Here at littlepoppits we got more of the white fluffy stuff, Yay!
The chooks still aint having none of it and when I tried to get them out, funky chicken, otherwise known as “the funkster” pretty much told me to “cluck off”!
But hey the kids made some cracking snowmen and later I caught the chooks sneeking out for some corn, well they can’t live without it!
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It’s been pretty cold down here in good old blighty and when the sun came out to play so did the chooks and their mates!
I know some of my gorgeous blogging family have been missing seeing them, especially laura rittenhouse so I got as many piccies as I could today. I even managed to snap a yellow tit, which I promised to show seasongirl.
But my fave has got to be a snap of the chooks best mate, our resident blackbird. She sneaks into their coop every day to grab some munchies!
Have a butchers!
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I was chuffed to bits when I got my mitts on this beautiful Oil painting “Folksy Chicken” by Karin Naylor. She is an amazing self-taught artist, painting with vibrant colours for an impressionistic style.
I won it in a giveaway at her blog rosemary lavander and thyme and unless you count a carton of grapefruit juice I’ve never won anything before! If you haven’t come across this awesome blog before you should hop on over now!
Meanwhile, down at littlepoppits we woke up to a blanket of snow. We don’t get much of the stuff here so before school the kids had to have a snowball fight! The chooks were not impressed and hid behind the trees, but the kids loved it!
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Help my chooks are freezing their feathers off!
I’m worried that they will be little blocks of ice in their coop! they’ve gotton extra hay n mega extra corn outta me and even got me thinking about heating! ( I know mad huh!)
Those cute little tap tapits at the door are getting kinda hard to ignore, and with talk of another big freeze here in good old blighty spreading what will become of my poor chooks!
As we speak I am thinking about crocheting them some jumpers- Nooooooo!
Reckon they could be spending christmas in our pad, but then my whole family will know for certain I am bonkers, what to do? and anyways how do I get the chooks to leave after!!?!
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omg! the chooks are so ruling the roost in our gaff right now!
It’s been raining bucket loads our end and the wind is blowing a gasket, as for the chooks, well lets just say they are not best pleased!
For all the noise they’ve been making I may as well have a cockeral! I tell you they can certainly blast out a good racket, they’re worse than the kids! I reckon I’ve worked out what the fuss is all about: they want in, into our gaff I mean, I know this cos they keep pecking at the door!
Well I’m sorry chooks much as I love you it’s not happening, like never!
My three little Pekin Bantams are a broody breed of chook, this was one of the hardest things to get used to when I first started out, so I figured it would be cool to blog about it to help fellow owners!
The first sign you get is that they will be inclined to stay on their eggs after laying (setting), they will do this with fellow chooks eggs too, they’re not fussed! They will come out for treats and corn but will keep going back.
You will also notice the tell-tale “clucking” noise they make, hence the phrase “she’s getting clucky”!
Sometimes they will also go to peck you or fellow chooks who try to move them or take their eggs.
If you’ve got a cockerel in your brood, and your hen is a good setter you could try to hatch some chicks, but if like me you haven’t here are a few tricks I’ve got up my sleeve to help! (these will be most effective at the earliest signs of broodiness)
Try constantly bothering and moving your broody hen and closing off any access to her nest. (basically acting like a cockerel) So she gets no rest and hopefully gives up setting!
Give her a soak! I know it sounds a bit harsh but you’re basically trying to cool her and sometimes a dunk in a bucket of water does the trick!
If none of the above do the trick, then it’s time to nip it in the bud and send her to broody quarters! (basically a cage with a chicken wire surround)
This has been the most effective method for me. You need to raise the cage on a couple of bricks so the air can flow and cool her down even when sitting. Pop your broody hen in with water and corn. She will be quiet at first and continue to set. She needs to be kept in her cage within the coop at night so she is safe from foxes, and away from her warm, cosy nest!
Somewhere between 3-5 days, (depending on when you caught the signs), you will see that she will stop setting and make it very obvious that she has had enough! As any bantam owner knows they make a huge noise when upset. Hey presto you will now have a happy chook and eggs will come back after a week or so.
I must admit at first I didn’t want to do this, but with all of them broody at once I had to give it a try, and boy did it work. (Of course broodiness is not an illness but you won’t get any eggs from a broody hen and if left they won’t eat or drink unless really tempted, and are therefore more susceptible to mites and other nasties due to prolonged sitting.)
Happy chooking!
We got three lovely little Pekin Bantam hens back in March. They make lovely pets! The kids named them: Cuddles, Funky Chicken and Fluffy!
It’s great fun and we usually get about three yummy eggs a day.
Look out for more blogs soon about the cheeky stuff they get up too!
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