Bed, Breakfast and Evening Mealworms

[Linda S]

Crikey its ages since iv been on here but im back on me old and slow pc and that suits me just fine

Anyhow the girls are all very well but poor Blondie is practically bald underneath and is looking decidedly scruffy, shes still in fine voice though and singing as tunefully as ever

We have been down to 1 or 2 eggs a day this past week and one day we didnt get any that was the first eggless day since Blondie and Scarlet moved in.

Iv got a confession to make but dont let Gwen and her crew find out or there will be mutiny all over the land.

Acouple of weekks ago the girls were jumping up and down and shouting me to lift the broken flags in thier garden so they could get the slimys underneath, which of course i obeyed orders and did it.
Anyway we have a routine where the girls all gather round or on top of the flag they want lifting and i comply with that.
As soon as they have checked, gobbled and investigated said flag they will pounce on the next chosen one, whilst i carefully lower the finished one down.

Hmm all well and good youre probablly thinking..........
well not this particular day it wasnt.
As i was lowering the flag Blondie somehow shoved her head under it
God knows how she turned and got there so fast as i let go of the flag her head was trapped honestly how she got her head under it i dont know it was litterally 3ins of the ground when i let it go
My heart was in my mouth as the second i saw her i liffted it up but i thought i had killed her. she lifted her head up and shook herself andflew across as far from me as she could get.Cant say i blame herand worse of all she stopped singing i was bloody petrified she was hurt we checked her and she seemed fine but i didnt sleep that night and dreaded going to them next morning.

Anyway our beautifu lBlondie Bombshell emerged in full voice next morning thank God and she has forgiven me for nearly killing her Lindaxx

[Bridgets Mum]

What a narrow squeak! Evidently it takes more than a huge piece of stone to beat a super speed song bird. I bet you'll be counting your grey hairs and still worrying about what might have been for weeks to come. Blondie, on the other hand, will just be concentrating on bug hunting and singing.

[KarenE]

Linda! Next time just move the stone aside, don't hold it up! (That's what i do with my girls, no chance of getting squished then.)

I take it Blondie is moulting? In which case you're lucky you're still getting eggs at all. My Ronnie has been moulting for ever and still loses feathers but I'm sure she's my daily layer. Daft things.

Speaking of Gwen and Co, I hear (not that I read their diary, goodness me no) that they are on an active recruitment drive for more henpals so you might want to make sure Blondie and crew don't (DO!) have access to communications equipment and Spikey Diddles.

[HenPen]

Wow! She's lucky not to be squished. You must have been terrified!
Do you think the reduction in egg numbers might be a cunning plan to punish you? I think the chooks often plot in secret... And egg strikes are a favourite method, I believe.

[sandy]

AW Linda I once shut the door and Abbie had stuck her head under in so I had strangled her. She did actually lay motionless until I picked her up , shook herself and was fine so I know exactly how you feel I like Karen's idea of sliding the stones

[Linda S]

I will be updating my dairy and letting you know about our girls all the girls named below have crossed over the Rainbow Bridge and joined the flock off very much loved and missEd lovely ladies Lindaxx

[stripeddonkey]

I was trying to held one of my girls - Florence - into the run. She wasn't having it but I managed to corner her down the side of the run and I had barricaded the end with chicken wire. As I approached, Florence panicked and ran head first into the chicken wire. Her head went through a hole and she was caught. I had to carefully pull her out. My heart was racing. She could so easily have throttled herself!!!

[Linda S]

Today we buried the last of our ex working girls Chick-a-Dee,
and now have only our bantam little miss broody herself Jemima.
I have lots of stuff written down to copy out on here but for the life of me I can't find the book.
We have lost three girls in about the last three months or so, these last 4 girls came from one of Ace Faces rescues and have been free since I think it was early 2016,I will check it out.
It's never long enough is it Poppy only had about 2 months. .
These girls were part of a study they didn't have their beaks cut and mutilated and they all had lovely shaped but sharp looking ones.


I have missed so much of my diary is will try my best to catch up with it I wiil probably confuse myself as well as those of you that trawl through my essays
Lindaxx

[KarenE]

So sad to hear about Chickadee, and of course her flock mates who have also recently pased over the bridge

Looking forward to reading your update! Your diary was one of the first ones I started reading when I joined DTL, I loved hearing about the adventures of Blondie Bombshell and Peggy Mitchell et all

[sandy]

Linda so lovely to hear from you again but so sad to read about your lost ones

[Linda S]

Hi Sandy and Karent it's very strange looking down to the chickens garden and not seeing any lovley girls mooching around.
Jemima is still broody I don't think she even knows she's the only one at the momentime, I'm sure you will enjoy her story I'm going to try to put each girl in order as things happened. Richard has kindly said he would try to insert a thread for me it's Hopes story so I will find it and send details to him.

I don't think we are getting any more girls as both our health has really gone down hill hubby is at the docs this morning for some blood test results.

We were in this position before we got our last girls but he wanted to keep Jemima but said we would only have rescued girls hence the text to Ace and she happened to have a rescue pretty soon so never say never.
He has said he is not in a rush to rehome her so we will see what hapens and if she is ok being on her own I know some members have lone chickens and they are fine so we will see how things go.

Hope every ones flocks are doing ok i have been catching up with your entrys reading the new posts and then the others I have missed even if I don't post I stIl read the diaries.
Bob you take being a chicken dad to the next level I love reading about your boys and girls you sound like a human dynamo it exhausts me just reading yours I'v started at the very beginning
Lindaxx

[sandy]

AW LInda, I hope you and hubby soon improve healthwise really looking forward to Hope's diary, always used to love reading your diaries

[Linda S]

Jemima is going to live with a friend of ours who has some bantams she will have the run of a lovely big secure garden.
She will join the happy little flock of 3 ladies , 2 babies and a very handsome young man who is very good and caring with his girls.

We will miss her but its for the best for her and a least we can go visit her and know how she is as our daughter sees her new mum most days at the stables.

Hubby says he might get some more in the future but at the minute we are both unable to give any girls the care and company they so rightfully need andoing deserve.

We have had lovely girls in our garden and our hearts for about 5 years now, and we have lots of lovely memories of each one.
Every girl broke our hearts when she left us but the happiness each and every one of them gave us far out weighed the sad times.

Just seeing them the first time they sun bathed or found a tasty morsel they had dug up, or got wet through when it rained despite having shelter, they embraced any weather.
Most of themi revelled in the snow they would chuck it around and dig and scratch in it.
It didn't matter what they were doing though as soon as they heard the door they appeared at the gate
waiting to see if any goodies were forthcoming which many times they off course were.

They have reduced us to tears of sadness and happiness many many times I will always remember our tiny beautiful Honey being in the small rabbit run through the day so as notto scare them with the size of the wide open space toon soon.
I opened the door to the covered part and there she was sat in the pile of straw and chucking it over her shoulders and arranging her nest to her own liking.
I have said that April's egg was the first we got I was mistaken it was Honeys that little girl made her comfy nest and laid her last ever egg in it,
We were heartbroken she only had another two days but she got in that short time she got to experience what life as a chicken should be like.
Their natural instincts come out after being tortured in those vile cages it's the most wonderful sight to witness but most heartbreaking too.
Life will never be the same again Lindaxx

[Linda S]

Jemima is going to live with a friend of ours who has some bantams she will have the run of a lovely big secure garden.
She will join the happy little flock of 3 ladies , 2 babies and a very handsome young man who is very good and caring with his girls.

We will miss her but its for the best for her and a least we can go visit her and know how she is as our daughter sees her new mum most days at the stables.

Hubby says he might get some more in the future but at the minute we are both unable to give any girls the care and company they so rightfully need andoing deserve.

We have had lovely girls in our garden and our hearts for about 5 years now, and we have lots of lovely memories of each one.
Every girl broke our hearts when she left us but the happiness each and every one of them gave us far out weighed the sad times.

Just seeing them the first time they sun bathed or found a tasty morsel they had dug up, or got wet through when it rained despite having shelter, they embraced any weather.
Most of themi revelled in the snow they would chuck it around and dig and scratch in it.
It didn't matter what they were doing though as soon as they heard the door they appeared at the gate
waiting to see if any goodies were forthcoming which many times they off course were.

They have reduced us to tears of sadness and happiness many many times I will always remember our tiny beautiful Honey being in the small rabbit run through the day so as notto scare them with the size of the wide open space toon soon.
I opened the door to the covered part and there she was sat in the pile of straw and chucking it over her shoulders and arranging her nest to her own liking.
I have said that April's egg was the first we got I was mistaken it was Honeys that little girl made her comfy nest and laid her last ever egg in it,
We were heartbroken she only had another two days but she got in that short time she got to experience what life as a chicken should be like.
Their natural instincts come out after being tortured in those vile cages it's the most wonderful sight to witness but most heartbreaking too.
Life will never be the same again Lindaxx

[sandy]

Linda bless your Honey that brought a tear to my eye I so hope you will both be feeling better and maybe in the summer you may have another little family again? If you dont and are ok to maybe you could in the future help a rescue so you get to see those wonderful girls start their new journeys?