ilultham

When I shared some pictures of my indian game cockerels on twitter the other day we got talking about how they had been used in developing the modern meat birds.  This lead us to talk bout "The Chicken Of Tomorrow" competition. Amazing to think that the development of a strain of chickens was a national effort in America and how they were worried at after the second world war people might not bother to eat chicken if birds with more meat couldn't be developed, switching back to just eating red meat.  Incredible that the Ross Cobb birds we grow each year are descendant from these birds (the same type if birds tend to be called cornish crosses in America). But it also shows that by selling a hybrid like this the hatcheries make people dependant on buying from then. Much the same as the big seed companies have done with hybrid corns and grains.  One reason why I've been interested in developing my own meat flock and trying different crosses with the indian game I have al...

More and more I'm trying to work from home. Selling my homemade items on Etsy and taking on different commissions as well as bits of writing work and doing talks. But I still take on work that means I have to go somewhere else.  Because of my working week and childcare always being the top priority it means that I can be quite selective about what I take on.  One of my best friends manages a group of buildings and he often asks me to work with him. This is something I enjoy and it keeps my skills up to date when it comes to working on houses. They're a range of old properties but one is a huge old hotel (I'm sure I've mentioned working there before) split into flats.  On a nice day this work was too good to turn down. We had to make a balcony child friendly. But what a setting!  Quite a simple job, but one that looks really good when it's done. My friend did laugh at me for my lunch though. As he grabbed his sandwiches I grabbed my little camping stove and reheated ...

So I've not had very successful hatch rates when it comes to male and females this year. I was hoping to start a flock of indian game to bree from for meat.  But I am pleased with the size of these cockerels! They look like muscle chickens! When I try to pick them up they're so wide it would be impossible one handed and they feel so strong!  I have a feeling we will eat a few of these and just keep one or two for breeding and hopefully hatch out a few more before this year is out.  Currently though my incubator is full of duck eggs and some more silkies to create breeding trios of those birds. Silkies seem very much on the other end of the spectrum but I'm really keen to have a small flock of them as well!  What flock of chickens would you like to create or have? Would you rather keep dual purpose birds or have them for specific purposes (eggs, meat, broodiness)?

I'm all about reducing my spending, especially on highly taxed items.  Now I don't drink much anyway but I do enjoy a beer on a Friday night. A cold one or two really hits the spot.  I've just got back into making beer kits. I understand that it's not really homebrew, but it kind-of is without buying expensive equipment.  The kits are about £12, you need a kilo of sugar as well and some simple beer making equipment and empty bottles. It makes approximately 40 pints, that's just under three crates of beer! I was dubious as to how it would taste but so far I've tried a Mexican beer and I have a IPA on the go at the moment ready to try in a week or two. The Mexican beer tasted amazing, everyone who has tried it has loved it and asked for a few bottles.  So for value I'd recommend giving a beer kit a go if you fancy a cheap tipple (about 40p a pint). A kit should last me months! 

I've got to boast my daughter up, She's super proud of tea. She cooked an Indian Banquet, obviously she couldn't deep fry stuff but she did all the prep! Samosas, bhajis, chapati and a chickpea curry!  Such a lovely tea (and I get a good lunch box tomorrow!)

A follow on from a post in February , my brother and I went to finish the Bathroom. A busy weekend of work. Unfortunately the first day was heavy rain and it really slowed work down. That and the wrong sized doors had been ordered (not my fault I might add).  It was fun being able to spend some time with my brother as I've not seen him much since lockdown. A good way to catch up.  Are you even working right if you don't have an old door as a workbench? We managed to get loads done and with an emergency delivery of doors our whole job was complete!  Of course I forgot to take a picture of the bathroom! Have to be next time I'm down there!  Good to get lots of carpentry done. Hopefully lots more to keep me busy over the summer! 

Yes you have a bit of a pretty flower, but I'm going to level with you Bindweed - you're a bit of a blinking nuisance.   Probably my least favourite plant in existence. What weed do you hate folks?