53

When a hen has gone broody , we have sat her on some eggs, 9 for the bantams and 11 for the larger hens. A clutch has ranged from 4  hatching (out of 9) to 10  out of 11.
The days are getting shorter  so we are unlikely to have any more going broody this year.
The mother and 10 chicks have been moved from where they hatch to the area we have netted to let them grow on a bit .

So the final count of hatched chicks is 53.  Some will be sold as Point of Lay pullets, some will be kept to eat the sheep parasites in the fields   and produce eggs to be eaten or sold, and some will, in due course, be converted to Casserole or Roast Chicken

Homing hen

We've hatched quite a few  chicks this year. they stay with their mother for the first few weeks whilst they grow, learn to scratch and forage and when the chicks start  to be independent   the mother is returned to  the flock  and the chicks are moved to  a field where they can eat, grow and lay eggs. 

But this one  hasn't quite grasped  what's happening. She was moved  back to the flock  she came from , but is clearly missing the chicks. 

She is putting strenuous (unsuccessful) efforts into getting under or through the gate , trying to squeeze through the fencing we have put up with aim of stopping the hens wandering and exploring  and getting stuck. 

  

and despite our best efforts she has managed to get out either through round or over the gate , across the lawn and back to where she was with the chicks. 

All a bit sad readlly because her babies, the chicks aren't there any more.  they are out exploring the big wide world

Goose, Leek and Onion

An eaten Onion

......don't go together, at least when the goose is alive.

ive been puzzled that some of the plants I've been trying to grow keep on getting eaten.
Leeks too , have been affected

A damaged leek

Slug pellets  to no avail.  They grow back a bit and then are attacked once more.

However, I think I have found the culprit(s)

They wander round the garden , and although they stay mainly near the pond, they are seen exploring other areas.

So protection has now been put in place

Celery

But its really not much consolation to know that Goose and peas, or Goose and celery can co-habit without too much of a problem .

Peas

The Caledonian Sitter

 And a guest blogger :

Having visited Orkney 4 times now I have discovered that there are only two options to get there: quickly (which isn't actually that quick) or cheaply. Previously I've gone for the quick option and flown up from both Luton and City airports and had to sacrifice purchasing a couple of pairs of sought after Jimmy Choos.

I've been persuaded to try the overnight train from Euston to Aberdeen to see what its like before he ventures out onto it. For further details see the Scotrail website

For this delightful train ride you have two options a bed or a seat. As I was going for the cheap option I decided to get a seat for a mere £33 rather than splash out close to £100 for a bed. As the journey was 10 hours and 18 minutes, it meant that my seat cost me £0.053 a minute. Not bad value really.


The seats are large - more like airline seats and they all recline slightly so it didn't seem too bad. And if worse came to worse I had seasons 1 and 2 of Game of Thrones to keep me company. Despite my hopes that I would have a carriage to myself I wasn't the only person to be persuaded into a seat and there were about 12 people in my carriage.

One thing I like about travelling on trains is seeing the countryside and looking out the window. However, for most of the journey this was my view:

The journey itself wasn't too bad as there is a bar open until 7am serving food and drinks. And gin. I was especially thankful for the gin.

I managed to get a couple of hours asleep before arriving in Edinburgh at around 4am. What they don't warn you about is that the train splits into three at Edinburgh – one part goes to Aberdeen, one to Inverness and the other to Fort William (I think). Which isn't the most delicate or quiet of processes. We were in Edinburgh for around 40 minutes before setting off again. Now what you don't get when travelling by plane is the views – which were beautiful. Who knew that Inverkeithing was so delightful at 5am.

The train makes several stops between Edinburgh and Aberdeen but because they're just dropping off and not picking up the train was actually running ahead of schedule so we got into Aberdeen around 7.25 ahead of the scheduled 7.35. This gave me plenty of time to get to the airport to catch the 9.05 flight.  

All in all, not a bad way to travel and I would probably do it again – it has the advantage that you can do a days work travel overnight and then have a full day in Orkney the next day. Although next time I will get a bed.

Settling in

So we've seen them  venturing out 

and on the newly-dug pond. 

So the question is when to take the fencing down and let them roam .

For Sale NotQuitePointOfLay pullets

We've been asked so , a little early

For Sale

  NotQuitePointOfLay pullets

10 weeks old ( so point of lay in another 6 weeks or so ) 

Free Range 

Hens and ( if you wish ) Cockerels
Either Light Sussex or Light Sussex x Maran  crosses

10 in total - we think 6 hens and 4 Cockerels

a snip a £4  each 

Homesick Ducks ?

We still want to rehouse the 2 ducks that we bred in June . The last attempt failed due to the homing instinct. 

So we had another go. This time we have created a pen around the pond and some suitable grazing which we think we made escape-proof  around the pond and again put them in it. The didn't escape in the course of the evening ( much to our surprise) , but by mid-morning we hadn't seen them  so ithought I'd better investigate. Perhaps they got out but in the wrong direction and are wandering round Kirkwall on their way back to their original home  and their companion hen and chicks. 

After all a duck has walked 8 miles to get home before . 

So on investigation they are sitting in the duckhouse and are very reluctant to come out. 

So are they homesick and pining for their friends ? 

But with steely resolve , we havent given in yet. They have food, water and suitable space so we will wait. 

Archimedes screw that doesn't work

After the initial successful trial of my hand-crafted Archimedes screw , I've tried to improve on the trial version . Supplying enough power to get the thing to turn could be a bit of  a challenge and weight of it is probably a factor, so instead of 6" ducting i thought I'd try some downpipe - 68mm diameter or  about 2 3/4" . So after dismantling the original and taping the plastic tubing I had another go.

And this time it didn't work .

• Didnt pick water
• Didnt move it along the pipe
• Didnt come out at the end 

Either the outer tubing is too large or stiff for the diameter of the downpipe and its not patent (enough) or the pitch and incline  of the tubing and tube is important and Ive got it wrong.
So I think Im going to have to do a bit of research on the limits and design principles of this and then come back  once I've sorted out what is wrong.  I think the starting point will be here . An incline of 22 degrees is most efficient. So Some exploration of the burn is  needed as well.

I think I might need an Engineer!

Homing Ducks

Back in June , we hatched a couple of ducks as well as the usual chicks. And we have soem pictures of when they were a few days old , and growing bigger. They were kept in a fenced area  with their motherhen and the chicks from the same brood .











 And they had their own house ( custom hand-built duck house!) , initially used by the hen, chicks and ducks  but destined to be a duckhouse

So the time has come that they be moved to their new home. They have the run of an extensive marshy area and a large pond that has been dug as well as some grass  in which they can doubtless find things to eat.

So they were caught, carried down the hill, introduced to their house  in its new location, shown where the pond was  and then left to enjoy the new freedom and new surroundings.


At which point they walked straight back  up the hill , returning to the 'home' they had grown up in .

The home they have come from is just in front of the house. 

and they  marched up the hill, more or less in a straight line 

Not sure what to do about this.  Perhaps we can move them , fence them in and wait for them to learn their new home ?

The Dounby Show

Formal name is the Orkney West Mainland Agricultural Society  (OWMAS). its been on Wednesday 6th and Thursday 7th August.  Today is a public holiday in Orkney, but not the rest of Scotland or the UK for that matter. Thursday for a public holiday is an unusual day to have it as well.
I'll have to find out if its a public holiday because of the Dounby Show  or whether the Dounby Show happens today because  its a public holiday.

And its held just down the road from us so we went.




A nice sunny day , but a bit windy (after all it is Orkney) . the flags above some of the stands are out at right angles

And enough to see to  keep you entertained for a day. After all its an Agricultural  show . 

So some sheep (these are Charollais) and  some cattle  . We missed the poultry because the judging was taking place)

And some rural pursuits - a bit of a sheep-shearing  competition and some horse-riding 

and some seriously large toys for boys