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

[kattabelly]

I know people who take breaks abroad in that time!

Do you need good sea legs too? I imagine that wind you talk of can have quite an effect on the seas round there.

Some people struggle but I've always been alright and they cancel the boat if it's really bad. That's just something you plan for here and it's usually fine - no one is in that much of a rush.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

Some people struggle but I've always been alright and they cancel the boat if it's really bad. That's just something you plan for here and it's usually fine - no one is in that much of a rush.

Island life!

Several years ago we spent an unexpected extra three days on Ocracoke Island NC over Easter when gale-force winds halted all the ferry service.

(I loved it.)

 

[kattabelly]

That's both Sussex pullets laying now at just over 21 weeks old. Yellow Legs (egg on the right) laid her first double yolker yesterday too.
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I was wrong, the egg on the left is from one of Hylines. Caught her in the act today when I heard her screeching at Yellow Legs (who's twice as big and wouldn't tolerate that in many other situations) to wait her turn for the current favourite nest.

Found two shell-less eggs under a roost which I think might be from the other Sussex pullet. One still warm, which at nearly 2pm suggests she's actually getting up on the roost to lay At least this hopefully means she's not started a secret nest somewhere though - I was getting suspicious since she's redder in the face than all my confirmed layers. I'll try to hang around tomorrow to work out who the wonky layer is and listen out for anyone emerging from a hidden nest.

 

[thistlewick]

fwiw, I've known about brochs for decades, since the 80s - thanks to Katharine Kerr, an excellent old guard fantasy author, who uses ancient Britain as inspiration for her Deverry series (which is excellent classic fantasy).

Brochs figure prominently. She does excellent research and they were communal living spaces and centers of leadership in her books, which is what current thought (at the time) believed them to be in use for.

I've visited a couple in Scotland. Iron Age Britain is probably my most favorite time period and landscape after the pre-pottery Neolithic.

*coughs in huge nerd* sorry

 

[kattabelly]

fwiw, I've known about brochs for decades, since the 80s - thanks to Katharine Kerr, an excellent old guard fantasy author, who uses ancient Britain as inspiration for her Deverry series (which is excellent classic fantasy).

Brochs figure prominently. She does excellent research and they were communal living spaces and centers of leadership in her books, which is what current thought (at the time) believed them to be in use for.

I've visited a couple in Scotland. Iron Age Britain is probably my most favorite time period and landscape after the pre-pottery Neolithic.

*coughs in huge nerd* sorry

I don't think I've read any of her work, so I'll have a look out. Thanks!

 

[thistlewick]

I don't think I've read any of her work, so I'll have a look out. Thanks!

The first book is Daggerspell


It's a big whopper 16 book series overall, those late 80s/early 90s authors cannot seem to get away from that -- but I loved it.


It is ahead of it's time and the magic in it, to me, is the best I've ever read in any series. It's all based on British folklore.

Well, until I read Susannah Clarke, that is. <3

 

[kattabelly]

Boat is booked. I feel a bit sad now, those two are so sweet and absolutely no trouble at all. I'm sure they'll be happy and well looked after though; the breeder they're going back to very clearly cares a lot about his birds.

Windy today (30s gusting 40-50mph supposedly, so probably more on the hill) and not due to start dying down until Saturday. Everyone's crabbit and somehow stir-crazy despite being out all day. Hopefully some warm mash and boiled eggs will cheer them up a bit.

 

[kattabelly]

So B has worked out the, well, birds and the Bs. I missed the start but saw him on top of Yellow Legs - don't think he was especially polite about it, but he also didn't get the stuffing beaten out of him like when he's tried before. Funny part was seeing pretty much every other chicken from his age group all stood around them in a circle, about as close as they could get, all watching in fascination

Only eggs today were green and one a darker brown than I've seen before.

Littles are trying to roost like big chickens but still want to sleep heap, so had to rescue one from the bottom of the pile a few times before they settled down. Fairly late to start at seven weeks old ime but then the weather is shite. I know it doesn't mean much at this age but I've noticed ?R being really good when one of his group gets lost or separated from the others. One was shouting tonight and he stuck his head out of the greenhouse, I said "go and get her then" and showed him where, and he toddled off through the scary big chickens and came straight back with her right behind. He started making funny baby chick tidbitting sounds at just days old, too.