ilultham

Now I would have preferred a better hatch rate but considering the incubator jammed and it was some days before I realised it wasn't turning I'm surprised we got any! So we had 7 hatch, one unfortunately had to be dispatched but the 6 that are left seem healthy and happy.  No matter how many times we hatch chicks out I'm always excited. These are some pure breed Indian Game, after setting up the breed flock last year (and doing some miles to do it!).    We'll have to see what we get from this batch. The hens they came from are mixed colours run with a dark coloured cockerel so it'll be interesting to see if there is much of a mix. We might put another set of eggs in the incubator straight away to hatch some more, as these are much slower grown than Ross Cobbs we will need to keep some hatching through the year to supply us with meat.  Anyone else hatching eggs at the moment?

 I have kept my other blog sawdustinmysocks running for well over 10 years, sometimes I've put quite a bit on there and sometimes it's gone quiet. This year I'm using it to document a challenge I've set myself where I'm trying to carve something every week to really develop my carving skills, something I've wanted to dedicate time to since I started to train to be a carpenter.  I'm posting every week on there what carving and craft work I get up to and how I'm trying to learn the skills that I want. I'm enjoying the process and although it's a hard goal to set myself, I think that to do something like this every week is a great way to learn the skills and muscle memory needed.  My new workbench is my latest project I've finished and I'm enjoying having it in my workshop - where I spend so much of my time! So if you're wondering what I do in the evenings my other blog has the answers - hopefully time better spent than watching TV. A...

 Good fences make good neighbours and all that. I decided that as I had a few spare plants left over it was worth just patching up the old hedge that divides between us and farm next door.  Mainly hawthorn and I'll be honest and say I'm not sure how they'll be do being so shaded under the other trees.  Hopefully enough will take that can be laid in a decade or so to help strengthen the hedge and fence line. A few hours well spent hopefully and a few more trees in the ground on our little smallholding! 

 I was really struggling with what to get my mum for mothers day last week. She had suggested something (some threads) but it seemed a bit flat so I decided to maker her something instead.  We both enjoy having birds visit our gardens so I made up a couple of robin nest boxes for her - especially as last year she had one nesting where she stores all her garden pots and tools! I thought two would really increase her odds of getting one used. Made in my usual style with the reclaimed wood. Hopefully an animal will find these useful.  I'm now tempted to make up some more nest boxes to put up around her, it was lovely seeing bluetits nest in the one I made last year on the side of my workshop.  What type of nest box do you like to put up?

I'm so pleased with the last week - we have a new fence and hedge in! Woop!  We did this years ago with the first field nearest the house , to separate off the footpath from the field and make things more private. We kept thinking about doing this with the second field as well, but it was during lockdown and seeing how few people kept their dogs on leads and could control them that made us decide that this was the right thing to do.  time kept slipping on this year though and it kept being really wet. I had planned to put the fence up, with the help of my dad and the post knocker, but with it getting close to spring and a lot of trees that needed to go into the ground it was time to just bite the bullet and get the professionals in. My friends Alex and Chris (along with Jamie) came with all the right gear and experience and got the two runs of 100m and a pair of gates hung in a day! They've done such a tidy job of it I can't help but smile when I look at it.  A lot of tre...

 So my two breeding pens of chickens have started laying well it's time to put them to the test!  The "P" stands for purebreed Indian Game and the "X" stands for crosses where we have an Indian Game Cockerel with Columbian Plymouth Rock Hens. We have just butchered the crosses we hatched out last year so I'm hoping the fertility stays the same. I'll candle these in a week or so. I'm already saving some eggs now for a friend to hatch and and I'm tempted to list some on eBay once I've proven they will hatch!  Anyone else hatching eggs? I feel I've started late this year! 

 This post contains pictures butchery of poultry, so if you're not someone who wants to read about that then I'd suggest you skip this one. Theh boys from our Indian Game x Colobian Plymouth Rock crosses we hatched out last year have reached around 24 weeks of age and it was time for them to join freezer club.  I probably should have done this a few weeks sooner, but so long as I rest the birds once prepared and cook them properly it shouldn't make much odds, they're still plenty young enough and we do prefer to have to chew our food!  The girls have also really started to earn their keep in this job now. I got set up (water boiling, big chopping board cleaned and ready) and when they came out to help we started to process the birds. I'd catch a bird (one would open and close the gate for me) then dispatch and leave for it bleed and clean the meat. Once I had about 3 birds done I'd scald them and leave them for the girls to start plucking while I dealt with the ...

I put this on twitter the other day so apologies if you've seen it already.  This morning she was frustrated trying to figure out Greek gods from a poem and 16 pages of maths. This afternoon building a chicken coop, marking up parallel lines, taking measurements &first time using the jigsaw on her own. Perfect apprentice. I love how useful they've become and how they like to help. I can now set her to finish putting in screws or mark up timber to be cut. It's a lovely way to spend time together. Carpenters daughter.