Archive for the ‘Mere House Farm news’ Category
Man about the (hen) house
Friday, September 3rd, 2010
Of the chicks hatched on May 11th, only one has turned out to be a cockerel. We heard him trying to crow, or rather croak, for the first time this afternoon, at 15 weeks of age, but he’s definitely going to need a bit more practice before he’ll be taken seriously as the boss!
A devastating day
Wednesday, September 1st, 2010
Splodge, our gorgeous 25 year old Shetland, began to look poorly on Sunday. At first we thought it might be a reaction to his tetanus vaccination last week, but he continued to go downhill and, after tests, it became clear that his kidneys were failing. This afternoon I had to take the terrible decision to put him to sleep. We’ve had him for 6 years, and although he was in retirement, I imagined he’d be around for ever, like a big hairy labrador in the field, occasionally taking visiting toddlers for a short walk. We are all devastated, and the children simply don’t understand why he had to go.
Haymaking
Monday, August 30th, 2010
What a relief it has stopped raining. Our hay has finally been cut today, and the weather is set fair all week so we should get it baled OK. There hasn’t been a single opportunity to make hay since early June here in Cheshire, but for most of that time we’ve had a hosepipe ban in operation - extraordinary!
Look no stabilisers!
Friday, July 9th, 2010
I can’t believe it, Richard removed the stabilisers from Charlie’s bike today, and without further ado he was off! Now we need to get Kate (nineteen months older) going too, or her nose will be put severely out-of-joint!
Long-tailed tits back in the garden
Thursday, June 10th, 2010
We usually only see them in winter, but a flock of about ten long-tailed tits have been knocking around this week, not venturing too close to the house, but pottering about from telephone wire to the blackthorn bush in fits and starts. I don’t really see them close-up, but am aware of their high-pitched twittering when walking between the house and the office.
Successful hatch
Tuesday, May 11th, 2010
Twenty-one days of waiting is finally up, and the incubator has delivered eight new baby chicks, six Welsummers and two Silver-laced Wyandotte bantams.
With great timing, one of my laying hens turned broody a week or so ago and she has adopted them with gusto, saving me the trouble of setting up a heated box for them, but too disappointing for Charlie (4) because the chicks spend most of their time tucked under their mum’s wings and out of sight!
The swallows are back
Wednesday, April 21st, 2010
At last, our swallows have returned. They usually arrive in the first week of April, so they are about a fortnight late this year and I had begun to think they hadn’t survived the journey back through the colder than usual conditions across Europe.
Crazed turkeys!
Saturday, March 27th, 2010
We reared three turkeys from the age of about 6 weeks last year, with the aim of feeding family and friends at Christmas. However, having acquired them rather late in the summer, they didn’t grow as fast as birds we’ve previously reared, and so they survived the festive season - the luckiest turkeys in Cheshire!
For a time all was well in the orchard, but as the days began to lengthen, the two stags (males) began to spar, and soon things got so serious that we had to dispatch one, to avoid serious injury to the other.
The surviving stag settled down, happy to have the female all to himself, but within a few days, he himself became aggressive, chasing cars up the drive and attacking any human venturing onto his turf! We’ve granted him a temporary stay of execution, whilst his wife is busy laying eggs, but I can forsee that Richard will have to spend another saturday afternoon in the stable (plucking) before too long – as the children are too scared of him to be able to collect the eggs from the henhouse at the moment.
Niger seed
Friday, February 19th, 2010
Seven weeks after I installed a new niger seed feeder in the garden, the goldfinches have finally discovered it and we are delighted to be regularly seeing up to six at a time tucking in. The only downside is the second mortgage we require to keep up with consumption!
More snow
Sunday, January 31st, 2010
Opened the curtains to a monochrome landscape once again this morning, a total shock as hadn’t picked up the possibility of snow from the weather forecast. All our plans for the day (which involved towing trailers) are shelved, and the children are blase about a condition which inspired ecstasy only two weeks ago.
Fieldfares and freezing pipes
Tuesday, January 19th, 2010
Today we’ve added snow to the extensive frost. Can’t complain because many parts of the country have been under a white blanket for at least a fortnight, but the horses are now devouring hay at an alarming rate.
Whilst daytime temperatures have barely risen about minus 3 degrees, the trickiest task is keeping the water unfrozen. Last week, fresh water was re-freezing with 20 minutes.
Fieldfares are now coming right to our bird feeder to look for food. We frequently see them in flocks in the surrounding fields, but never before in the confines of the garden.
Crikey, minus 14!
Friday, January 15th, 2010
Last night our thermometer showed a minimum of minus 14 degrees celcius. We’ve never had temperatures so low whilst we’ve lived in Baddiley (since December 2000).
I began to realise that it would get seriously cold when it had reached minus 10 degrees at 6.30pm. The three turkeys, originally intended for Christmas but in the event not heavy enough to kill, absolutely refuse to take refuge in the shelter under any conditions. However I manage to catch them in the dark, and lock them in the stable. Whilst carrying them (upside down and firmly by their legs) their feet feel warmer than my hands, and I suspect I’ve been worrying unnecessarily.