pushed out of the doorway. They were piling up behind the mouse guard so we took that off. We weren't able to open up the hive until today when it was windless and mild for a short time - all were dead. I contacted two people from Stratford Beekeepers and had emails and a phone call back. It appears that they have starved - despite there being a big slab of fondant for them. Lots of people have lost their bees recently because the really abysmal summer meant that bees weren't strong enough to face the winter. The person running the Stratford Courses has lost 2 out of his 8 hives and another experienced beekeeper has lost all 10 of his hives. We couldn't have chosen a worse summer to start with bees We were worried that we caused suffering but apparently not, we did everything that we should have done . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 Oh no! What a shame Reassuring to know it was nothing you did wrong though. Will you be able to re-populate the hive? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillfamily Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 What a shame Lesley Last years bad weather has had a terrible effect on nature and wildlife. Let's hope for the right weather this year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen & co. Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 Oh what a shame the weird weather has a huge impact on our wildlife doesn't it Does that mean that they will be hard to get hold of to re-populate? Karen x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theherd123 Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 Oh Lesley im so sorry to read this What a disappointment, you must feel really fed up. I do hope this Summer is better and you try again with bees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted March 8, 2008 Author Share Posted March 8, 2008 We hope to start again this summer - but it won't be the same as bringing a hive full of bees through the winter - you miss all the early foraging and consequently have less honey. I almost wish we'd taken off all the honey from last year - we only took 10lbs and lef tthe rest to make sure they had a good start to winter with their own stores. I think bee colonies for starters may be in short supply this year because of the summer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jules. Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 Oh dear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
