Recent content by Shadrach

13 nights. Don't know if one should count the first half day.

Shredded paper on the floor and in the nest boxes during winter. Bare floor when the weather warms up. Clean every day. Wash out (rough) once a week. I do a partial clean in the run a couple of times a week. I progressively dig over the run throughout the year.

Three and a half hours today. Warm and dry. Better enjoy it now because it's back to 15C and rain in a few days apparently.

First thing is what do you feed them, a commercial feed? Do you know the feed profile? As a very rough average an egg shell needs around 3 to 4 grams of calcium. The hen requires calcium and on those occasions she can get more than she needs she can store the excess in some of her bones. Agian...

Four hours today. Warm amd sunny. Fret finally got the decent dust bath she's been after. I lifted her off her nest again despite it being obvious from the pile of broody poop she had been off her nest earlier in the day. She ate well and headed off on to the allotments with Henry. She was off...

Does it fruit?

I think I recall you saying last year the peaches were good from your trees.

There are a couple of farmers markets but they are hard to get to on public transport. I'll make the effort soon and visit what is reputed to be one of the better ones. The last one I went to was a bit short on farmers, a bit short on raw produce. I did buy a very good jar of quince chutney there.

I hope those of you have have posted gloating about how many eggs you've been getting know the IRS watches this thread and you can expect a demand for undeclared income through the post any day now.:p

And that is exactly what I do, sometimes Marmite. Good quality spelt or emmer wheat flour helps bump up the protein if one makes one's own bread.

There is also that rather annoying factor in that chickens seem to like the crap bread with all the chemicals in it more than say a pitta bread.:lol: It's all that salt and sugar with a handfull of E numbers.

One really needs to know the feed profiles of both the layers feed and the conditioner. Is there a reason why you can't feed both the conditioning feed, or similar and provide a dish of oyster shell or calcium carbonate in some form seperately. Most hens will eat the calcium and most roosters...

I must confess, I've bought a lot of packaged junk since I've been back in the UK. Things got so bad on the veg front I started buying frozen veg which while fine nutritionally, perhaps even better than the supermarket stuff, does lack taste and the right texture.

Three hours today. Warm with occasional bouts of weak sunshine. Trying to catch up on the work on the plot that got put off due to rain for the last month. Carbon has been pulling feathers out again. She did the same last year and the year before. It's things like this I find most frustrating...

Good afternoon Cafe.