Now the incubator is free again, it’s time to try and bring some more diversity to our chicken flock. We wanted to try and hatch some chickens that lay a variety of different egg colours. The breeds we have already are also not prolific layers, they like to have the odd day off so it will be nice to have a few more hens laying too.
Our first two chicks from the broody hens are also starting to test out their little wings.
Before the momma hens let them part company they try to teach them everything they need to know to survive. Part of this means teaching them how to perch to stay safe on a night. It seems like they’ve picked the picnic tables to start practicing on. Hopefully soon they will be sleeping with the rest of the flock up in the coop.
You may have seen one of our older chickens looking like she’s about to jump in the kitchen and bake some cakes.
Cockerels always seem to have a favourite hen, this unfortunately can cause damage to their back and feathers. Earlier in the year one of our bigger cockerels injured her, badly slicing through the skin on her side. We really didn’t think she was going to make it through the rest of the day, but thankfully she made a full recovery. Feathers take a while to grow back so to protect her from the sun and from further injury she’s now sporting a beautiful chicken saddle courtesy of Breck Top Farm.
That’s all for now, but sheep shearing time is upon us and we’re hoping to get the boys sheared by the end of the week. Stay tuned!