Avian Flu Update? 1 2

[Minnie&Moose 30]

Alternating between sheeting rain with howling wind and brief periods of sunshine - I'm feeling a bit sorry for our new sheep who were shorn only a few days ago and are huddled into the base of the hedge in their field, while our senior sheep are bellowing obsenities at them from the safety and shelter of their cosy fieldshelter🙄 - turns out chickens and sheep share certain traits such as the 'handbags at dawn' welcome for newcomers😂

Edited July 27, 2020 by Minnie&Moose

[The Dogmother 581]

😂 I can imagine! The wind is strong enough here and you're way more exposed than we are.

Are they settling in?

[Minnie&Moose 30]

1 minute ago, The Dogmother said:

Are they settling in?

Well - they now know what a bucket means!  They seem quite chilled compared with what I was expecting - but we're a long way from chin and back scratches!

[The Dogmother 581]

That's good though.... looking forward to seeing them tomorrow.

 

[soapdragon 571]

11 minutes ago, The Dogmother said:

That's good though.... looking forward to seeing them tomorrow.

 

Photos please!!!!!!!

[Minnie&Moose 30]

@soapdragon - some spotty sheep from when the sun was shining yesterday! 

[The Dogmother 581]

Cow-print sheeps!

 

 

[soapdragon 571]

They are lovely........what did you do with the wool? They'll certainly be happier without it by the end of the week! 

[Minnie&Moose 30]

They were shorn just before they arrived so I haven't got their fleeces sadly.  But I'll have them next year - if they're good enough I might try and have them made into 'vegetarian' fleeces - where they're felted on the back to keep them together and then can be used as a rug without the animal having to lose its skin.  I'm having this year's fleeces from our original sheep spun and woven into a rug - not cheap but at least it doesn't end up in the compost heap, which was the alternative.

[Beantree 130]

Oh dear it's HOT and getting hotter, so it will reach 38C which, because of the high humidity, 'feels like' 45C says the weather lady. We're not the hottest though as Biarritz in the far Southwest corner is 41C, 'feels like' 49C! Apparently this heat will leave our area tomorrow and settle in the mid-East, where they are on orange alert for high temperatures and thunderstorms with hail. Next job will be watering the chicken runs (and me).

Pretty sheep M&M. We used to keep two horned Jacobs for cutting the lawns and then filling the freezer. Would like sheep here, but we missed out on some very cheap shelters (owners moving to Spain because France is too expensive they said) and our land is still in very poor condition anyway.

[Daphne 151]

I feel for you Beantree.  We have been mostly high 30s for the past 10 days, and had a bad fire very close by.  However, we rarely get the humidity, last time was 2 years ago and it was awful.   Keep those damp towels close by.

[The Dogmother 581]

It was hot enough here yesterday and due to be even more so today. Plenty of shade in the garden, which I misted for the chooks to use. 

Remember to keep an eye out for heat stress and act to keep them cool. You can expect less eggs and splattier poos when they are hot.

[soapdragon 571]

Phew - scorchio! 35 degrees...just got home from meeting my sister and nephew by the river in Henley on Thames and so glad of air con in the car! Positively melting but holding the thought that it will be 10 degrees cooler tomorrow then cooler still on Sunday!

[mullethunter 570]

Beautiful yesterday (I took the day off and went snorkelling) and this morning but now cool with misty drizzle 😖😤

 

[The Dogmother 581]

Simply lovely *sighs*

[Beantree 130]

Heard a strange noise outside this morning and went to investigate. It was raining! Maybe had half a millimetre, so just enough to wet the surface of the drive. First rain for 4 weeks and none forecast for next; looking very brown around here. Fortunately we only had two days of heat, because dragging 80 metres of hosepipe out when it's 38C to water both runs is a real pain.

[The Dogmother 581]

It is much cooler here again today, and some clouds too. Yesterday's forecast of rain didn't really happen -  few spots.

[The Dogmother 581]

Good storm here and the first rain we've had for ages - lovely

[The Dogmother 581]

Blimey, just est of Birmingham is getting a hammering!

[Beantree 130]

The last 6 days have been unbearable with high humidity and temperatures up to 39C. Still no rain to speak of, so about 6 dry weeks in total and farmers complaining bitterly of another year of crop failure. Today a bit cooler we're told, so perhaps 33C and with the prospect of thunderstorms for the next two days, perhaps the end of the drought? Debris netting has been put over the tomatoes; we lost half our crop last year to hail damage.

[The Dogmother 581]

34deg here right now, after a cool start. We must have had more rain in the night, but it's hot and humid again now.

[The Dogmother 581]

Storms near us - can't hear them -  North Wales seems to be getting a battering!

[soapdragon 571]

We are in Gower at the moment, just outside Mumbles. Unbearably hot and desperately awaiting thunderstorms promised for 1/2am. Has been unbearable - not even a breeze on the beach. I may have to swim tomorrow - ES went in yesterday and came out shivering!

[Patricia W 326]

Just had a really torrential downpour.  Thunder, lightening, the lot!  Lasted about an hour an a half.  Temp down to 20 and water barrels full.  No more please ... 

[AndyRoo 181]

I am THRILLED to confirm that it is absolutely p***ing down here in Bristol! We had a lot of rumbling skies and a few flashes of lightning, but it's still 28 degrees in doors in my house and I welcome anything that cools it off a little!