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| The Ghost hen's borrowed time was finally up this afternoon |
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| The Front Garden |
I know the ghost hens have already out lived their allotted time; to be honest they should not have really survived into Autumn, but survive they have, and I am still hopeful that three of the girls out of the original six will live to see 2011.
The sick ghost is now holed up into a nesting box with water and feed. Her three sisters have refused to leave the warmth of the house and are presently eating a load of white bread which has been thoughtfully donated to me by neighbour Joanne
I am slightly saddened by the hen's deterioration.....I have so much affection for these fat old girls
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| Bingley feeling the cold |
The old hens, who are old hands at this snow lark, migrate daily to one particular field border where they manage to stand in the weak sun for all of the daylight hours, but the turkeys being thick as mince have not learnt that trick as yet. Both females Lizzy and Jane are moulting too, which is unfortunate, as the poor girls have huge bald patches on their chests and necks. After a bit of bribing (with apple) I have encouraged them to shelter in the duck house for the morning
The weather here remains cold but at least we have no more snow. I will hopefully get over to Sheffield tomorrow by train, yet need to fill the water butts today, in readiness for Chris to look after the stock, tomorrow.....The exterior water tap is still frozen...so , I have the a mammoth job of bucket carrying from kitchen tap to field!
hey ho
It's all come so early, eh?
ReplyDeleteSo sorry your birds are having such a hard time. I hate cold weather because of the animals.
ReplyDeleteWe are having a heat wave today up to 38 degrees. I'm making Scotch Broth (lamb shanks and veggies). Is that an English soup?
Good Morning John! I do so love your snow pictures, but hope the ghost hen improves and you're able to get out of town!
ReplyDeleteHow sad that the ghost hen is not well, as you say it is probably the cold.
ReplyDeletegood luck with the bucket carrying and lets hope this awful weather soon departs.
Briony
It's very pretty in your yard with all that snow. I'm sorry about the Ghost Girl. They have had a wonderful time with you. Your turkey stories make my lady re-think her idea of getting some - tee hee. Silly turkeys. Warm goat kisses from Isobelle! xxxx oooo
ReplyDeleteMother Nature can certainly be tough John. Good news is your heart will be in fine condition after all that bucket carrying! Stay warm.
ReplyDeleteHere's hoping for a warmer day, may your faucets thaw and a south breeze melt your snow.
ReplyDeleteNot seeing too well, I thought from the title, that the first casualty was your vehicle. :)
ReplyDeleteSorry about the ghost hens, probably time to have a great chicken stew in their honor and put them out of their misery, before they all become ill. (please take this in the nicest way, I do know how you love these birds)
I was so surprised with your weather, I had no idea you had so much snow! Your temperatures are fairly temperate. It's a game I play. Trying to find "the perfect place", not too hot, not too cold.
Having had our outside taps freeze up on us several times, a couple years ago, we had some (crappy) plumbers install a frost proof faucet out in the yard, we could have done the job ourselves but they were also doing some other digging for the septic drain and thought of it. It has come in very handy! It was going to be near the gazebo that we never built....
Have a nice afternoon, John, and I hope there are no problems getting to Sheffield tomorrow.
XXX
AN HOUR AND A HALF of carrying buckets of water and I am knackered!!!
ReplyDeleteI have just checked up on the sick ghost hen
she died peacefully.
Bless nearly 10 months of respite from battery conditions was worth all of the hard work......
RIP Chicky. A fine job you are doing with all those liberated hens, John. Battery farms should be (and will be soon, I think) made illegal.
ReplyDeleteJust saw the update on the Ghost Hen John--You gave her a good life...So much more than the others like her have ever had!
ReplyDeleteR.I.P. little hen. I think it's gonna be a looong winter.
ReplyDeleteThe ghost hen had a life it couldn't have imagined if it tried, thanks to it's Papa!
ReplyDeleteJim
dang, i'm sorry to hear about your hen. it's remarkable how we can become attached to these little critters no matter how "ordinary" they are supposed to be. hope you're holding up okay in the cold and that the rest of the crew thrives.
ReplyDeleteSorry about the little ghost hen. You gave her a good life and she died peacefully. If we could all be that lucky.
ReplyDeleteYou are a hero John...saving the animals one at a time.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, please, let me see the day when all feed animals are treated like creatures and not a product.
I'm sorry about your hens. Much as I love snow and cold, it makes things tougher and it's sad when the animals are affected by it in a bad way. Hope they all make it to 2011.--Inger
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear of the Ghost hen passing. The rest of them will live to see the new year. Why? Because you are the best mother they could possibly have.
ReplyDeleteLove the snow pics.
Sorry to hear about your hen, but at least she had 10 happy months with you.
ReplyDeleteOh John, I'm so sorry about the Ghost Hen, but so glad about the time she had at your home.
ReplyDeletexxx
So sorry about the ghost hen. At least she died peacefully and had a good home. If only all critters could have good homes.
ReplyDeleteOh, as soon as I saw the title, I thought of the Ghost Hens. I'm sorry that you have lost her, and I hope that the other three hens make it into the new year.
ReplyDeleteThat's a lot of water hauling, no wonder you're tired.
I am glad the ghost hen had a good life for a while. She so deserved that.
ReplyDeleteJohn, you've got the snow and cold - we've got rain, 178mm in 5 days!
ReplyDeleteHave you tried wrapping your tap and exposed water pipe in burlap. I buy it by the 25mm wide roll (10 metres length). Worked well when I worked up in the Snowy Mountains Parks.
RIP little ghost hen. Winter is tough on animals. Yours at least have you looking out for them!
ReplyDeleteI’m so sorry about Ghost Hen. Bless her heart. The snow and cold are harder on some than others. Your garden looks beautiful in the snow cover. That darn bucket carrying is not for the weak in spirit. I hate it! :)
ReplyDeleteAmy
snow!!! send some my way!!! We had a few flurries last year in February, the first snow since 1978here in this town. I love snow. Sorry to hear about your girl...you gave her a wonderful summer, John.
ReplyDeleteMy turkey, Giblet, has discov ered the heating lamp we now turn on in his house at night and sits fight in front of it. I swear, the turkey never sleeps. Every time I check on him he is fluffed up in front of the light.
Bless her little heart...
ReplyDeleteMay your little hen rest in peace. And I agree with Jacqueline's sentiment. It will indeed be a wonderful day when we all treat our feed animals like the precious creatures they are.
ReplyDelete