What is the easiest way to introduce new chickens to an existing flock?

[Lewis]

Got home about half an hour ago

 

I thought it was a good day and was nice to meet some Omleteers! One thing I did forget to take was the camera

 

As soon as he did a mostin it was announced Everyone was fine with it though.

 

Compostwoman had to get that last hen to balance out numbers + it was so pretty

[compostwoman]

My camera got broken

 

I used it to take a pic of my "babygro" chicken.... put it on the chair in the lecture room...collected it at the end and when I checked it the display was smashed

 

am very sad and a bit miffed, frankly....I am guessing it got knocked off the chair...

 

Compostman thinks ALL 3 chickens are VERY pretty and a worthy addition to the family

[Redwing]

Good to hear Compostman is toe-ing the line

 

Shame about your camera though

[compostwoman]

He is lovely, and very tolerant of my hens....he said tonight he knew how much I loved my chickens and how much they meant to me.. he is an OR, I have him very well trained...

[Lewis]

Shame about your camera the same happened to mine a few weeks ago - I managed to buy a new display on ebay.

 

I aggree about the boning, I was a bit rubbish at it so probably won't do it again but it was good to see how to do it.

 

I need to convince the parents to let me get meat birds now .

 

Thanks Clare for picking me up and driving about

[Lesley]

I need to convince the parents to let me get meat birds now .

 

 

You just need to have something like a Light Sussex Lewis - they'll never know

[Snowy]

I had a poorly chicken to despatch this morning - surprising how I nearly lost my nerve after yesterday Definitely harder when it's one of your own and a real character

But I'm glad I did it. Was a lot calmer and quicker than when I asked a farmer friend to do it for me Still feel a bit weird - it's a funny old sensation

[The Dogmother]

Glad to hear that you all got back OK, and that compostwoman's new hens were accepted.. I had to laugh at her choosing 'that pretty one'!

 

Lewis - you did brillliantly and it was a great, if tiring day. Thanks for the lovely gift - you really shouldn't have, but I shall treasure it!

 

Compostwoman - so sorry to hear about your camera - how annoying is that?

 

It all ran so very late though - none of us knew until Alison turned up that there was an extra course tagged onto the end, with a couple of the groups running a bit slower, it all ran on very late and even with Snowy, Lewis, Laurie and I helping with the plucking and boning, it was late before we made it to the pub. Luckily, the pub staff weren't at all worried and the food was delicious.

 

The poor chap who 'did a Mostin' was slightly worried as it was rather *errrmmm* messy, but all was OK in the end. I can't remember when I last did so much washing up, sweeping of feathers, cleaning of tables and making of tea!

 

Lovely to catch up with some others at the pub too.

 

Laurie enjoy your week in theses parts - shame that I am working, so not able to meet up

[Saronne]

Snowy...

 

You're braver than I could ever be...

 

 

Saronne xx

[compostwoman]

Snowy ((((hugs)))) not nice to do, but good for you for doing it

 

Claret ALL hens are pretty, to me! Poor lewis, trying to catch them on that sort of ID, though....thank you lewis!

 

new girls let out of Eglu this morning and decided they prefered life with "the big girls" and promptly flew over the fence...Claret I should have clipped their wings yesterday...but it was getting so late...

 

Meal and company eggcelent, and I look forward to meting some ( or all!) of you again....

 

new girls and old girls all had hand fed meal worms this morning....

 

mmm sausages for lunch today mmmmmm

[Redwing]

Well done for keeping your nerve Snowy , sorry about your poor girl x

[ClaireG]

Just got back from my parents. Was lovely to see you all and i'm glad you all enjoyed the food

[mostin]

I had a poorly chicken to despatch this morning - surprising how I nearly lost my nerve after yesterday Definitely harder when it's one of your own and a real character

But I'm glad I did it. Was a lot calmer and quicker than when I asked a farmer friend to do it for me Still feel a bit weird - it's a funny old sensation

 

I can totally sympathise with you Snowy. It felt very detached and anonymous on the course, with a chicken I had never met before, and had no name. Good job considering what happened to me .

 

When I had to do it to one of my own girls it it felt very different, and there were many tears but it was still peaceful, calm and quick.

 

Big hugs to you xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[Griffin]

I've just eaten my boned chicken. Yum! I made some lovely stuffing with sausagemeat, walnuts and white wine. And I made the mushroom & spinach wellingtons from this months Good Food magazine to go with it. I am now stuffed to bursting point

[Snowy]

Mmmm, just eaten ours too! I had some lincolnshire sausagemeat mix, so added a chopped onion and wrapped my baby gro chicken around it. Served with gravy made from the stock made with the giblets and bones, and potatoes, yellow french beans and carrots all from the allotment. Wonderful! There were 7 of us for dinner and there was not a single s"Ooops, word censored!" left!

[Falkor]

Sounds like a good time was had by all.

 

Sorry I didn`t get over to see you all at the pub but had promised OH some quality time on Saturday but didn`t get home from trip to Thornes with Cookie and Redwing until gone three. Thought i was pushing my luck going out again at 5!

[compostwoman]

Mmm ate ours here, also!

 

Stuffed with some of the sausagemeat I didn't make into sausages, and plums....mmmmm

 

New girls settled in nicely, let me hold and cuddle them , and are now in Cluckingham Palace with other new (ish) girls who are ISA Browns. New new girls are named now, Goldline is Cinnamon ( added to the other Spice Girls in with her, Ginger and Nutmeg) and the two Black Stars are Cocoa and Treacle.

 

I like themes....

[The Dogmother]

Love those names Compostwoman

 

Sounds like you all had delicious supper/lunch

 

Dunno about you lot, but I'm shattered

[compostwoman]

Love those names Compostwoman

 

Sounds like you all had delicious supper/lunch

 

Dunno about you lot, but I'm shattered

 

 

I am also.

 

.but the produce mountain won't freeze/dehydrate/bottle/jam/chutney itself and an afternoon and evening off yesterday means I have got behind......so back to the kitchen for me....

 

The new hens are really friendly and seem not too pecked about by the others..I have had to step in a bit today but on the whole all was peaceful - amazing what a bag of mealworms will do

 

They come running to me already

Edited September 6, 2009 by Guest

[The Dogmother]

Awww, bless them! My hens go wild for mealworms too.

 

My kitchen also looks like a bottling factory - been hedgewitching this afternoon and am currently processing it all! I really need to give up work to get it all done

[Lesley]

Luckily, the pub staff weren't at all worried and the food was delicious.

 

Not sure they were ecstatic about keeping the food warm for 2 hours but glad to see it hadn't suffered too much I was a bit worried that it would be ruined. The chips weren't the same as the ones when my son and I went for a test run which was a shame, but still nice - and the desserts were yummy! The five of us who weren't on the course and were at the pub early had an added embarrassment of seeing people being turned away from the Dining Room and asked to eat their food in the Bar 'because there is a big party in the Dining Room' - we did get some funny looks.......5 deluded people obviously thinking they had friends

 

It's very odd having 20 people sitting over a meal and chatting about 'doing a Mostin' and checking shoes for chicken guts You all looked so shattered when you arrived.

 

We felt the same about the boning - we were interested in doing that part but probably wouldn't do it again. I did bone a big turkey once and it ended up spread all over the kitchen table - nothing like a babygro - but it looked fine once it was stuffed and rolled! Unless you use that skill on a regular basis it is quickly forgotten. I haven't boned a chicken since we were shown how.

 

I wonder if Alison wouldn't be better showing how to joint a chicken? - much quicker and probably more use to most people?

[The Dogmother]

She did show someone on the last course how to joint their chicken. I agree that it would be far more useful than rolling.

 

I'm afraid that the delay was unavoidable Lesley - as I explained - we couldn't just all walk out and leave them to it on their own. One of those situations where you just have to go with the flow

 

We were shattered - 9 hours om our feet, no breaks, barely even time to go to the loo. The people attending really enjoyed it and were all very keen to go home and cook their 2 chickens

[Lesley]

I'm afraid that the delay was unavoidable Lesley - as I explained - we couldn't just all walk out and leave them to it on their own. One of those situations where you just have to go with the flow

 

It was a bit unfair on you that no-one knew that there was an added late course - I didn't know until the evening before when Allison replied to an email about joining us at the pub.

[The Dogmother]

How strange that she told you then and not us..... oh well, at least you knew we were going to be late.

 

They ran out of chickens too - not sure what was going on as it was her organising it, but I think that some people turning up had booked as couples, so should have been sharing a bird, but didn't make it clear (or weren't asked) when they turned up, so ended up with a bird each. Luckily Jude had some mature meat birds that they could use... and a naughty cockerel, who had pecked yard staff once too often!

 

Alison has to plan ahead and grow on all the birds she uses, so it's crucial to get the numbers right.

 

At the end of the day, everyone was happy though, which is what matters. I think Alison is planning to do another one there is the new year.

 

Rosie watched the despatching (she's seen me doing it before anyhow) and wants to have a go herself next time.

[Peter S]

I thought the course was great, although I was one of those responsible for my group overrunning - it took me ages to bone my chicken, but it was a thing of beauty in the end!

 

We had the bird last night, with the mini fillets wrapped in parma ham and everything spread with a parsley pesto and stuffed with pecans and apricots. Whole things placed into a loaf tin with some white wine and baked for an hour or so, then served with spuds, sauted turnips and a ratattouille, all from the allotment. Delicious, and there is more than half of it left!

 

Now to deal with the other bird, which is currently hanging in the shed...