Nesting Box Mix

My lucky hens get the luxury treatment when it comes to... well everything, including laying. I Make a nice mix of herbs for my hens in their nesting boxes. The mix includes:
Lavender-  lavender is calming and relaxing, perfect for the nesting box.
Mint- is a brilliant natural bug repellent I use it throughout the coop.
Rosemary- mainly used as an insect repellent and to make the coop smell lovely it also works as a pain reliever and is great for respiratory health,
Thyme- aids in respiratory health, is antibacterial, an antioxidant,  and is anti-parasitic.
Rose petals- are highly aromatic, they make the coop look and smell wonderful, they are high in Vitamin C, and are an antioxidant. 
There are plenty more beneficial herbs for chickens which you can read more about on the wonderful Fresh Eggs Daily blog, where the lovely Lisa shares how she cares for her hens and ducks naturally. This is my go to blog for all things chooks. I use these herbs in my coop because of the many benefits to the hens health and they all grow in my garden. The plans for next years herb garden are entirely based on the girls! Which I will be sharing soon enough. Have a wonderful Wednesday! 

The Chicken Run

It's taken many months to complete the girls run. They have been in there for about a month now and already I have plans to change it. They love having lots of space to run and scratch around. They are also let into the garden in the evening to free range a bit more.

The area where their run is, was a total weed paradise when we moved in. We laid the new grass on the lawn and left an area clear... it didn't stay clear, it was a mess. I cleared the area and rich did most of the planning and building. We dug down two feet to bury the chicken wire, to prevent predators. I have read that hardware mesh is the safest option but it was too expensive for our budget and will be added when we can. However, touch wood, we haven't had any issues with predators in our area and some of our neighbors have hens as well. Plus, the girls are locked away safe and sound at night.

The run started off as being partially grassed, but it is barren now. Scratch, scratch. We have plans to build a raised area with mesh or wire on so the girls can have free access to grass with out digging up the roots. I also want more plants in and around the run to make it more attractive. I planted lavender around the run. Lavender - "a stress reliever and calming agent, also acts as a natural insect repellent, and improves blood circulation" (Fresh Eggs Daily), is a beautiful and fragrant plant that I and my girls love. I also add lavender to the nesting boxes and coop. I have also read that butterfly bushes are good in and around the run. I have two in my garden and have taken softwood cutting this year already. Currently there are two rose bushes in the the run. They are protected around the base, but this doesn't stop the girl jumping up for them.

The girls are happy. At the moment when the rain comes its a mud bath in there, so we will have to find a solution to that pretty quickly. Can't wait to introduce the little girls. Speaking of little 'girls' we haven't heard any crows yet but I think we may have a couple boys on our hands. We will soon find out.

Little Ladies... hopefully!!

We have expanded the flock. We know have a total of 7 Chickens! That's 7 eggs a day, that's 49 eggs a week, that's 196 eggs a month! I kept telling myself we would expand slowly, but who am I kidding, chickens are amazing. They are so sweet and all have different personalities. Ginny and Princess and really changed since Ginny passed there  seems to be a constant battle of who at the top on the pecking order. They fight over slugs where there are two and tend to peck each other when eating. They aren't rough or vicious at all just letting each other know I'm not backing down. So we are going to have a world of fun introducing the new five girls in a couple weeks time.
For the moment, they are in their separate house and run and are in quarantine. It won't be long and we will move them to the outside of the big girls run for a few weeks, then we will but their run inside the big run and keep in there for a few weeks and then see how they get on.
We are all very exited about the new girls, I say girls but there is a chance that they could still be cockerels. Unfortunately, we would defiantly not be keeping any cockerels, and they would be returned to the farm. So the little *fingers crossed* girls names are-

Ginny

We were devastated when we lost Ginny.

I noticed we had a drop in eggs, but the girls all looked healthy. It wasn't until their monthly DE dusting that I noticed how light Ginny had become. She was always lighter that the others, but was the top of pecking order and my best layer. She felt much lighter than before. I monitored her for the rest of that day and next and realized she wasn't eating or drinking. I immediately worried what it could be. I had not long wormed the girls with Flubenvet and give them an array of herbal remedies, but something was wrong. I separated her from the others (just in case it was contagious) and put her in the shed with extra bedding and covers to keep her warm, then I began researching. Heading straight to the forums and taking advice from friends I thought she must me egg bound. So I treated he as though she was, however, I could feel any egg in her at all and she hadn't laid in quite a few days, when they are bound they normal don't last that long. I was monitoring all her poop, checking for worms, blood, changes. I didn't know what to do. I gave her natural yogurt and scrambled eggs, she ate small bits and was drinking a little. Two days into her 'hospital treatment' I was left this an ultimatum, let her continue suffering, try to find a vet (one that doesn't class poultry as exotic and demand payment in the form of limbs) or carry on with the R&R and see if she pulls through. I took to Facebook to ask for advice, the consensus was to hang on and see how she gets on. I decided I would do that, since I knew she was having water and little bits of food so she wasn't starving to death. The next morning I went out to her and she had passed not long before I got up, she had her eyes closed and was all curled up in her sleeping position. I really hope in the end she wasn't suffering. I think that I could have done more to help her. It must have been an infection, If only I had some antibiotics to have given her, I feel like that might have worked. It's not fair that you have to go to the vet and pay upwards of £90 and they might not even be able to tell you. In the end I think that having given her antibiotics whether it helped or not wouldn't have been bad. In future I will pursue it much quicker, in fact I may try to get my hands on some before I need it.
UPDATE-
After writing this post I have registered all my girls at two vets that not only look after chickens, but also don't cost the world and were fantastic on the phone giving me the names of all their chicken specialist. I can't help but think If only I have tried a little harder with Ginny she would still be with us! Gutted! I have also super stocked up the girls herbal remedies, probiotics and tonics to keep them looking and feeling great.

RIP Ginny girl we will miss you.

Where did summer go?

It's been a long summer. The weather has been okay, not very warm but not too much rain. We have been having great fun, with days out, and a trip to Weymouth. There are plenty of jobs in the garden to do. In March Richard made me some raised beds and they are doing really well. We've got Peas, Leeks, Parsnips, Courgettes, Lettuce, Cabbage, Carrots, Herbs, Sweet Corn, Kale, Onions, Garlic, Butternut squash, Pumpkins and swede. We also have had a great crop of beans this year. We grew Potatoes in sacks and the green house is full of tomatoes and cucumbers. I have had great success with many different flowers this year. I planted up some hanging baskets that are flowering well. 

On a sad note Ginny my beautiful Rhode Rock, got poorly and passed away. We noticed she had lost weight and separated her from the others. I hand fed her for four days and tried a few different treatments I read online, but unfortunately she passed in her sleep. We wasted no time in filling the void in our hearts with some babies, 7 week old chicks. I will post some pictures of them soon. 

Thumper is going through his yearly molt and looks a bit scruffy. He's been a very happy boy and is doing well. My little boys are getting bigger and bigger. Luke is starting school in September and I will be back at University. Time seems to fly by these days. I've got lots of projects lined up and hope to post some of them on here. You can follow me on Instagram @sarahcouling for updates and fun stuff more often. Finding the time to blog is harder than ever right now, I would promise to make an effort to post more often, but I always do and then fail to follow through. *face-palm* 

Spring has Sprung.

 Edwina on her roost

 Princess Leia

 Ginny

What a busy weekend we had. I had a lovely mothers day and did everything I wanted to do. My Boys both made me beautiful cards that I will treasure forever. We made little progress with the chickens run this weekend as we've been working on another big project that I will tell you about later. The girls are so happy here and enjoying there new home very much. Monday Ginny laid her first egg. We were all very exited. She was in and out of the nest box all morning so I knew something was up, When she came out a bit later I went to check and sure enough she had done it! Princess Leia and Edwina have a few weeks to go I think as their combs and wattles are still small and pale. Ginny's little egg takes pride of place in the kitchen window, but for how much longer i wonder. :) 

My beautiful Hellebores are out and showing there dark purple faces as the first signs of color in the garden, Gardener world did a whole spot on them on friday, 'the Jewels of the early spring border', and they very much are in our garden.