Installing Indoor Cat Tree

[Guest]

After six months of talking my Mum into it (she lives in the annexe) I finally have chickens!! WOO HOOO!

 

My 5 year old son was very excited about it, wore his chicken vest (el pollo it says but the picture is of course a rooster) and off we went this morning to get the Eglu.

 

This afternoon we hot footed it off to get some birds. Were going to have 2 but Kirsty is big on sending them out in at least a group of 3. Even Mum didn't take too much persuasion.

 

We now have 3 lovely girls.

 

Amber – Bovans Amber/ Amber Star

 

June – Meadowsweet Ranger

 

Pengy – Speckled Star

 

Heres a couple of piccies!

 

 

 

 

Just got to work out how to get them in the Eglu for the night now!

Edited June 2, 2007 by Guest

[theherd123]

Wonderful news & congratulations

 

Your girls look lovely & as for getting them into the eglu just wait till it gets darker and they will usually go in themselves

[Guest]

Thanks. Trouble is that I usually head up to bed with my laptop around 9pm, on a school night (teacher) I'm asleep by 9.30!

 

Mum is already in bed - we are early risers. DS got me up at 5.30 this morning.

[theherd123]

Thanks. Trouble is that I usually head up to bed with my laptop around 9pm, on a school night (teacher) I'm asleep by 9.30!

 

Mum is already in bed - we are early risers. DS got me up at 5.30 this morning.

 

You sound just like me

 

I teach too and week nights i often go up at 9 & its not been unknown for me to go at 8.30

Mind you sleeping is one of my favourite hobbies and if it were an Olympic sport i would have so many gold medals my neck would hurt

 

You could always open the run door and get one chook at a time and post them in the egg port. Ive done this before now when ive wanted to go to bed early

[Egluntyne]

Mind you sleeping is one of my favourite hobbies and if it were an Olympic sport i would have so many gold medals my neck would hurt

 

Me too! I love my bed!

[Guest]

LOL - I often think all those people who say teachers have it easy with all the holidays should come into the staff room a couple of weeks into the Autumn term. When all the staff are reassuring the NQT's that being in bed at 8pm is not a sign that they are ill!!!

 

Pengy is in, Amber and June are in the run, Amber seems to like sleeping under June.

[Karen & co.]

Lovely photos They will soon learn where it's comfy to sleep

 

karen x

[sparkleeeeee]

i am a teacher as well and it is not as easy as people think, in fact it is really hard work but i wouldnt swap it for anything. i am having a few years off for children and miss it terribly. i would give anything to go back but hubbie often works seven days a week and i help him with his business and run the house, i just couldnt fit teaching in as well. i will return when the kids start school. i still have the early mornings at the moment its 5am, but unfortunately not the early nights.

lovely ladies Penguinmad i cant wait until i get mine

[AJuff]

Don't look back with rose coloured specs. Remember May half term? I'm still only half way through report writing . . . .15 to go. Thank goodness there's a forum to distract me for ten minutes before I go back to writing. Staying at home with hens and children must be a better option?

[sparkleeeeee]

oh yes, i had forgotten about reports, even though i taught 11-18y i used to mainly teach the younger ones so i would have about 200 to do three times a year and i didnt have the added bonus of kids being off for study leave. i used to like the thrill and challenge when it was manic. i didnt have children then so it would be different now. i do love my children (edward will be three in september and harriet was one in january) but apart from two mornings for two and a half hours when they are at nursery(when i have do do papaerwork and health and safety), i am with them 24 hours a day. harriet has only just started sleeping through the night and edward is in the terrable two stage. sometimes i wish i could just have an hour off to sit in a class and just have the thrill of teaching again. i must admit i was lucky enough to teach at an independent school so i didnt have all the behaviour issues that you have in state schools. but you are right i am lucky to be able to stay at home with the children, some people dont have a choice.

[Guest]

Well I got the girls to bed, evenutally! June curled up against the outside of the Eglu whist Amber and Pengy were insided. I found a bamboo cane and with a little gentle prodding and lots of verbal encouragment she found her way in for the night.

 

DS got up at 5am and rushed out to open the door. He was very disappointed when they didn't come rushing out straight away!

 

They seem quite happy now, grubbing around in the run. Its going to be a roasting hot day, do you think I should move them further under the tree where they will get extra shade?

 

I'm also going to see how they do with the lawnmower- I love mowing the lawn (only since I got a ride on!)

 

As for the teaching - I teach 11 to 18 year olds too only I teach mainly KS4 and some KS5 (despite being KS3 co-ordinator). I now only have 8 lessons a week to teach but loads of development work to do.

[Olly]

as long as they've got a shady bit of the run somewhere, they should be ok. Mine are not at all bothered by the lawnmower, I mow right up to the front of the run.

 

I don't know where the expression 'chicken', meaning 'scared' comes from, because nothing seems to scare mine!

[Guest]

Thanks for that, the lawn needs doing, espeically as my ex hubby has wormed his way into my head again and I'm a bit grumpy. Somehow riding round on the mower always seems to cheer me up, but I don't want to upset my new girls!

[Lailapet]

Hmm, mine are panic stricken and can really whip things up into a frenzy if we get too close. Hopefully they'll get used to us soon. We try to be gentle around them and sit outside the run chatting and generally just act as usual in the garden (nearly wrote act normal, but none of us are).

How long does it take, do you think?

[chrisnrob]

Chris has mowed the lawn this morning for the first time since the girls arrived...

 

They are very cluckly when they hear the mower and keep scuttling back into the Eglu and peering out from the doorway. Once the mower has gone past they come out but then go back in when it approaches again. He's talking to them each time he goes past to reassure them (I can hear the odd "It's OK girls" coming from the bottom of the garden!)

 

That said, I think they're getting used to it already

 

Rob

[Guest]

I didn't get round to it yesterday, will try today if the grass dries out seemed like a heavy dew today.

 

Before I mow I will move the girls to their permanant site, its more out of way of the mower too.

[chelsea]

fab pics. Your chickens are lovely

[Hen Watch]

Great pics.... Mine ignore the mower and it's a noisy petrol mower too.....

 

I was shutting my eglu door each night, but I'm now leaving it open with the girls shut inside the run by 8.30pm. So you could put them in the closed run and let them put themselves to bed if you want to retire early yourself. I only started doing this last week as we were on holiday and it was less hastle for my pregnant sister who likes to go to bed early herself. So now I've got the confidence to leave the eglu door open every night I'll continue, unless the weather gets bad.