In my last post I banged on about the importance of planning, well I failed to plan. I had a spur of the moment idea to bring home some chickens, and that meant knocking up a safe place for them in 24 hours. I got the coop I have had on my wish list for ages, the Omlet Eglu Cube. Built a walk in run from timber I got at the hardware store, and the sturdy square wire. The mistake was not yet putting a roof on the run. I have had chickens before (if you’ve read my blog before you’ve seen them), and they never would have be able to jump 6.5 feet. Well the little pullets I got were Olympic jumpers and cleared the run in one jump.
Unfortunately, my failure to plan has resulted in the loss of two chickens on day one! They are still alive and living in the Snowdonia forest, both in front and behind my house. We spent 6 hours trying to catch them, but they have had a taste of the wild woodland, and do not want to be caught. I feel awful, as they will not be protected from the elements and the predators. I can’t help but think of the movie chicken run, but I am no Mrs Tweedy. Poor little things, I hope they have a fun free life in the woods.
The remaining girly seemed so lonely in the coop, so I managed to get the last two POL’s (point of lay) on the farm. So I am back to three chickens, but they now have a roof firmly in place, as well as a rain cover, plenty of food and water, and even nesting box flower mix. They came from a local chicken breeder, and are very timid around people. They are exchequer leghorn hens, so will lay a large amount of eggs for us to enjoy. But they are also beautiful and wonderful to watch. There is still much to do in their home to make it perfect, but now the snow is gone and the rain has started, it’s time to take a step back to plan!
Here are some photos. Please ignore the state of my garden, there is much to be done.
Big love,
