So excited to be keeping chickens again.

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Welcome to BYC!
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We're glad to have you.
 
Many thanks to everyone for the warm welcome. Having done a search of the forum, I have also found people from my own county who are at pretty much the same stage of starting up as myself so that is really encouraging.

Many thanks to ClovisMan for the info about Keyhole gardening. It was very interesting to read about but not really applicable in our climate where we have more water than we know what to do with. Drainage is my biggest issue which is why the raised beds and loose nature of the soil and increased warmth created using Lasagne gardening are so helpful.

I've been putting a smile on the face of everyone I have come across over the weekend by dancing up and down with my arms in the air shouting "FOUR EGGS" with a big grin on my face. Needless to say, my girls have ramped things up a bit. Actually I got FOUR EGGS on Saturday and THREE EGGS yesterday..... probably get none or one today, but I don't care as my hens put a smile on my face everyday regardless.

I let them out for most of the day yesterday and several of the neighbours came to admire them. My stable yard is in the centre of a busy village so there are lots of locals, old and young, who stop to give treats to my horses and no doubt will now be bringing stale bread for the hens too. The horses are already not impressed that the hens are getting the pock marked windfall apples instead of them! Can't believe how much the hens love apples!

Anyway, just wanting to share my joy and enthusiasm at having hens again with like minded people.

Thanks

Barbara
 
Well, my flock is rapidly growing and the egg production is ramping up!

My partner, Ian, bought me another two cream leghorn pullets and 3 bantams(a silky and 2 silky crosses) which are hopefully to act as mothers and raise chicks.

I am yet to get a blue egg but all the other original hens are now laying. My favourites are Margo, one of the exchequer leghorns and Henrietta the RIR. Yesterday I got 7(YES SEVEN!!!!) eggs. My neighbour, who paid a small fortune for 17 week old Croad Langshans and Light Sussex pullets last summer and then had to wait another 7 weeks to see his first egg, is rather jealous I think, as his girls are still not all laying!

It is amazing how much of my horse manure heap they can turn over in a day. If I ever decide to eat any of these girls (heaven forbid!) they are going to have extremely well developed legs with all that scratching! Ian and I both prefer the dark meat, so these girls better behave themselves and keep laying eggs!

When I left the yard at lunchtime, Harry, Matilda, Molly and Henrietta were all snuggled up together in a heap of dirt in the tractor shed, dust bathing. I am soooo loving watching their antics.

Just as an aside, does anyone know if I can put their droppings straight onto my winter onion patch. My uncle has just been dressing his onions with pelleted chicken manure and I want to know if I can just scatter the droppings on or if I need to compost it first. I seem to recall that chicken droppings can burn plants and I don't want to wipe out my onion bed. I was thinking of mixing them with some urine soaked sawdust bedding from my horses to "dilute" it down a bit, if that makes sense.

Anyway, I just wanted to share my progress so far with people who hopefully won't find my enthusiasm too wacky!

Thanks

Barbara
 
Thanks Sourland.

Delighted to report that I got my first BLUE egg today. I know it will be "old hat" to most of you experienced chicken keepers, but I've been eagerly anticipating a blue egg since before I even got my chickens, so it's a bit of a red letter day for me. I really didn't think it would be noticeably blue, but it is!
I watched the legbar pullet checking out the nest boxes yesterday and again this morning and she was picking up bits of straw and arranging them how she wanted in the box she had selected this morning and she went in and sat a couple of times and each time she came out I just had to go and check to see if it had happened. The third time, there it was! I was able to watch most of the time from the stable yard as the stable door was open, so I didn't have to keep disturbing her but the box faces the wall at the back so I had to go in to see if there was an egg and I waited until she had come out into the yard each time so she didn't feel harassed.

My next goal is raising some chicks, but I need the first hen ark finished before I think about that. In the meantime I am still just really excited with the miracle of each egg that is laid! SIX today including the blue one.

Just had to share!

Thanks

Barbara
 
Congratulations on that first Blue egg! First eggs are always exciting! Another milestone is when everybody lays an egg on the same day. Good luck with the chick raising, the silkies should be happy to do that for you.
 

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