Let me introduce myself and give you some background information on myself,family and new venture into being more frugal,downshifting (slightly) and of course chicken keeping.
I live with my partner Rach and our four children,we moved last year to our current house in north Worcestershire in a rural location that suited our motives in life,to be away from the maddening crowds and hustle and bustle of town or city life. I am currently re-training as a plumber after 20yrs in the builders merchant trade,was a manager for 7yrs and the stress levels just were not worth it in the end. Rach is a primary school teacher and helps to teach at our lovely little village school,which two of the children attend.
When we first moved to the new house we instantly realised that we would like to keep chickens in the garden but first and foremost the house needed a lot of TLC,well a complete overhaul actually!! Then there was the pressing issue of the garden being out of control of sorts and resembling more of an overgrown field,it is a large family sized area that had no character at all and there wasn't a decent fence or blade of grass or plant to talk of at all really. I am naturally an outdoor person and couldn't wait to sort out the garden (as is Rach) but we had to give way to the fact that the house was going to need re-plastering,complete decoration, removal and erection of new internal walls and a new bathroom,new flooring etc. So armed with the help of my brilliant father in-law to be we set about getting into the task with some real vigour,all in all it took us around ten months (finances held us back more than anything else) to complete the said task to the best we could afford,we are very pleased with it!! Amongst the time spent working on the house i did manage to get into the garden weather permitting and managed to lay a timber railway sleeper deck,new fencing,dig up and re-sow the one side of the lawn and put in two new paths...then the dreaded winter set in!!! We suffered as much snow as anybody else in the midlands (approx 18 inches at best) and this really depressed me as i can't stand the winter time!!!
Then mid February i decided enough was enough and i was going to start in the garden come rain,shine,sleet or bloody snow!! lol Our immediate thoughts were on the chicken area that we had chosen and i promptly cleared the area,levelled it,and prepared it for the chicken coop and enclosure. As luck would have it i bought a second hand coop from a lady a few doors up for a bargain price of £50 and purchased the timber etc to build the enclosure. I put the enclosure up a couple of weeks ago and started to look for some local Warren Point-of-Lay'S or pullets. I have been researching our little chicken adventure for some twelve months or so and armed with some basic knowledge from my childhood chicken keeping and knowledge gleaned from various websites (especially this one!) i felt confident to go out and find my girls. We visited a couple of local places and eventually settled on some 14 wk pullets at 'Lifestyles' in Bromsgrove and duly returned back to base with them this Saturday just gone,27/4/13.
I had been feverishly reading the forums on DOTL recently and this has been a massive help and confidence boost,would be lost without it now!!!! Anyway enough rambling, our six girls settled in immediatley and the whole family has become totally immersed in them,especially my youngest daughter Olivia who now only lives for her chooks!! It really is the best thing i've done in a very long time and we are overjoyed with how our lives are going in the new house,especially since our little arrivals. Below are some pics of the girls and the enclosure, i am now off to 'play' with the girls and enjoy a cup of tea in the enclosure...shall post pics soon of the individual girls and their names...enjoy your time today,Sid and Rach
Hi Sid we have already met somewhere along the line I think. Goodness you are a hard worker, your garden in really taking shape and you hen set up is really tidy. Hope you, Rach and the children have many happy years in your new home.
It will be alright in the end , if its not alright, it isn't the end . Quote from the proprietor of the The best exotic Marigold Hotel for the elderly and beautiful
Many thanks for your kind comments Can't think how we could have met before though?? I love to work Annie,keeps me occupied and happy!! Thanks for taking the time to read the start of the diary,much appreciated.
love life,love your family and friends,be happy with what you have as its already a joy to be alive.
That coop looks good (and a bargain at the price) how old are your children. My 4 yr old grandson loves coming and collecting eggs, last week he was off Preschool recovering from a bug but bored with being in - his mum thought a trip to the Soft play would be good - he wanted to come here and find eggs.
Hi Mo it was a real bargain I hope your grandson is feeling better? The children are 7,9,11 and 14. The youngest is absoloutley in love with the girls and loves to be in the run and feeding them etc It gives you such a good feeling to see the relationship between the kids and the chooks doesn't it, ha ha soft play.....no comparison to grandma's chickens!!!
love life,love your family and friends,be happy with what you have as its already a joy to be alive.
[center]HELPING THE LITTLE BROWN GIRLS OF THIS WORLD FIND FOREVER HOMES Humble chicken maid to a happy little flock Frankii Whippers leading the way with Dorey,Prila(aka Mrs Brown),Ann-a-Lou Greta, Delphine my adorable silkie,my twin girls Lana and Boudica (aka The Jedward Twins ) ,Augustine Eizabeth(aka Pippy), Rheima, Marnie and Fleur aka little miss chatterbox[/center]
Still loving and missing Skinnie Minnie and Queenie xx
Marlene you taught me how to live and laugh again xx
Isabella my darling top hen ,you stole my heart xx
Porscha my sweet little girl ,you left so suddenly xx
Hi Sid and family Enjoyed reading your diary and looking forward to the next instalment. Looks like your girls are going to be very happy in their new home, you have made a lovely job of the run
Sid and his girls wrote:Hi and thanks for your kind words I thought the slabbed path could be put to more use on Saturday,so........ Much better use for them don't you think!!!
Definitely got your priorities right, those slabs are far better positioned now. I've enjoyed reading your diary so far - keep on posting. Your girls look very comfortably settled in their rather posh home. I love the colour of your unbelievable bargain coop.
Three of the girls are named, we have Milly,Ellie,Belle. The other three are still in the thought process stage,and thank you for the lovely comments
Well, we are in to the fourth day today and all is well,the girls are still happily going about the chook business and touch wood there has been no fisty cuffs to my knowledge!
It's such a joy to see them first thing in the morning (and at all times!) , we all have settled into a good routine straight away, and our little girl Olivia is still even more than ever now obsessed with the chooks!! She is asking mommy at school 'are the chickens OK?' LOL
I have some free time in the garden today so shall make good use of it to cut the grass,plan the new raised planters for veg and salads and have a walk over to the wooded area behind the house to find some outdoor perching logs for the girls....LOVELY!!
Have a lovely day all and shall update with pics etc later
All the best Sid and Rach
love life,love your family and friends,be happy with what you have as its already a joy to be alive.
Your set up looks lovely and what a bargain for that coop. My youngest daughter (6 next month) loves the chickens but won't eat eggs!!!
Tammy xxx
Mum to two girls Violet and Iris and Hubby! 7 chickens, Easter, Bunny, Daisy, Tulip, Primrose, Buttercup, Snowdrop, 2 silkie chicks Teddy & Rainbow. 1 cat, Gromit. 2 gerbils cheese and onion, 2 guinea pigs Bangers & Mash and my Min Pin puppy Betty. RIP my little Casserole, Hotpot & Stew x Goodnight to my wonderful cat Chance and my wonderful dog Hamish xx
Many thanks for your kind comments Can't think how we could have met before though?? I love to work Annie,keeps me occupied and happy!! Thanks for taking the time to read the start of the diary,much appreciated.
Sid I meant on another thread
It will be alright in the end , if its not alright, it isn't the end . Quote from the proprietor of the The best exotic Marigold Hotel for the elderly and beautiful
It's been some time since i last updated so thought i'd better catch up!!
Between the the last posts i have been absoloutley run off my feet with work,working at home in the garden and generally fighting a horrific abcess under one of my molars!! The pain has been beyond belief at times but it has not slowed me down!
The girls are now two weeks into their new home here and seem to have settled down no problem whatsoever (fingers crossed!) they are now 16 weeks old and starting to show some proper hen characteristics. I am still feeding them growers pellets but are starting to wonder whether i should now put them on layers pellets as some sites suggest to do so?? Help please!!
The work in the garden has mostly been undertaken near to the girls's area and has included laying a new drive and putting in two raised veg and salad beds,pics to follow! The dentists trip on Tuesday was a proper Victor Meldrew moment as i was sent by Rach to the wrong dentists!!! However i did not realise this until after i was seen by the dentist and having an examination and xrays. Like i said a proper Victor Meldrew moment and the full story is very long and very funny,needless to say i got home and promptly walked throught the door and proclaimed ' I DON'T BELIEVE IT!!!!' Anyway the upshot is i have an abcess and have an appointment at another dentist next Wednesday to hopefully have some treatment to relieve the said ailment.
Until next time have a really day to you all,
Sidney
love life,love your family and friends,be happy with what you have as its already a joy to be alive.
Anyway enough rambling, our six girls settled in immediatley and the whole family has become totally immersed in them,especially my youngest daughter Olivia who now only lives for her chooks!! It really is the best thing i've done in a very long time and we are overjoyed with how our lives are going in the new house,especially since our little arrivals. Below are some pics of the girls and the enclosure, i am now off to 'play' with the girls and enjoy a cup of tea in the enclosure...shall post pics soon of the individual girls and their names...enjoy your time today,Sid and Rach 
