Windy hill chickens - first flock(s) of my own

[BDutch]

Oh sorry, and there's me posting loads and loads of photos. Hope you enjoy your holiday!

Yes. Don’t be sorry. I enjoy your photos. Viewing photos is okay.
I love it here. I just don’t want to upload 5 Mb photos from my camera.

This photo, our tent on the campsite, is made by mdh, it went through whatsapp and is only 1Mb. Unfortunately you can barely see the chickens and the alps.

 

[kattabelly]

Yes. Don’t be sorry. I enjoy your photos. Viewing photos is okay.
I love it here. I just don’t want to upload 5 Mb photos from my camera.

This photo, our tent on the campsite, is made by mdh, it went through whatsapp and is only 1Mb. Unfortunately you can barely see the chickens and the alps.

View attachment 4187145

It looks beautiful.

Since moving to Orkney I'm always really jealous when I see big trees like that!

 

[BDutch]

MDH and I have been following a crime series of Shetland lately. I presume the Orkney landscapes are a bit similar. Is that true? Anyway Shetland is beautiful in its own way. I bet Orkney is too.

Found a solution without installing an app: screenshot.
This is how the chickens look like here.

The view on the alps just before sunset.

 

[kattabelly]

MDH and I have been following a crime series of Shetland lately. I presume the Orkney landscapes are a bit similar. Is that true?

No, they're quite different! Shetland is much steeper and wilder and the mainland is quite a bit bigger. Orkney is more rolling hills and fertile agricultural land except for one island, Hoy, which is more mountainous. There aren't many trees in Orkney, and they don't get very tall except in a few very sheltered spots, but there are even less trees in Shetland.

 

[kattabelly]

Clearly the pullet is reading this thread and knows I want identical eggs for the show next week, so today she laid this (next to yesterday's which has been her normal size so far).

Big lesser black-backed gull on the hunt overhead most of this morning - I saw it carry off a huge dead rat that I'd left out as a message to the others - but the two oldest cockerels were really good about alerting everyone. All but the rock pullet and B knew to run for cover and it didn't take much encouragement from me for them to join the others.

Spent a good hour handling all the Shetlands and Rocks, and the big boys were in a sociable mood too.

 

[kattabelly]

Another long, likely double yolker today after no egg yesterday.

The Shetlands have realised they can actually fly, not just flap-jump, although none of them have tried going over the fence yet. Rocks are trying to follow them but they're built like, well... rocks. I've put a few big heaps of cut grass around the place so they have plenty of soft landing spots.

Added plenty of clean hay to all their day shelters tonight as the weather's looking bad for tomorrow

(@Perris remember when you asked about prevailing wind on my Nestera thread? )

 

[Perris]

I hope storm Floris doesn't give you too bad a battering; the forecast is pretty grim. We've only got to endure the fag end of it, and even that's unpleasant for people and chickens alike.

 

[kattabelly]

I hope storm Floris doesn't give you too bad a battering; the forecast is pretty grim. We've only got to endure the fag end of it, and even that's unpleasant for people and chickens alike.

Forecast here isn't for anything that out of the ordinary. It's not like this every week, this time of year, but nothing we're not used to. I think it's worse for people in places that aren't set up for it.

Hope you and your flock aren't affected too much.

 

[kattabelly]

Beautiful sunny afternoon while the storm passed overhead earlier. I'd kept the chooks inside this morning, partly because the hinges on their run door probably wouldn't have survived, so they were all glad to get out for a few hours.

The older group have discovered my last secret raspberry patch around by the gate to the plot. Nice to see they're exploring further, even if I would've liked a few more to eat myself...

Pullet laid a small egg again today.

 

[kattabelly]

Keep forgetting to mention a behaviour I've noticed recently that cracks me up.

The pullet wants to lay an egg. If she and the boys are right by their run, she'll go herself but if they're further away she wants to be escorted back to the run (but left alone inside the coop to do her thing, thankyouverymuch). She makes this known by doing an increasingly agitated version of the "laying an egg" cluck and pacing about if one of them doesn't go with her straight away.

Black and white is trying his best to be a good cockerel - he always inspects the nest box when I put fresh hay in it and does the screechy nest approval growl, but he doesn't quite understand what's so special about that nest box. If they're foraging in the empty run or another bit of the plot, he usually wants to stay there and finds what he thinks is a good place nearby for the pullet to lay her egg. Last time he just about managed to cram himself into the pet carrier I used to use for the chicks. He'll do the nest noise, she goes to check it out, they have what looks a lot like a minor argument about whether or not it's a perfectly good place to lay an egg and why can't she just go here?! She eventually decides he's an idiot and stomps off to her preferred nest with him following behind.