It's here! The weekend our family grows and chaos descends once again with out newbies! I'm not going to dilly dally any more as I know you will have been dying to read this ... (or not!) ... So here goes ...
Saturday 7th August:
Well it is the eve of the picking up chooks day. We must make sure everything is finalised!
I start by sanitising the soil and grass before putting the wood chips down. This is to make sure any wild bird germs are dealt with.
In goes the wood chips ...
It looks cosey from inside! They are going to love that grass! Won't last long ...
Oyster and Grit in a bowl ready ...
In goes the water trug and the food ... In the black tyre bowl at the back is sand for them to dust bath in
Nesting material in the nesting hatch!
Wooden board put under the run edges to keep them level with the grass
Paper under the roosting bars in the pooooo tray!
Back view of roosting bars and nesting hatch
A cockerill ornament to watch on ...
Bin full of bits ready to go!
The swing has been installed!
Cat carrier lined with paper ready for the pick up tomorrow ...
Finished view from above!
So the long awaited day is here! We go to pick up the chooks at 2:30pm. Weee! It is showery and typically just as we arrive it absolutely throws it down so we wait it out in the car! We got them from Longdown Dairy farm in Southampton. The journey home was eventful hearing scratching and chook noises from the boot of the car. They were a bit hot when we got home as to be expected. Esp as we got caught in a bit of traffic on the way back so they were probably in there for about 40 minutes or so. Any way we got home and put them straight into the coop via the nesting hatch door as we read they like to rest quietly first before being let out so they know where home is. We had quite the surprise when we lifted out the last chicken and then found an egg in the carrier! LOL! We weren't expecting that!! About 5 minutes in one set out with some really loud bawking noises! We were kind worried about the neighbours so decided to open the door and let them out into the run after all!! The black and the grey one were out first and the brown one came out after a good 10-15 minutes or so so was a little reluctant!
Exploring their new run!
This one is called Peckers - Named by Sophie and is her chook. She's checking out the sand bowl. In the background is Speckledy.
The brown one in the background is called Peachy! Pichi - Named by Jessica and is her chook!
Long term we plan to make the run bigger so they aren't confined to this alone and allow them to free range around the garden too.
So that's it! The family has grown! I am nothing short of terrified and feel like we have brought home a new born baby again! It's that same shocked "what have we done" feeling lol! But i'm sure I'll get used to it eventually!
Right off to write the next instalment! Keep looking up! Lots of love from The Mad House Xx
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