Blog Posts

Challenges

6/9/2017

A few years ago, when blogging was all the rage I posted on a blog almost daily recording the day to day activities of our 'small holding / self sufficient' life but with the increasing popularity of Facebook and the ease of posting on there I'm afraid I lapsed somewhat. Recently I have been reading over a few of the entries and it has been good to look back, so yet once more I have challenged myself to write a short post daily.
With the strong probability of having to keep the poultry under DEFRA restrictions again this winter due to the threat of Avian Flu it will be interesting to record and share our experience.

So here it is my personal challenge.

If you would like to look back at my old blogs the links are below
A Year in the Life of Annie
Bellecross Hens

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Happy New Year - 2017 year of the rooster

3/1/2017

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Wishing you all a very Happy New Year.

With Christmas over and everyone back to work we can look forward to the year ahead and hopefully put into place a few new plans, once DEFRAs restrictions have been lifted. Having to keep all the poultry housed hasn't gone down too well with many of the hens, they are all use to being able to free range and forage.We have done our best to keep them busy with extra greens, straw and scattered corn but egg numbers have dropped, especially amongst the hybrid layers.However the younger pullets have started to come into lay and the Exchequer Leghorns are laying well enough to consider setting the incubator.So hopefully soon we will have chicks again.

Many thanks for your support and custom over the past year.We look forward to sharing the antics of the Bellecross Hens with you again this year.

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Winter is almost upon us

19/11/2016

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November and many parts of the country are already experiencing the first snowfall of the season Here in 'sunny' Devon we have only had the odd wintry shower and a few morning frosts.However it is now time to prepare the birds for winter.Most birds can cope with the cold (they do have feather duvets after all) it is the wet which can be more harmful.Your birds will need somewhere they can shelter from the worst of the weather and where they can get up off the muddy ground.If your pens are muddy keep a careful watch on any birds with feathered feet and house them indoors during the wettest of weather, if possible
Despite the colder nights the hen house must still have plenty of ventilation, a build up of condensation in the house can lead to respiratory problems.
An afternoon treat of corn will help them keep warm through the night.
If your birds have restricted ranging, hang greens etc up in their runs, it will keep them entertained and the yolk of their eggs (if you are still getting any this time of year) a deep yellow.
During the winter months I have found the rubber trugs you can buy ideal as drinkers.They can stand up to the coldest of days without cracking and as they are flexible, if they become iced over are easily emptied, a godsend when your fingers are as cold as the water.
Rats can also be a problem during the winter months, removing any feed from the pens overnight and storing the bags of feed in rodent proof containers reduces their chances of a free feed.I keep my bags of feed in plastic dustbins,each hold a 20kg bag of feed and seem sturdy enough to keep mice and rats at bay.

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Chat, chicks and camera

2/2/2016

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The last weekend of January saw the arrival of the first chicks of 2016. Just 21 days earlier I had set the broody Silkie hen on clutch of 9 eggs, 7 were Pekin 2 were her own and are either pure Silkie or Silkie cross Pekin. All 9 eggs hatched although I must confess to going against my own advice and placing the last egg in the incubator after the hen had left it behind in the nest.This isn't unusual, if the majority of eggs have hatched and the chicks are ready to leave the nest a mother hen will choose to care for the hatched chicks rather than unhatched eggs.I was going to remove the egg but it was peeping so I popped it into the incubator where it duly hatched.The little chick is now back with the mother hen and its hatch mates.

We have set a remote camera in the broody pen enabling us to watch them 24/7. It has given us a fascinating insight into the behaviour.of a mother hen and her chicks. We are trying to set up the camera as a live webcam on here but are having a few difficulties at present.

With the start of the breeding season and the promise of finer weather many hens have started to go broody, this has brought about a succession of questions from those new to poultry keeping, with this in mind I have added new pages to the Information section. I have also set up a new Facebook group Chickens: it may be a silly question but... a place to ask question and to share tips and information. So if you are on Facebook please do join in. We would love to see you there.

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Well I did ....

8/1/2016

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Well I did relent and have settled the little Silkie in the brooder shed on a clutch of eggs, mostly Pekin eggs but also a couple of her own. The setting is primarily for testing fertility as this year I am using a new young frizzle cockerel but It will also be interesting to see what percentage of the Pekin chicks are frizzle. I'm not sure of the parentage of the Silkie eggs as she hadn't been running with Silkie cockerel for very long before she went broody, previous to that I had the older smooth feathered Pekin cockerel running with her. In just under 3 weeks time all will be revealed.

Photo: The three potential fathers. Lavender Cuckoo Pekin. Frizzle Pekin and Gold Silkie

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A New Year begins - 2016

4/1/2016

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I am going to try to resurrect my blog. I'm not sure how committed I'll be, it's easy to think I'll keep it updated regularly when the days are short and it's wet outside but once the drier weather arrives and the outdoor chores beckon it may well be a different matter.We'll see.

A New Year begins - 2016.

The years appear to go by in a flash these days and I find myself often thinking 'was it really that long ago we did ......' and have found having a blog to look back over has proved to be very useful. So here goes.

2016 started as 2015 ended - very wet and very windy. We are having what I am sure is the wettest winter I can remember ( possibly not but it does feel like it ! ). Everywhere is sodden. I pride myself in keeping a good covering of grass in all the pens, all year round, this year I'm struggling. We have been moving the birds into pens I generally rest over winter and merging flocks together to try and 'save' the ground but we really do need a good cold, dry spell.

The breeding season may start a little later than usual this year, through no fault of the birds, the hens have started to lay and the cockerels are treading but as I mentioned before I have merged the flocks and will need to separate them into breeding flocks again before I can start to hatch, also the weather needs to improve and the ground to dry before I can even think of putting chicks out.

However, having said that the little Silkie hen is broody and I am very tempted to sit her on a clutch of Pekin eggs. She can sit in the brooder shed where it is warm and dry and where there will be plenty of room for her and her chicks until the weather improves. So maybe 2016 breeding season is about to begin.

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Must try harder

30/3/2015

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The clocks went forward at the weekend, the start of British summertime, April is fast approaching, Easter is just around the corner and I have realised how utterly useless I am at keeping this blog up to date, January being my last entry on here. I have resolved to try harder and to post at least once a month, we'll see. I have been managing to keep the 'image of the day' page updated, admittedly I often add the photo of the day on the following day (does that makes sense ?).

This time of year is one of our busiest at Bellecross Hens. The breeding season is already well under way. I have had several hatches from the incubator, despite a few technical hitches resulting in parts needing to be replaced and hopefully in the next couple of days the arrival of a new incubator.We have also had our first broody hen, whose chicks are now 4 weeks old.
Chicks are selling fast this year and with most breeds now tested for fertility and hatch rate, hatching egg sales are also doing well and I am receiving very good feedback. Egg sales at the gate never cease to amaze me and I very much appreciate the loyal support of my customers.

With a long weekend ahead of us our plan is to reorganise a few of the breeding pens and to fence/fox proof the remainder of the paddock. We have already started to make good a couple of the grass pens, levelling and reseeding them ready for use later in the year.We also have another 8 X 6ft shed to erect. So plenty to keep us busy.

We wish you all a very Happy Easter.

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Looking forward to 2015

12/1/2015

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After all the events of 2014, mainly the fox attacks, I am really looking forward to 2015. I'm sure it will bring many challenges but also many rewards.

My main challenge will be producing birds of the same high standard as before. After loosing most of my breeding flocks to the fox last year I am starting 2015 with new breeding groups. All the birds however are still from my own blood lines, just different combinations.It will be interesting to see the results.

Sadly, this year I won't be breeding Gold Duckwing Welsummers as I lost both my cockerels to the fox, something however to look forward to in 2016 !

Still very early to tell but the hatching season has got off to a good start with the eggs placed in the incubator just over a week ago candling at 100% fertile for the Exchequer Leghorns and 78% for the Light Sussex.

New for 2015 will be Pekin Bantams. Bantams are new to me, having only bred 'utility' birds previously. I have however become quite attached to the little group I have. They may be small but have big personalities and are very friendly, ideal for a garden set up.
Heading the little flock is a Lavender Cuckoo Pekin cockerel. I've never known a bird to 'love' the camera quite as much as he appears to. He presides over a group of 4 pekin hens, one black, one lavender cuckoo, one milliefleur and a brown frizzle, all lovely with their individual personalities.

Also new for 2015 will be 'Project Gold Top' I am hoping to produce super broody hens - Gold Tops. My breeding group will be 2 Gold Silkie cockerels and a trio or quartet of Light Sussex hens.The hens are from a traditional, large, heavy breed line who still have the tendency to 'go broody'.

2015 - interesting times ahead. Why not follow the daily comings and goings here

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Gold Silkie Cockerel

10/10/2014

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I would like to introduce you to a possible new member of the Bellecross Hen flock. I say possible because at only 9 weeks of age, he ( if he is a he, which I'm sure he is ) is far too young to judge on suitability as a breeding cock but so far I like what I see. If suitable he will run with a small number of our Light Sussex hens. The resulting pullets being GoldTops, fantastic hens with amazing brooding and mothering instincts.

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Truly the last ..

8/10/2014

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My last post was all about the final hatch of 2014 and honestly that was my intention but my lovely, old faithful Maran had other ideas. Letting her out one morning I heard the familiar 'clucking' that only a hen intent on motherhood can produce. For a few days I ignored her hoping she would soon change her mind as it was getting late in the year but as the days wore on she grew more and more determined. She had taken up residence in a straw bale in the feed store, which also happened to be the favoured place for the other hens to lay and her grumpiness and intolerance of their presence was unsettling the whole flock. I tried (admittedly not very hard) 'breaking' her out of her broodiness, but after a day or two relented and set up the broody ark in the garden. Despite it being late in the season I managed to collect together a clutch of 11 eggs, which she covered easily. After a week I candled them not expecting many to be fertile due to the timing - many of the birds were starting to moult and also only having young unproven cockerels running with them but all 11 were and on the 21st day of incubation 10 of the 11 eggs hatched. Sadly one of the chicks had either died on hatching or had been squashed leaving 9 lovely, extremely strong chicks who are now a week old and one very proud mother hen.

This morning on opening the hen house I heard that familiar sound once again. This time from the Indian Game, she has already raised two hatches this year, her last chicks are only 8 weeks old. Now really is too late, so I won't be sitting her and will be keeping a very close eye on her to make sure she doesn't 'sneak off' anywhere.