SAD DAYS AT THE COTTAGE

Last week was a very sad one as we had a fox invasion. We have had hens for going on 10 years & have never lost one to a fox, they have lived out their natural lives. Last week we had a fox break in to the hen house by pushing up the floor & pulling the hens out. We didn't have the run on but never imagined that this would happen when they were locked in at night.
Sadly, one of the hens was Tinkerbell, one of our first hens who we had had for 9 years who was a real pet.

Just one hen escaped the massacre - Fluffy Feet, pictured below.

 

We immediately added the run so that Mr Fox couldn't get under the house & temporarily moved the hen house up near the house & made a pen with electrified poultry netting.

Poor Fluffy Feet looked very depressed & just sat inside the house forlornly.

I decided that she needed some new friends to cheer her up, so Bluebell & Jessie have arrived to keep her company. They are young hens & have settled in very quickly, learning how to go up the ladder to bed in no time.

 On the second day that they were here one of them laid an egg so I'm looking forward to having lovely fresh eggs again. Fluffy isn't laying yet after winter but she is about 5 years years old now so won't lay as often as the younger girls.

We live near a free range egg farm & one of the fields has been cleared of chickens - I think that the fox must have been feasting there but is now looking further afield as my neighbour has lost half a dozen hens too. We are going to have to keep them penned in with the electrified fencing to keep the murderer out. In the meantime Toby is on fox watch!

PERFECTLY POACHED

 

As it's almost 'egg time' I thought I'd let you know about a great product I found recently. This is not a sponsored post or anything - it's just something that I have found to be very good & useful.

I love poached eggs but can never get them quite right by just putting them into boiling water. I don't know if it is because my eggs are too fresh - straight from the hen house - but they tend to go all ribbony or the yolk & white separates.

I came across these in Lakeland & decided to give them a try.

They are little pouches made from paper.

First of all bring a pot of water to the boil & pop a pouch into a cup or glass 

 (or two if you want more!)

 

Crack your egg into the pouch.

Simply drop them into the boiling water & the tops seal together themselves. 

Time your eggs - I find that 3 minutes on the Aga boiling plate is perfect - 

I like my egg yolks a bit runny.

Take the pouches out & put them on some kitchen roll to soak up a bit of water, open the pouches & plop the eggs onto your toast - perfectly poached!

All Sorts

I have had rather a busy week or so with one thing & another but I thought it was time I posted a catch up post so you know that I am still around.

The first adventure of the week was another dramatic Chicken Rescue (an idea for a new TV programme perhaps?).
Toby (aka Son of Satan or SoS to his friends) was barking like a crazy dog at the bottom of the garden so I went out to see what all the fuss was about. Yes, you've guessed it, yet another chicken in the pond trying to be a duck. Our house is like Chicken Run in reverse as they try to get in rather than out.

Anyway, I was wondering how I was going to fish her out as she was on the other side of the pond where all the lovely brambles & nettles live when she very calmly SWAM over to me! Who knew that chickens could actually swim?
So, I picked her up & she was a sorry sight - soaking wet, shivering & covered in pond weed.
I wrapped her up in an old sheet to dry her off.


After giving her a rub & a bit of a cuddle we put her into a box with a thick layer of shavings in the bottom & parked her next to a heater for a few hours. We kept her in the house overnight & by the morning she was looking decidedly fluffed up & perky.


We think she was a refugee from the farm who had been living rough since they took the flock away & as I didn't want her being nabbed by a fox or dog I popped her into our chicken pen, much to the consternation of the other ladies. In the evening when it was time for bed she was nowhere to be seen so I thought she had decided to leave us but the next morning she reappeared & has been here ever since - it only took her 2 days to decide to go into the hen house at night.

We have called her Amelia Pond as she is a redhead, was in the pond & disappeared & reappeared (probably in her chicken Tardis). Also, we had been watching Dr Who....

So, here she is - about half the size of our other hens but I bet she'll catch up quick!


Of course the cats couldn't care less....



I popped over to the Gloucester Antiques Centre on Saturday to drop off some new stock including some vintage toys.


I was pleased to see some of my stock (the glassware & scooter) in the outdoor picnic themed window display.


Sunday morning saw all the carpeting being removed from the stairs in preparation for a new carpet - I was surprised to see rather nice wooden stairs & floorboards underneath & contemplated painting them instead, but the "clip, clip, clip" of dog & cat claws & "thump, thump, leap, clunk" of big teenage boy feet is rather annoying so we are sticking with carpet.





Finally, I thought it was time to add some new stock to my online shop which I haven't updated for a while. Items include this unusual Jack Russell ribbon plate...

....cute Pixie cake decoration....

......lovely vintage china terrier.....

.....Rosebud doll.....
(sorry, I'm sold)

.... cat string holder & more.

Of course Michele & I are working on the next V&H Fashion & Textile Fair to be held on the 4th June which necessitated a "breakfast meeting" on Monday - just an excuse to eat bacon rolls & drink lattes really! :-)

PS...just wanted to say sorry to all those that posted a comment that hasn't appeared - it seems Blogger was having issues & lots of the comments have just vanished & I can't retrieve them. Some people's blog posts have also been deleted. This happened on Wednesday & Thursday but they seem to have it sorted out now.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

With a lot of hard work!

Here are the baby vegetable plants that I nurtured in my kitchen during the cold "spring" months which eventually could be potted up & moved into the polytunnel to grown on a bit.

Here they are today - almost ready!




Today Tamzin & I were out in the garden nice & early & worked out there all day except for an hour of "Active Fitball" at the Leisure Centre (I'm going to be stiff tomorrow) & a quick bite of lunch.


The patio was swept, the weeds removed & the pots filled up with compost. The terracotta pot on the wirework stand are awaiting some colourful geraniums.


This is my old peg basket which now has a hole underneath so I'm going to reinvent it as a hanging basket - I'll have to show you what it looks like planted up later.



Some of my galvanised bath tubs which I use as planters.


Of course no gardening session is complete without a break for a drink served from a vintage jug with an African beadwork cover.....


Note the "vintage" 80's leopard print scarf which was mine way back then...



Come on....shoes back on and back to work.....


It took us quite some time to construct this "cage" to keep the birds off of the strawberries!Yes, they really are that big - they've done so well this year.


The polytunnel had become a dumping ground & hidey hole for homeless spiders over the winter, so all the junk had to be removed, the long grass pulled up & spiders & snails evicted.
With the addition of homemade compost in the beds it's ready for vegetable plants - the cucumbers were the first to go in.



After all that it was time to stop & smell the roses....




The feathery girls on the other hand weren't too impressed with the heat so retreated into the shade for a siesta!


From left to right....Tinkerbell, Hermione, Nutmeg & Henrietta.

I think we are going to sleep well tonight!

RIP Duck & Nettle

After having a super day on Saturday at the Vintage & Handmade Fair we had some sadness on Sunday & Monday as our two oldest chickens died within a day of each other (of old age).
Both of them were refugees from the neighbouring free range chicken farm & were about 7 years old - they had both lived a good 5 years longer than they would have if they'd stayed on the farm as they only keep them for two years.

Duck was our famous hen who survived a dunking in the pond & we decided she had an identity crisis so was named Duck (she even had a mention in our article in Homes & Antiques magazine!). Nettle was living under the hedge after the rest of the flock were sent away for slaughter so we rescued her too.

Duck was our particular favourite as she was very friendly & liked nothing more than to stand on your feet, eat out of your hand or be picked up for a cuddle.

People who don't know chickens don't realise what lovely pets they make & each one has their own personality & place in the pecking order of the flock. Our little flock is now reduced to four - our two original hens who are about 5 now & the two youngest which we bought last year. The chicken run looks a little empty.... yesterday I bought the rest of the girls (Tinkerbell, Hermione, Henrietta & Nutmeg) a bag of corn to cheer them up.

I'm glad though that the two old girls had full & happy chickeny lives, free to wander around, scratch up the soil & indulge in dust baths or lie in the sun with their wings spread out unlike millions of hens which are still kept in battery conditions - roll on the ban!

Chicken Rescue

I think I've mentioned before that we live next door to a free range chicken farm & these chickens certainly range freely as they constantly escape from their huge field & come through the hedge to visit our garden which is obviously much more exciting.

We have two ponds & they think it's a great place for a quick drink, except some of the slightly more stupid ones fall in & I'm regularly fishing them out - sadly some are already dead, having drowned before I see them.

I fished one out yesterday who had only just fallen in & then this morning when I went to feed my chickens they were making lots of noise & I noticed a hen in the pond - she was just floating with her head out of the water. I immediately fished her out & she was soaking wet & very, very cold.

I put her down on the grass & she just flopped over & didn't even try to get up.


So I grabbed a towel & wrapped her up & rubbed some of the water off & cuddled her a bit.


She was still very cold & shivery with her eyes closed & head flopped back.


This is where an Aga comes in handy - it's not just for cooking! I popped her in a box & put it close to the Aga. I wasn't sure if she'd survive the shock & cold.


I left her there for a few hours, checking her regularly & eventually she started to sit up & opened her eyes as she warmed up & dried off.


A few more hours & I took her outside & put her in a sunny spot where she sat for a while, clucking to herself until she strolled off with a friend, none the worse for wear!
Hopefully she has learned her lesson & she won't dive in again.


So, that was my good deed for the day! In case you are wondering, it was Mr C taking the photos - he can't resist any photo opportunity!


I thought you'd also like this photo of Purdy playing "leaping panther" off the table after watching the chicken proceedings with interest.