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[Shadrach]

Are these the ones you've been walking down to care for? Good on you for taking them in, and the man for alerting you to their presence. Sad that it's so common for people to ditch them up there; we've found cockerels dumped before, but never hens; lucky you!

Fortunately I don't have to walk there. I go on a trail bike.
They are Catalans which is what should be here. They are probably past egg laying age, maybe not. Don't care really.

 

[Shadrach]

The British hen welfare Trust have just won the just giving charity of the year! Brilliant news!

That should help with funding.

 

[Anna Ranieri]

Ive been trying to sell my White Polkie trio but Facebook doesnt allow sale of chickens now. Not sure where people sell chickens now ?
Is everyone getting ready for the winter ? We had a pretty bad winter last year. I got lots of mixed corn in to give them energy.

Gumtree allows sale of animals/birds etc

 

[Anna Ranieri]

I haven't been getting notifications again.

I sell mine on Preloved, which gets the job done. Although I no longer have Facebook, my Aunt posted some birds for sale on a farming group on there over the summer. Only one person bit and it was after I'd already sold the lot (around 40 or so pullets and a few cockerels) to various people through Preloved.

@Warriorgal I don't doubt that you'll see similar success, though I worry that people are less likely to buy birds going into winter. They're a nice little group.

I often don't get notifications, can be so annoying

 

[Anna Ranieri]

My 8yr daughter had her first dressage test last night. She did so well. We are very proud she's come such along way in the past year.

What a very talented young lady - very elegant

 

[Anna Ranieri]

Certainly is I trust Harry horse 110% not to kick. Charlie has been going in the stable with him since he was 2 and given charlie is nearly 17 now and he’s not been kicked or trodden on by now says something..... not to say some are not kickers because they are. I’ve had a few close calls in my time...... same with dogs, trust mine totally but that’s not to say some don’t. Each animal is individual.

 

[Anna Ranieri]

A photo of a photo!
View attachment 1593583
Bob is on the left, he kicked me! But he was a absolutely fantastic horse extremely responsive, fast and a fairly good temperament. Chip is the black one. I think alot of his problems were down to how he was ridden. An officer ride him and ragged him stupid. He'd come back in bleeding from over use of spurs. I had to pick up the pieces and prep him for his next match. He was wired. You couldn't go past his stable with out him trying to take a chunk out off you. But he was an amazing horse, so fast and powerful but his rider contributed to his problems. Unfortunately they met an untimely end. We had a tournament in cottbus, East Side of Berlin. A lorry driver fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into the back of the transporter and killed both of them. It ruined me. I finished grooming not long after. I still well up today when I think about them.

So sorry for your loss, such a beautiful pair.
Imo humans are the only species who attack for no reason

 

[Anna Ranieri]

I haven't, but have just looked at their website. It's heartening to see people devoting their time to promote the welfare of animals. My Grandfather, in the 60s or so, once stole an emaciated mare from a paddock adjacent to his fields due to her poor condition and police disinterest. Turned out she was full of worms and foaled only a couple months after.

I do worry about welfare in other ways, however; although small farmers are held to strict restrictions on housing, feeding, and care of their stock, big business seems to get a lot of breaks. They don't even keep cows outside anymore, which makes me feel uncomfortable, and "free range" eggs... aren't.

All power to your grandfather, what a wonderful brave and caring man

 

[Anna Ranieri]

Anyone watching Masterchef the Professionals? What on earth makes the yolks they are using that yellow - they almost look fake!!!??? My girls freerange everyday and their yolks are no where near that colour!

For years there have been rumours going around about companies adding food colouring to eggs and I am more inclined to believe its true, however, I've recently read a few articles about yolk colours and how what they eat can make a difference. Here's a short excerpt from one of them I thought you might be interested in :-
'Yolk color depends on the hen's diet. If a hen eats plenty of yellow-orange plant pigments called xanthophylls, the xanthophylls will be deposited in the egg yolk. Hens fed mashes containing yellow corn or alfalfa meal lay eggs with medium yellow yolks, while those eating wheat or barley yield lighter-colored yolks.'

 

[Anna Ranieri]

Forgot I took a whole load of pics the other weekend. Meet William:

What do you think? I know nothing of Araucanas(well any chickens really ) and just got them as I wanted the blue eggs but he seems very attractive to me, his pure whiteness, comb and general shape and stance just seems really nice.

Handsome little fella - stunning colour