My chooks try to eat my nail varnish I'm very impressed that you've got the time/inclination to do your nails! With chuck-chores, doing up a house, working part time and trying to sort out my late mother's estate I am at the stage where I just try to keep my hands in my pockets when they're not ins...

Finally moved the hens that I've been hen-sitting for a few weeks. Their uncovered run was so soggy and smelly that we took the plunge and moved them to our new house - although we can't move in for a few weeks yet. OH starts work up there every morning at 7 am; I go and do the chicky-chores a bit l...

Thanks to everyone. It had never occurred to me that eggs aren't refrigerated in supermarkets. Given how old those eggs are I am absolutely persuaded that room temperature is OK. So, I have washed my ceramic hen, looked up skelter but posponed any decision, and am now going round to my hens' current...

I was reading the thread about how best to store eggs. No idea what a skelter is, but that's beside the point. I was also looking at the fridge v room temperature debate here and elsewhere. Health agency advice both here and in Oz, NZ, USA all seem to recommend keeping eggs in the fridge. This is wh...

Thanks for raising this topic again. We've finally got our Walk In Run finished on the hardstanding that would have been for the new garage - if it were not for our neighbours! Our next decision is covering for the floor. We, too, have gone for half covered as the hens that we're adopting are used t...

Thank you for asking. Story of my life, though. Just find out about something when it's too late to get involved. I've always been late catching on to anything not computerised. They tell me that there are moving pictures with sound now in the picture houses.

I like the sound of these - and also think they'll go well on our home baking stall on Monday. For the less culinary-able among us - is semolina flour the same thing that I buy to make milk puddings?

Gee I wish I'd known this years ago. I've spent 26 years in a house with a restrictive convenant and for the last 10 have been nattering about it. We are moving in a couple of weeks and I am already looking after the 4 hens that I'm rehoming. When we were looking for a new place I asked particularly...

I have been hen-minding for the past couple of weeks - but next weekend we are moving the 4 ladies into their new accommodation at our house. I'm aware that this move will disrupt them and don't want to add to their stress but: They are never fastened in at night where they are. The coop opens on to...

I've been hen-sitting the chickens that I'm rehoming once our move is completed. Ours (omg!) all sleep in the nest box. The eggs don't get dirty with poo because the four of them all lay in the sleeping area. The perches are for decorative purposes only, apparently, although they do like to sit on t...

OK - so I got our first eggs from the rehomed hens today. Only 4, but then from 4 hens this seems to be the best possible result. From buying 6 eggs a week I'm now looking at having LOADS even after I've given some away to friends. I have never bothered making quiches, but now that we have hens and ...

Thank you for this response. I will get some ericaceious (oh goodness; spelling again) compost and do as you suggest. I think the "light shade" bit might be important. It's currently in a very windy, exposed but sunny place. Probably hasn't had any care for 2 years - which is when the gard...

With slow cookers I'm never sure whether you have to heat everything up first and then put it in slow cooker. My daughter's instruction book says no need to do this -but food poisoning is something I don't want and my instructions say that I have to. 15 years ago I bought a m/wave rice cooker from L...

In the overgrown mess that is the garden of our new house i've found a rhododendron in a pot. I can recognise these plants but not necessarily spell their name. We can't usually grown them in the ground; wrong soil. this one, in a pot, looks very sickly and is "leggy". Can I revive it? The...

Thanks to all for the good advice. As you say, drying them out is likely to be the big issue. Once the garage is built I'll have somewhere to put them out of the weather and as we have open fields at the back of us and are on a slight hill I think drying might just be easier than I think. Always ass...