that's a wonderful scene, with a little head poking above Henry's back
Independence is tough for young males, but this phase doesn't last long. Do you plan to keep him?
Been there, done that too, including last year :rolleyes: :lol:
I hope it turns out thus in this case, because that chick must be either Dyffryn's or Ystrad's, and they are my two best layers! Apart from laying right through winter, their eggs are XL size (73+ g), whereas all the others in...
Fez hatched all 6! Tempted her off the nest with a breakfast of mealworms + weetabix moistened to a crumble with ff liquor. She had the smelliest poop imaginable - glad I was there to clear that away pronto 💩
I'm guessing already that the light chick on the right is a boy: Always at the front...
that's another great idea; however, not having a cat means not having a cat food tin :p otoh, I can get one easily from the next-door neighbour :)
I've got one of those, but I can't imagine it working in the chaotic structure inside the hedge. I had to cut away a few stems just to get a view of...
OMG Rhondda's sitting on 10! And there's no way I can reach them through the hedge without cutting some thick branches - this was at arm's length about 18" above, having wriggled half way into it at ground level on the garden side.
If she plays ball tomorrow I might try to grab the nearest one...
thanks; me too. She confounded my cunning plan to try to get at least an arm's length photo of the nest yesterday by not coming off for tea...:th Maybe I'll have better luck this evening...
I've seen 5 chicks now, so Fez is apparently holding tight waiting for the last one to hatch. She hasn't been off for 3 days now, so must be busting for a poop, a stretch, and a dust bath. She took some mealworms on the nest this morning so has at least had some sustenance.
yes she is, but to get her without injuring her I'd need to make a significant hole through the hedge (or a long passage the other side of the hedge) which would invite the local foxes and other wildlife to enter the garden at a point very close to the chicken spa, and even provide them with a...
Found Rhondda's nest. If you look closely, that's her back end in the magenta circle.
Her head is completely hidden behind a beech trunk from my side of the hedge. Getting to her from the other side won't be easy either: via the shortest route, there's about 10 meters of shoulder high brambles...
Rhondda has a secret nest somewhere and she's sitting on it :barnie
She appeared out of nowhere for tea, and I tried to track her back but she eluded me. Her dark partridge plumage is particularly effective camouflage (i.e. I haven't been able to find her nest yet).
She's in full blown broody...
It's a full moon on the solstice, and I managed to get a decent photo of it
It was a warm and sunny afternoon too; I do believe summer has finally arrived here!
have you got names for the chicks yet?
On the Mow's got depression issue, do you think it's connected with her lack of access to the field, or laying ss eggs, or her rank in the flock, or something else?
But it wasn't meant to be an overview of the RSPCA; it was focussed on one thing it does that it shouldn't. Scandals taint a whole organisation, even if they touch only one small part of it. The reputational damage can be enormous.