THE MARSHALL'S CHICKENS...


Well after reading another blog about Chickens (see my links)
We decided that it was most certainly acceptable to keep chickens as a hobby.
Despite one or two of our neighbours moaning behind our backs and behind closed doors we went ahead and welcomed into our garden four hens..
Harriet - Sapphire - Speckle - Amber
Sometimes you just have to accept that you can please some of the people some of the time and for the rest of it ... well, get a life...
GET A CHICKEN!!

Having now moved out into the countryside we have no neighbours so have 13 hens and 2 very nosey cockerals!!



HERE IS MY OWN DIARY OF A CHICKEN LOVER...

Firstly a huge " THANK YOU" to JUDE SCOTT at
COTWOLD CHICKENS - This lady was really helpful and gave us loads of time, useful and advice and support.

I would recommend going to visit JUDE AT COTSWOLD CHICKENS HAWTHORN STUD SOUTH NEWINGTON BANBURY
If you too like us feel the need to expand your knowledge and desire for the good life!

MEET THE MARSHALL HENS..

BOVAN GOLDLINES
AMBER STARS

BLACK STARS
SPECKLED STAR
BLUEBELL

Tuesday 31 March 2009

Daily delivery...

Well we seem to be averaging ten eggs a day now which means 3 hens aren't laying or i can't find them or...Roo is eating them before I can get to them!

If I hazard a guess i say Roo was eating them.. I have to somehow try and justify the hideous odour from his rear end of an evening.

The two favourite places are the horse box which the dogs cannot get into and the horse shelter which they won't go in.




They have all settled in lovely now and spend most of their time dust bathing or wandering around the horses paddock, which is great as it means my plants aren't getting abused.


Today I took some of them all and they all enjoyed posing for the camera!







Bark chippings - ha what fun THEY have!

And last but not least today my favorite picture... Daisey our 'MOTHER HEN' with Francesca.


Monday 23 March 2009

TODAYS COLLECTION....







These are the eggs just brought in from the garden - the down side to free-range hens is that you do have to go look for the eggs! They have four places that we know they lay in so hopefully we won't miss too many!

Missing pieces...

Well I am going to try and update quickly and without too much complication!

We moved from the residential town area last Easter after selling our house and moving to the countryside so we could have more privacy, peace and less moaning from neighbours. The house we were originally moving too fell through so we stop gaped at another and continued to search for a lonely house with approx 3/4 acres.

Eight months later we found it - it was the original house that we wanted! So now we have our Horses, Joe and Sunny, our pigs Branston & Pickle two dogs, two cats, load of fish (which I have to mention or the boys get upset) and Oliver our snake.

Unfortunately Jemina our duck fell hopelessly in love and we left her on the neighbours lake..

As we now had no neighbours I wanted to get my 'girls' a Cockerel as 'Chebal' upset too many in Heyford and had to go back.

This time it was only us that would be disturbed... I advertised on Free-cycle and ended up with two and six more hens!!

The new hens were a little tatty to say the least but that's was due to 'estate living' and slight over crowing I think, and not because they hadn't been loved. They were up for re-homing because the couple wanted to claim back their garden as they were expecting a baby in July.
Sad but lots of people don't think forward to the ifs and buts....

They were shocked and amazed by all the grass the the ability to roam but were obviously happy because the following day 4/5 laid beautiful eggs. One of them a pure China white..

One of the white hens has no tail feathers (she is in one of the pictures I have posted, she looks like a large Quail!) and her butt was rather red and sore, she appeared to be the target for all the others so I put her in with mine knowing they would at first be grumpy about it, but would they adjust and look after her. A little tea-tree cream on the butt and all seems to be looking good and sprouting feathers! :)

We now have two camps and sometimes they all come together but mostly live in separate halves of the garden/paddock.

They roost in two separate coups which we shut up at night due to the foxes... (well and the fact the Cockerels would have us up at 4.30!!)

Oh nearly forgot to mention Daisey... Now Daisey is how this whole chicken thing started and it was her that I was asked to look after whilst her owners went on holiday. Sadly her best hen friend died and her owner asked if I would take her on as she wasn't ready to get another one yet.

Of course as I appear to now be 'Chicken Rescue' I couldn't say no.

She has been so funny. Again never been free range or see dogs/cats/horses etc but she has so got the measure of everything and is a real character.. she chases Roo our puppy Labrador and takes it upon herself to come in the house whenever the door is left open!

A WHOLE NEW WORLD....







Here are some pictures from yesterday that I took of our older chickens and the new ones slowly adjusting to the space!
The two Cocks had a little moment but they have sorted out their own little group of women and now seem quite happy...



Monday 16 March 2009

***NEWS UPDATE.....***

I know and I am sorry to those of you that follow my tales that I have neglected the site...
However tomorrow is another day and I plan to fully update you of our move and new stock.. because "DAVE" we have PIGS too!!

We now have 13 hens and two cockerals..
We have a small holding with pigs and our horses too. They are all happy and living in harmony with the dogs and cat's as well.

With a Free Range wander of approx 4 acres they seem to be keeping themselves busy..

Watch this space.