RE:Landscaping...

Well Roger went off to France last Friday to watch the Rugby World Cup and promised on his return to get the garden finished with me.


Last Thursday I dug up the whole lawn area to a depth of about 6 inches and then wondered what on earth I had done!


The chickens loved it. Regularly they manged to get their tiny little necks placed between the prongs of the fork in a bid to get the worm they had spied. I couldn't use the spade because it would of been like a gulitine! Roger thinks they are all stupid - I prefer trusting...


I gave them Friday, Saturday and Sunday a.m to sieve, level and break down any large lumps. They did me proud! It would of taken me forever to sieve the soil into manageable levelling consistency but they did a grand job all in three days. I still had to remove the larger rocks and fill in several large holes that they had made to dust bath in but was still impressed none the less.
Laying the turf was a different matter. A little pep talk about NOT scratching it up was in order and they seemed to take it on board or... were just more interested in the corn in my hand?

I have laid the turf and soaked it well and Monday morning was awoken at 6.50 by the chickens making a commotion. They could see the rich green grass though the hatch (its clear perspex) and seemed desperate to get out. I came down and let them out... Don't want to upset the neighbours!!


Monday, and Tuesday (today) we have had the biggest eggs yet! Now that's either a rich diet of worms and lush grass that I am being rewarded with or...? Well that's all I can think of.

The landscaping is now nearly complete and with the new "Hot tub" in place we can relax in the warm 40 degree bubbles watching the chickens, kittens, dogs and other wildlife....

The new trellis appears to be chicken proof so we wont be getting any poach chickens by default.

Landscaping

We have had a major change around in our garden and it has involved lots of digging of holes which are very quickly filled with chickens.

Roger was left to erect four posts for some new trellis and when I come home hadn't got as far as I had hoped. He said it wasn't the Cider but the chickens that had held him up?
"Every time I dig a hole a chicken fills it up!"

I did suggest shutting them in the run but he said that he enjoyed them "helping" and "worm fest" made him laugh!

We have now however manged to nearly get the job finished and are awaiting our new toy? More details later....

Having decided that now the pool has gone and the ground resembles nothing like grass (thanks again Harriet, Amber,Sapphire & Speckle!) we (Roger) are going to turf the lawn, as apparently its the right time of year to do it?

I have extended the small boarder into a bigger boarder in the hope that the chickens will be happy digging up that area of the garden and NOT the new turf.
I suggested keeping them in the run for a couple of weeks but Roger was horrified! So I'll publish his edited comments when the turf has been laid and the chickens have left it alone.. (ha ha)

Finally I think I would be right in assuming that if a person brings you an empty egg box with a smile then they are asking for a refill?? Word has got out and those that have tried our eggs are coming back for more.

We have even discovered that if they are taken to the rugby club on a Sunday that they can be exchanged for BEER! Not a bad result considering all the girls are laying an egg daily so supply is out waying demand here at the moment.

I still cannot believe the difference these eggs make in cakes and cooking in general! You have to experience it to really appreciate it.

BEAUTIFUL...

DOGS AND CHICKENS ....

Thought I'd post some pictures of my dogs with our chickens living in harmony now, as this apparently seemed to be the biggest concern for our neighbours.

They are now living all happily together after the initial eventful meeting.. but I will stress for all those concerned we still .....

DO NOT LEAVE THEM ALL ALONE TOGETHER!

BROGAN & AMBER

BROGAN & AMBER

SPECKLE CAUGHT IN THE ACT..

SPECKLE CAUGHT IN THE ACT..

Yes its official we now have NUMERO FOUR (4) laying hens (no turtle doves or a partridge due to a lack of pear tree!)

Speckle was caught laying an egg.. It was a slight panic as all three others were present in the garden turning over the newly dug soil from where we had removed the boys pool..and then we noticed no Speckle - she was sat quietly, unlike Harriet laying what we think is her 1st egg.

Continued with the garden today - removing all that has been picked. plucked, sat on or scratched up by the "girls"

At one point I thought that I was going to have to put them into the run or spear one with a fork! I cannot believe how cheeky they all are!

We all have "Chicken" shoes for the garden which are the cheap version of "Crocs" They are great because they are waterproof and washable and easy to put on to run back and forth checking egg production. The only problem is the chickens like to try and peck your toes though the little holes. Brogan has developed a whole new set of dance moves to successfully get to the shed without being pecked. When I work out how - then I will try and put a video clip on here or You Tube its well worth the giggle...

And finally the efforts of Harriet trying to help!