Bellecross Hens - Blog

Summer 2022

27/7/2022

Good Afternoon !
It's been awhile.....
Despite all my good intentions of blogging on a daily basis or even weekly, I have failed to do so. I have many excuses but similar to those for the lack of completed homework in years gone by, non are truly valid.

It's been a 'funny' year so far. The avian influenza housing order dragged on well into the Spring and when eventually the birds were allowed once again to free range, the weather turned cold setting the birds back.

However the breeding season got off to a good start with high fertility and hatch rate in all but the Pekin flock. Poor Carrot, the pekin cockerel failed dismally despite being given a second, third, even fourth chance at proving himself. He was returned to his original home to live out his retirement in comfort and was replaced by Parsnip, a young upstart who earned his place in the flock immediately, producing many varied and very pretty offspring, (all of which are available to buy )

The cold weather of late Spring has turned into a very dry and at times extremely hot summer.
The lack of rain has turned the usual lush grass breeding pens to areas of parched dusty ground.
Everywhere is looking tired and ready for Autumn. The birds are close to moult, in fact the pekins have already started to drop their feathers.

With avian influenza still rife in the country, wreaking havoc amongst the wild bird population, devasting large breeding colonies of seabirds, I feel we may be in for an early lockdown again this year.

A different kind of busy

17/9/2021

Autumn brings a different kind of busy,. the frenzy of the breeding season and rearing chicks is over, the hens are in moult and their laying has slowed down.
Now is the time to concentrate on the maintenance of the empty houses and pens, ready for next year.
All the broody arks and houses get checked over for any repairs they may need and the wood treated with a preservative The fences of the empty pens checked, this year we have several fences posts to replace. The grass is cut, dustbathing holes filled and bare patches reseeded. They are then left to rest over winter. Hedges are cut back.
The breeding groups are broken up, the cockerels are put together in a separate paddock and the hens run together.
This season's growers, both the replacement stock and the birds for sale are in their own separate runs.
The selling and posting of hatching eggs is over for a few months, the majority of birds have sold, although we do have a Christmas rush of sales for the remaining hens .and vouchers as presents..
Then before you know it, it's time to start putting the breeding groups back together for the start of another year of hatching.

Rainy day ramblings

10/9/2021

It's that time a year again. The craziness of the breeding season is over, things are starting to wind down for the autumn and winter and my thoughts turn to restarting the blog

I stopped posting on twitter, I found it required too much time, I am an infrequent user of Facebook. I do try to keep followers up to date with the goings on at Bellecross Hens via Instagram, my blog however allows me to ramble so much more.

If you are new to Bellecross Hens and are the least bit interested, below are the links to my previous blogs.

.Gosh they were written a while ago, how things have changed| Not just at Bellecross hens but the use and style of social media.. I really do need to try and keep up but I fear my age is beginning to show | I'm not sure 'selfies' are for me and I've yet to grasp 'reels' and TikTok..

Thankfully the basics of poultry keeping and breeding never change, although there is always more to learn and new ideas to embrace.

The last few years have seen a rise in popularity of garden poultry, with many people looking to keep a few birds as pets, to provide fresh eggs for their family and to to engage children in the caring of animals and teaching them where their food comes from.
It has been lovely to see the delight and excitement on the faces of the children as they collect their new hens.
With incubators becoming more affordable, home hatching on a small scale has also become popular. The wonderment of a chick hatching from an egg never goes away no matter how old you are or how many times you have seen it.

Hopefully the joy of poultry keeping will stay with a few of these young children for years to come and they will be the future breeders.

A Year in the Life of Annie

Bellecross Hens

I

A weekend away

30/10/2020

We are away at the weekend. Going away when you have livestock is never straightforward, add in the present regulations and safeguards because of Covid and it becomes even more involved.
We are extremely fortunate though that the 'children' are close at hand and 'take over', sharing the dog sitting, house sitting and the poultry.
Weekends are usually the time for the extra chores that don't get done during the week. Mucking out, buying feed, checking the electric fences, moving the arks etc. so when we know we are away these need to be fitted in during the previous week.
If we need to be away during the breeding season, hatching needs to be carefully planned so we don't have chicks hatching over a weekend and any chicks are at least a few days old, so we are confident they have found the heat and are eating and drinking well, before we leave.

I probably won't get the chance to 'blog' this weekend but will hopefully post and add photos to my Instagram and Facebook page Please do pop across and may be follow/like.

Morning routine

29/10/2020

4.30 am, it's still dark and the sound of the wind and rain signify yet another wet day.
The clocks went back an hour at the weekend yet my body clock is still running on summertime (a shame the weather isn't) and I'm awake thinking it's 5.30 am and time to get up.
To be honest at this time of year even 5.30 am is too early as there is little I can do outside whilst it's still dark.
During the Spring and Summer I have the incubator to check for chicks that have hatched overnight, the youngest chicks in the small brooder, in the utility room to feed, clean etc. the same goes for the older chicks in the brooder shed. The growers in the nursery pen to let out and feed, to look in on any broody hens who are sitting and egg orders to make up, all before going to the yard at 7am, where we have an hour before work to let out, feed, water, collect eggs and clean out the nest boxes of the laying hens and breeding flocks
However today, as it is only 4.30am and the busiest time of the year is over I lay in bed wishing we could have just one dry day this week..

2020

28/10/2020

To say my blogging habit is sporadic is an understatement. The only regularity is the time of year I attempt to keep the promise I make to myself to blog on a more regular basis
That 'time of year' is now- Autumn. The time when most, if not all of the year's young stock have sold. When breeding for the year has ended, the incubators have been turned off, the houses are empty, have been thoroughly cleaned, repaired and treated ready for the next breeding season. When the birds are in moult and egg production has slowed down. When there is a little more time to 'take stock' and make plans for the year ahead and to look back at the year just ended.

2020 - what a year it has been. A year no one saw coming. A year of lockdown and self distancing.
A year which saw an increased interest in poultry keeping, awareness of food production and self sufficiency.

We look ahead to 2021 with uncertainty, not knowing what lies ahead but we will plan as we have in previous years. Assessing the quality of the young birds we kept back as replacements, either to join the laying flock or as potential breeders.

For now we will continue to care for the birds we have, take them through the winter, look forward to the young pullets coming into lay and enjoy the less busy times and may be 'blog' on a more regular basis......watch this space.

To all my customers old and new who have supported me through what has been the most unusual of years, Thank You x

Wildlife Pond - tidy up

21/2/2018

Finally after weeks of what seemed like non stop rain and strong winds we are now enjoying a spell of dry if cold (but it is winter after all) weather.
Trying to resist the temptation to start sowing seeds and preparing the ground for this years growing season I have been busying myself with tidying up the wildlife pond.
It may seem like the 'wrong' time of year to be doing so but by taking it slowly, not removing too much weed from the pond in one go and leaving the weed that has been removed in piles on the side of the pond - to allow any creatures to find their way back in, there hasn't been too much disturbance.
February is the month for frogs to spawn but we tend to get toads rather than frogs visit our pond and they spawn a little later in the year, so by clearing the pond now means we don't need to disturb it again. In a few weeks time I'll replant the bog garden alongside the pond. By the time the young toads are ready to leave the water the plants will have grown big enough to provide cover and the iris tall enough for the dragonfly nymphs to emerge and dry out on their stems.

Patience - Finally they hatch. Guinea Fowl keets

11/10/2017

On the 6th September - 35 days ago I set the broody frizzle hen on 11 Guinea fowl eggs.To be honest I wasn't expecting them to be fertile as they were from a young trio of birds belonging to the lad next door.However when I candled them at 10 days 9 of the 11 were fertile.
The broody hen is an experienced sitter and an excellent mother.She takes her job very seriously, getting off just once a day to have a little wander around, then straight back to her sitting duty.

Six days before the due hatching date - 28 days for Guineas, I candled the eggs again and removed 2 which had stopped developing.

Well October 4th, hatch day came and went - nothing. Not too unusual so I waited. Three days past not a pip, so I candled the eggs once more, all looked good, so I popped them back under the hen.Still nothing.

Day 33 and not so much as a peep.I was beginning to get concerned for the hen, she had been sitting for quite sometime and I was afraid she would loose condition.Despite not liking to keep interfering I decided to check the eggs once more before giving up hope. Instead of candling the eggs again I decided to do the water test - checking there was no cracks in the egg so as not to drown the chicks inside I dropped the eggs into a bowl of warm water. Initially the eggs spin, they then stop, if the chick inside the egg is still alive the egg will start to jerk, all but one moved, so back under the hen they went.

This morning when I checked on the hen, a small Guinea keet popped it's head out from under her.Just the one, no more as yet. but there's still hope.

I'm not sure why they took quite so long to hatch but I'm so pleased the hen will have at least one chick to mother after her dedication and patience.

Fermented Feed Sprouting Seeds and Homemade Apple Cider Vinegar

2/10/2017

Fermented feed, sprouting seeds and homemade apple cider vinegar (ACV) are not new or unfamiliar to poultry keepers across the world. However other than ACV which I buy from the equine section of the local feed store - the equine section, as it comes in larger quantities and is cheaper than in the poultry section. I've never made or fed the other two to my poultry.

I always thought the amount I would need for the number of hens I have, easily over 300 at the peak of the breeding season, would take up too much time and space.

I've now however decided to 'give it a go' If it works the feed will be a great additional, nutritional feed to give the hens over winter, especially if they are in lockdown again.

Firstly the apple cider vinegar - we have so many apples at the moment and with no pigs to eat the windfalls, skins and cores and as the hens can only eat so much I have a surplus.

There are many 'how to' videos online and it seems easy enough.So yesterday I added the apple peelings, cores etc to an earthenware bowl, covered with water, weighted down with a plate, covered with a cloth and left it to stand.
Stage 1 done !!!
I started with just a small amount to see if it really was that easy..I'll keep you updated.

Next the Fermented Feed - again plenty of online tutorials to watch. As far as I can understand you
1 Choose the feed you wish to ferment - I'm using the mixed corn I use as a scratch feed.
2.Cover the grain completely with non chlorinated water.
3.Stir, cover and leave to stand
4.Check water level and stir once a day for the next few days
5.If all's gone well drain and feed to the hens

The hardest part so far has been to find a bucket which doesn't leak to stand the tap water in over night to allow the chlorine to disperse.

Finally the sprouted/sprouting seeds - again it seems reasonably straightforward so I'm just off to do that now, using the mix seeds we have to feed the garden birds.

I'm sure I'm being very naive and it will all go horribly wrong, with each of them going sour or producing the dreaded mould. I'll let you know !

With Autumns arrival we prepare for Winter

24/9/2017

Autumn has arrived, misty mornings, spider webs decorated with dew drops, fallen leaves, a nip in the air, poultry houses full of feathers and bedraggled looking hens everywhere as they moult, replacing their old feathers for new so they are in good condition to cope with the colder, winter months ahead
We too are preparing for winter, as the young birds grow or are sold on and the smaller houses and arks become empty, we clean, repair and wood preserve them ready for next years busy breeding season.
We merge the hens from the breeding groups into larger flocks freeing up more houses to treat and allowing the grass pens to rest in rotation.
Once the birds have finished moulting we will feed them a handful of corn as a scratch feed late afternoon, to help keep them warm and full over the longer nights.
With the real possibility of the birds having to be in lockdown again this winter to help prevent the spread of Avian Flu, we are buying in straw, extra ground sanitiser and DEFRA approved disinfectant. and looking how and where to house the birds to meet the requirements stated,yet still giving them space and relative freedom.
So, although the busy time of incubators,broody hens and chicks everywhere is over,there is still much to be done but at a slower less demanding pace.
.