Musical Coops

I woke up this morning dreaming that a tidal wave had enveloped the field! I guess that I heard the torrential rain bashing against the window, and so I was in two minds about staying in bed. But alas, pigs still need feeding and ducklings still need watering, so soaked I got, sludging around to and from the cottage and field.
Just two hours later, the sunshine burst through and I have been amazed that I have worked outside all day weeding the beds (above my cabbage and potato bed) and rearranging the field population!
First job was to set the five ducklings up in their own run. I nicked Bunny's ark, cleaned it out and put it into Rogo and the dog attack survivors' enclosure. Rogo's flock out of all of my hens seem to cope with newcomers best and do so with a degree of friendly alacrity.

Albert as usual spent the morning catching mice and stalking the ducks, who oblige him with a screaming hysterical girly "chase me, chase me" type reaction (below)

Susan (below centre) is almost back to her Normal self . I still feed her extra pasta and bread, and she has quickly learnt to take these build up morsels direct from my hand.

I cleaned out the small broody box and set Bunny (above), Mary and Roger up in it. I suspect it will be a bit of a jam between them all but I have now run out of hen houses. My friend Geoff has plenty of spare wood and has kindly offered to fashion up a bog standard box for me. It will be my 11th hen house!

I moved the two buff cockerels Poppy and Clover back into the buff hen run (a bit too early as the girls are still looking a bit bald on their backs after too much sexual activity!), but I needed to get their old hen house ready for two casualties of hen bullying!

One of the Andrews sisters and Mildred Pierce (above) have had their feathers pecked out by an unseen bully (probably done at night when the hens are roosting) and both are looking rather shop worn and untidy.

I thought it prudent to separate the two girls from their flock and I have set them up in their own run. Blanche will be joining them if she too loses any more feathers, and the rest away from the others, with high protein food and calmness will give the girls a chance to recover their condition
In between dog walking and egg delivery, I have also covered the bird damaged young cabbages and califlower seedlings with netting and chicken wire...it has been a productive day