The netting run extension got nearly wrecked in the last heavy snow, I've fixed it as best I can. They dont seem keen to leave the proper run in the bad weather anyway. I've ordered some live mealworms to keep them occupied, & got a big bag of soft straw to line the coops. I'm so glad that Giblet ha...

I hope your chooks are appreciating your efforts, I've lined my lots beds with extra straw too & extra NE wind protection in the run. Feather pecking can be due to protein craving. My Bonny once had an absurdly long broody spell & came out of it feather pecking like mad, I gave her lots of mealworms...

I have an old photo of a cube on a 2011 post, but its covered with photobucket logos. I was wondering, if I paid for a month of the new photobucket fee, & used that time to download all my old photos from them (98% chicken pics for dtl) is there any way I can reload the pics onto my old posts via an...

I follow a group on facebook & it has also concerned me how many new chicken keepers have been (& still are over winter) hatching chicks with little thought to the issue of the boys. I think there'll be a lot of those wandering around soon too.

I know this is an old thread but I've had a new idea - well new for me anyway, I expect folk on here already do this. I've started keeping plastic bread bags & cerial inner packets to use instead of new plastic bags. So obvious I dont know why I've not done this before!

Hi FR, the pudding was really good! I would even say as good as homemade. The only criticism - it was rather small so no leftovers.

I spent most of yesterday rigging up a netted area outside the run. I made Giblets garden much smaller so she can come out too. I used mesh that used to cover the veg frame, green plastic netting I had in the back of the greenhouse & bamboo pole tripods holding it up, all tied up with string. Bit of...

Hi Bob, you can still get those tiny baby sized inflateable pools online, they're about 2ft. Might that work for your ducks? probably one at a time !https://www.ebay.co.uk/i/402368132351?m ... =28&chn=ps

That sounds awful Karen. Ours had started to breach the anti rat defence trench at the back of the run, so I did a bit of digging & added some more concrete powder & stones. There were no signs of them yesterday morning & more mice appeared - a good sign, but they'll find another way in I'm sure. In...

Sorry about Mirian & Lauren :(
Thats a shame about the rehoming, but I spose lockdown makes is so much harder to introduce new hens.

Its handy having these diaries, I searched back to the last time to look for ideas. I dug over patches of the run & lifted up stone slabs so they could scratch & peck. I remember it was not so bad in the cold weather, but harder for them when it got springy & the sun shined. I also had a blooming ra...

Oh good grief! We come out of lockdown & the chickens go right back into it. Defra has given us till 14th to prepare then we've got to shut them in again. No ifs or buts, no "certain areas", all poultry- farms or gardens to be shut in. There's not much sunshine in the winter where the runs are so th...

Thanks FR I've ordered one of the Georgieporgie ones, I'll let you know how it goes.

I really dont mind using veg suet, I often use it myself, but none of the puds i've looked at have suet in the ingredients. I've found some more traditional ones in large sizes & v expensive, but nothing else so far.

For years now I've made a batch of christmas puds from my mum's 1950's recipe - which is very similar to Mrs Beatons. However, this year I only need one small one, not really worth the faf of making it, I thought I'd just buy one for a change. But a proper, traditionally made one with suet, not a ca...