Raven, they are absolutely beautiful. Really special.

Emma

You garden (and chooks!) look lovely. We are going to build the girls a new larger covered run for winter. The run they are currently in (12 x 6 foot) is only three foot high and covered by netting-usually they free range all day in the garden. When we build their new run, I am going to keep the old...

Emma

Thanks Manda, I did wonder about that. Will it discourage my other two from laying though, or will they just find somewhere more appealing (under a bush!)?

Emma

Thanks Sandy, I didn't realise that when they were broody, they go almost comatose! In a way, it's a good thing as Mildred hasn't allowed us to touch her since we got her. Now I can give her a good going over (and stroke) when I lift her out. Just have to put up with the almighty swearing and occasi...

Thanks Bev and June. I'll try another couple of days "turfing out" and see how she goes. Otherwise, I'll have to think of some way to separate her from the others. Not sure where I could put her to bed though.

Emma

Our Sussex Star has been broody for about a week now. I think she is between about 30 and 40 weeks old. Everytime I turf her out of the nest box and put her down, she just stays as a "broody splat" wherever I put her. She doesn't get up and start doing chickeny things, but does manage to s...

What a fabulous run- I want to play in it!

Emma

Aren't they the new breed anti-gravity chickens then?

Emma

They are lovely. There seems to be a broody Sussex thing going on at the moment though (mine has just gone!)...better watch out...!

Emma

Hi,

Have you had your chickens from when they were hatched, or did you buy them at point of lay? Just asking because their food should have been switched from growers to layers pellets at some point, if you have had them from chicks, as layers contains more calcium.

Emma

Think our Sussex Star hybrid, Mildred, has been reading the broody posts. She was thoroughly grumpy yesterday and spent even longer than usual on the nest box. Today, I think she's in full-fledged broody mode-never seen a chicken self-inflate before- and her language!! I'm not going to turf her out ...

Thanks Mandy, I did wonder. Makes sense that damaged ones don't go back.

Emma

This isn't a pedantic question- I would really like to know. Why do people have an unlimited supply of pallets? It seems quite a common resource for "those in the know", but surely they are comparitively expensive to produce in the huge quantities that they are used. Do no companies re-use...

Congratulations on the house move! On the moving front, I agree with Steve. We've moved several times and have done the DIY approach (much hard work, and I can only imagine its worse with four children to "help"!). Although it's very counter-frugal, the best thing we did with our last two ...