Moving Home

So we have hatched some ducks (5) and some chicks ( lots, in various stages of growing) .
The ducks
- are messy
- grow quickly

and they have already outgrown their original 'hand-crafted' ark but still need protection from the hoodies and the older ducks  , until they are a bit bigger.

So its time to move them on. They aren't big enough yet to share the spaces with the resident bunch  so we've commandeered the goose house, then used  as a lamb shelter and is now a duckling shelter

Before :











After

A robin

 I spotted this whilst having a look at the pond , just checking it hadn't emptied itself overnight . this one is the original size (2.3MB) , so if you click on the photo, it should load itself, full size .


Seemingly unbothered by me i took a few oher photos

the pond

It has been muddy and it still is muddy in places. Its been cold, wet and miserable , and still is wet and we have had, and still have , quite a bit of mud .


We wonder if the pond not filling/draining properly has something to do with a particularly squelchy bit , so  it tiem to sort it out .
first empty it  - just dig out the retaining wall
 

 once that was done, there was  quite a lot of silt in the  bottom of the pond.   So it would need taking out

 Someone has clearly been here before . I found this pie buried next to the pond . I've no idea where it goes - it didnt seem to be carrying anything  from wherever it originates.

And I found the place where water runs into the pond from the bank,


And there is a lot of drainage in the channel that clearly exists for the run-off from the pond.

But im not digging too much of that out.
So  once the silt has been dug out, a drainage channel cleared, its time to put a dam back and see what happens.

Unhappy trees

We brought a few (well - 50) different sorts of apple trees with us.  They got planted around the place, hopefully in sheltered spots  as reported

-here 
-here
and 
-here

The remaining trees went into the old sandschoool - we reckoned that they would get some protection due to its high banks. But we are wrong.



 

The sandschool is actually far too damp and the trees are struggling  to survive. A couple  have died, so the most affected ones are being redistributed. If we can sort out the drainage they can go back , perhaps in the polytunnel and  we think they will do well.

So I've moved a couple and the rest will be moved over  the next few days

The proof that where they are is too wet - I dig a hole adjacent to the tree and it fills with water







A few weeds , but clearly trees that are poorly . 

the top half of this one has dies - still a bit of greenery  ( no fruit though) so I'll move it and give it a chance
















Ive moved this one to the East-facing bank, replacing some roses.  Well, you cant eat roses , can you  ?

The other will get move and put somewhere drier over the next week or so .

Sold Out

the hens are laying well  ( as well as starting to breed well) .
We started selling eggs from the end of the drive back in April .

And its surprised us .

We are selling approximately a dozen boxes (6 dozen  - 72 eggs ) from the box at the end of the drive.

And we have run out.  So to stop customers stopping unnecessarily, ive had to cover the sign up.  back in action ASAP.

Somewhere soft and warm

The chick can't go back with the others until it ( looks like a he) is warm and dry and active.
So it needs somewhere to  keep warm whilst  the feathers fluff up  and he stops looking shell-shocked


Only one place to go

Resuscitation update

So it has made it out of the shell.

And is starting to  try and move around and stand up

More Gallussian resuscitation

 

 

The hen with the chicks has hatched 10 so far. There were 2 eggs remaining. She has got fed up with sitting and has taken her 10 away and left the 2. But one of them was cheeping, so we decided on more resuscitation.  ON Prising the shell away  it started to cheep, so a bit more time in the home-made  chick-warmer ( I cant really call it an incubator!)
An incubator will keep  eggs at 37-39 degrees . We don't have an incubator, so  its a bowl, floating in a sink of hot water. And we cant control the humidity , so its a slightly damp towel.

Of course the reason it may be the last one out is that it is too weak and will not survive.

New Arrivals

 All on the same day . Different mothers of course .We've tried that in the past and it doesn't work as the gestation periods are different and timing it to get chicks and ducks hatching at about the same time is tricky

and some still to come

 And separately, some chicks

 

Pullos explorare

So we have 7 chicks , from the 11 eggs that she originally sat on.

They have been moved outside and into a 'hand-made' (!) run to offer them some protection from rats and hoodies that could take them , at least until they are a bit bigger.  And when there is no obvious threat the chicks are our exploring their new environment and getting the hang of this pecking business.


And Nick has been out exploring as well

 Pullos explorare. latin for chickens exploring  .

Gallussian resuscitation

The latin name for the domestic fowl is gallus gallus domesticus

its time to move the mother and the chicks to the outside run. So 7 have hatched. And when we looked ,the last one was half in and half out of its shell. 

What to do ? Put it on the grass and hope the mother would  keep it warm whilst it escaped from the rest of its shell and  then look after it or help it a bit. So we decided to help it a bit. 

In a plastic bowl floating on hot water ( to keep it warm) , gently removing the rest of the shell and then keeping it warm whilst it dried out.

And then successfully resuscitated  it was returned under the hen and , at the last look, was  starting to explore its new home  .

8pm update : 5 ? +1

So its 5 so far.
And 2 cheeping inside their shells.
And this one.
Its got 1/2 out and then got stuck and the membranes dried out and it couldn't break out from the membranes.  So we've helped it along a bit by pulling off some of the membrane, put it back under its mother and we shall see what  happens  overnight and if its alive in the morning

2pm update : 2 so far

Its all a bit late this year. We've had one so far  a cockerel who hatched in May .
And the 2nd  hen  to go broody  is sitting on some duck eggs and they incubate for 4 weeks , so it will be another week or so before we see if we have some more ducks .

 And the 3rd hen to go broody has started hatching . 2 so far .

the remaining eggs are in the nest

 And it looks like there are at least another 4 that have started to hatch.

 
 In the meantime she goes back in the box, with the chicks and we'll check on them a bit later