The chicks in the shed have been driving William wild all day. Typical of young animals, the troupe of twelve spend most of the daylight hours chasing each other around their huge dog crate. From outside the banging and clattering seems to be amplified greatly, so much so that a group of walkers stopped to listen as they ambled past, whispering together as they guessed what was going on inside!.I was pleased to let them see the robust little birds as once you indulge them with a look and a group "ooohhh" and "arrrhhh", walkers always seem to buy all my spare eggs up.I have not got a great deal done today, no it wasn't my painful back (which is still in spasm from time to time), just a succession of visitors and distractions to deal with.
Often my hardy group of customers like to stop and chat,which is truly lovely, but it can be a little frustrating when there is jobs to do.In between "chats", I managed to re pot some of the cottage planters, plant out young parsley and re position my pumpkin seedlings to an area more which is more sheltered before another neighbour needed a lift to Rhyl.
One year we got 50 turkey chicks, lost most of them, got 50 more. The constant beeping of chicks without a mother can certainly play on anyone's nerves. One beautiful sunny morning I thought to myself how blissfully quiet it was for a change. Oh no!!! I ran out to the greenhouse, but it was too late. My beautiful dog, who never ever killed a chicken in her life lay cowering in wait for my eminent arrival. All over the yard was 50 chicks with their heads pulled off, a bloody sad mess. She looked at me with doe eyes pleading for my mercy - I could just hear her say "I just could not stand the noise one moment longer, do what you want to me at least it will be quiet". In her defense, she had just had a litter of puppies. We ordered a new batch of chicks and she dutifully protected them like she had always done in the past, with this brief exception of course. I hope your poultry progresses so you no longer have to put your self in pain's way. Great blog! Peace for all
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