Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Mother of Chaos]

Realizing, everyone has different preferences and different reasons for keeping chickens, I have to say, having a great rooster makes dealing with the cockerels a breeze, but there probably is a limit to the number one can raise. I do adore them. Spud is a great teacher and mostly gentle with them. It has been a real pleasure for all concerned thanks to him.

It has been so peaceful and serene, even the spring frenzy was mild. If one of the girls squawk in protest Spud and/or his second in command, Squeaky, rush over, give a stern look or a gentle chest bump the young lads, who immediately stop and back away from the offended hen. A few times of this and they just gave up being 'naughty' and are now behaving like perfect gentlemen. So idyllic, once you have the perfect rooster. LOL

I define chicken happiness levels by how much time they spend doing normal chickening, our girls never seem to squabble, except when a broody is involved, no illnesses, they spend most of their time foraging, dust bathing and taking peaceful siestas.

I love the idea of having the guys in the flock, but…

Those of us like @BDutch and I who live in urban settings can appreciate the advantages of having roos and cockerels, but if you can’t have them, you can’t have them.

 

[MrsNorthie]

I love the idea of having the guys in the flock, but…

Those of us like @BDutch and I who live in urban settings can appreciate the advantages of having roos and cockerels, but if you can’t have them, you can’t have them.

I could never go back to living in a city, town, or any place where they have too many restrictions, but I won't judge anyone's choices. You both take excellent care of your girls. When I first started my brain was saying, "Oooh fluffy pets that just happen to lay eggs!!" and I was interfering too much, but now that I have gotten to know them as individuals and have started learning about their natural instincts, my life is all about letting them be as natural as possible on 6 acres, until I can buy more land... then it will be all about letting them be as natural as possible on 50 acres. LOL This is just my choice/preference and my luck to have some space to do it.

 

[Perris]

I did have a recipe for the chutney but I can't find it. I don't think it's an "official" pudding. I may have been the inventor.
The chutney needs to be hot and sweet.
After the chutney making it's just a question of cooking the meringues so they're soft inside, cutting them open and stuffing some chutney in them.
I put a dollop of clotted cream on the top.
It will certainly wake the taste buds up.

Obviously this is not a usual pudding but I've made it a few times and after the initial shock most people eat it and comment that it was both unusual and rather nice.

Love this. You'll have to give it a name: Bristol Bomb or some such Seriously, sweet and sour is a common combo for mains, so why not for dessert? We have quite a few chilli chutney/jams and some ready made meringue nests around to experiment with easily.

I remember being taken aback by Betty's fruit cake and cheese combo when I first went to Harrogate, but it really works. For the uninitiated, see here https://www.bettys.co.uk/blog/fruit-cake-and-cheese (which also incidentally promotes another use for your plums: plum cake )

 

[RoyalChick]

Love this. You'll have to give it a name: Bristol Bomb or some such Seriously, sweet and sour is a common combo for mains, so why not for dessert? We have quite a few chilli chutney/jams and some ready made meringue nests around to experiment with easily.

I remember being taken aback by Betty's fruit cake and cheese combo when I first went to Harrogate, but it really works. For the uninitiated, see here https://www.bettys.co.uk/blog/fruit-cake-and-cheese (which also incidentally promotes another use for your plums: plum cake )

Oh fruit cake with cheese is a classic. I always try to have a slice of cheese with Christmas cake.
Yum!

 

[L-plate chicken mum]

Love this. You'll have to give it a name: Bristol Bomb or some such Seriously, sweet and sour is a common combo for mains, so why not for dessert? We have quite a few chilli chutney/jams and some ready made meringue nests around to experiment with easily.

I remember being taken aback by Betty's fruit cake and cheese combo when I first went to Harrogate, but it really works. For the uninitiated, see here https://www.bettys.co.uk/blog/fruit-cake-and-cheese (which also incidentally promotes another use for your plums: plum cake )

Home made fruit cake and a really good Wensleydale cheese is a fabulous combination

 

[tranquiliti]

Home made fruit cake and a really good Wensleydale cheese is a fabulous combination

Real Wensleydale

 

[Mother of Chaos]

View attachment 4200351
Real Wensleydale

Wallace and Grommit in 2028!

 

[Shadrach]

18/08.
Warmish, dry, three hours.

 

[Shadrach]

and today. More of the same but cloudier.
Three hours today. Went to the field with a friend who has a plot there that lives in the same compound I do. A quiet afternoon not doing much while Mow and Sylph wandered around the field. I did hack out another section of one of the compost heaps and that kept them busy for half an hour.

Something has happened to my brain. I've been trying to identify some of the plants in the field and try to work out when the best time for transplanting them is. I used to absorb the written word reasonably well, but these days I find so much presentation and largely irrelevant content on most of the sites and some of the books I've tried to read, I just don't have the patience to wade through it all.
What I really want is what I had in Catalonia and that is someone who knows to walk around the field with me and tell me about the plants I'm interested in, and of course, if they know their stuff, plants I've overlooked in my ignorance.
I've had to resort to Google Lens on occasions.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

and today. More of the same but cloudier.
Three hours today. Went to the field with a friend who has a plot there that lives in the same compound I do. A quiet afternoon not doing much while Mow and Sylph wandered around the field. I did hack out another section of one of the compost heaps and that kept them busy for half an hour.

Something has happened to my brain. I've been trying to identify some of the plants in the field and try to work out when the best time for transplanting them is. I used to absorb the written word reasonably well, but these days I find so much presentation and largely irrelevant content on most of the sites and some of the books I've tried to read, I just don't have the patience to wade through it all.
What I really want is what I had in Catalonia and that is someone who knows to walk around the field with me and tell me about the plants I'm interested in, and of course, if they know their stuff, plants I've overlooked in my ignorance.
I've had to resort to Google Lens on occasions.

View attachment 4200445View attachment 4200446View attachment 4200447View attachment 4200448View attachment 4200449

That’s me in my courses, especially the field ecology ones. I know what something is, but the name simply won’t float up to my consciousness. At 2 a.m., I can name them all. It’s incredibly irritating.