On Nov 20, 8:34*am, Aries wrote:
On Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:51:50 -0000, Christina Websell wrote:
Judith in France wrote:
On Nov 19, 1:27 pm, Aries wrote:
On Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:20:06 -0800 (PST), Judith in France wrote:
My chickens love the wind, they skip along like little old ladies.
I'm still getting eggs Tina, is that usual at this time?

I miss my henny pennys Not sure if we'll have any where we are
now as our garden is small, and not only that we're very near to a
farm shop that sells free range eggs pretty cheaply so not a lot of
point really in having our own hens. But they do make interesting
and productive pets --
Power is not only what you have
but what the enemy thinks you have.
~Saul Alinskyhttp://ariesval.co.uk/val/

Val, I got your message re the other place we post in. *I don't know
what happened you just disappeared off my screen, I'll send you an
invite maybe that will make you appear again?? *:-)

What happened to your hens, did you prepare them for the freezer or
did the new owners inherit them? *I have a friend who keeps a couple
of hens in an Eglu and a run in a small garden. *Susie was the one
here who helped me to get an Eglu, bless her. *I just hope our Tina is
having a night off and is not reading this, Tina doesn't like Eglus,
fortunately I like her and don't mind her dislike of them :-) *Coooee
Tina? *Sigh... relief, she's not here.

Oh yes I am! *LOL!

Tina

Aha, now I realise who Tina is - hi Tina *Why don't you like Eglus? *Mind
you I've never had one - only wooden poultry arks, or sheds.

--
Wise men speak because they have something to say;
Fools because they have to say something. ~ Platohttp://ariesval.co.uk/val/

Oh Don't get her started :-) Tina and I agree to disagree without
rancour. Tina is very experienced in keeping hens, apart from her
dislike of Eglus, I do take the rest of her advice LOL

Judith

On 2009-11-20 08:35:28 +0000, Aries said:

On Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:38:37 +0000, Sacha wrote:

Weird day here today - high winds and no rain. But the winds are back
again tonight and the glass is dropping. Oh.......dear!

We're lucky tho not to live in the North of England especially Crockermouth
where they're having dreadful floods

Yes, we saw that on the news - those poor people. It must be so
terrible to sit and watch the water coming into your home and be
powerless to stop it. One woman said today that they'd asked for the
river to be dredged out to stop it overflowing and been told it would
be harmful to salmon!
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
Shrubs & perennials. Tender & exotics.
South Devon

On 2009-11-19 23:33:23 +0000, Martin said:

On Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:25:29 +0000, Sacha wrote:

snip
Belonged to the father of a friend of
mine at one time and I met Dougie Bader's spare legs there, though
never met the man himself.

mind biggles/boggles
Dare I ask why Bader had two legs over?

It was very funny. He was staying with the then owner and he had a
pair of legs, already dressed in the trousers that go with a dinner
jacket! We were shown into a spare room to change to go swimming and
there, in a sort of cricket bag, were his 'spare' legs!
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
Shrubs & perennials. Tender & exotics.
South Devon

On 2009-11-20 09:26:30 +0000, Derek Turner said:

On Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:25:29 +0000, Sacha wrote:


My mental map is working overtime. Manors in that area.......Noirmont,
perhaps? It once belonged to the Tiarks and probably, rather more
significantly, to Lillie Langtry.. It was Charlie Hungerford's house in
Bergerac's earliest series. Belonged to the father of a friend of mine
at one time and I met Dougie Bader's spare legs there, though never met
the man himself.

I looked in Perry's, it's Maison La Moye. One of the drives to the
property starts next to the rectory, the other is at the top of the hill
in La Moye.

Goodness me - and I was only born on the island......
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
Shrubs & perennials. Tender & exotics.
South Devon

On 2009-11-20 10:34:49 +0000, Martin said:

On Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:28:16 +0000, Sacha wrote:

On 2009-11-19 22:44:09 +0000, Martin said:

On Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:38:37 +0000, Sacha wrote:

On 2009-11-19 18:49:47 +0000, Aries said:

On Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:13:49 +0000, Bobbie wrote:

We seem to have escaped the worst yet again. It has been breezy but
nothing to cause any damage in the garden, It has been warm sunshine all
day here.
Rain is forecast for tomorrow. I just feel so sorry for all the people
living in areas with flood warnings already in operation. They must
dread another day of rain.
My large acer is only now turning to red and I still have lots of
flowers blooming in the garden. I do have a rather strange sight of
bright crimson Impatiens blooming on the compost heap, very pretty it is
too. :-)
Stay safe Val, and I hope the garden wont suffer too much.

We're fine so far but I hate all this rain. Thank goodness we have good
draining soil here - no clay!

Weird day here today - high winds and no rain. But the winds are back
again tonight and the glass is dropping. Oh.......dear!

Shall I top up your glass?

No thanks, it runneth over!

I thought that was your cupth )

I can see where this is leading and I'm NOT going there!!
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
Shrubs & perennials. Tender & exotics.
South Devon

"Martin" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:34:36 +0000, Aries

wrote:

We have a surplus to requirements plastic cat toilet that would probably
make a
chicken a lovely home. Any reason why a cheap cat toilet is not suitable
for
housing a chicken?
--

If you are trying to be stupid you are making a good job of it.

Tina

"Christina Websell" wrote in message
...

"Martin" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:34:36 +0000, Aries

wrote:

We have a surplus to requirements plastic cat toilet that would probably
make a
chicken a lovely home. Any reason why a cheap cat toilet is not suitable
for
housing a chicken?
--

If you are trying to be stupid you are making a good job of it.

Sorry, Martin, I failed to see the irony of your post at the time. Please
forgive me for being so rude.
I suppose it shows you the depth of my feelings about Eglus.
A company has jumped on the bandwagon to take advantage of the resurgence of
interest in chicken keeping to tell newbies that they can keep chickens in a
small plastic hut with a tiny run attached which they sell for a lot of
money.
Instead of paying 200 plus for an Eglu, get a cheap garden shed 6 x 4, put
some perches and nestboxes in and make a pophole. Even I was able to do
this.

Plastic huts are a recipe for respiratory diseases in the winter as they
attract condensation when the birds spend so much time in them overnight.


Judith is quite right - don't start me on Eglus.

I hear that the same company is going to market plastic beehives as they've
noticed an upsurge in interest about beekeeping.

I do not keep bees, but my friend does and she says a plastic beehive will
not work.
But what does that matter when a profit is to be made?

Tina

"Christina Websell" wrote in message
...
I hear that the same company is going to market plastic beehives as
they've noticed an upsurge in interest about beekeeping.

I do not keep bees, but my friend does and she says a plastic beehive will
not work.
But what does that matter when a profit is to be made?

Depends on the type of plastic. A commercial beekeeping company near me has
used polystyrene hives for many years with great success. Up here in the
northern highlands of Scotland, the extra insulation of polystyrene is a
definate advantage in the winter although they are more damage prone

Phil
(beekeeper)

On Nov 21, 10:50*pm, "Christina Websell"
wrote:
"Christina Websell" wrote in message

...



"Martin" wrote in message
.. .
On Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:34:36 +0000, Aries

wrote:

We have a surplus to requirements plastic cat toilet that would probably
make a
chicken a lovely home. Any reason why a cheap cat toilet is not suitable
for
housing a chicken?
--

If you are trying to be stupid you are making a good job of it.

Sorry, Martin, I failed to see the irony of your post at the time. *Please
forgive me for being so rude.
I suppose it shows you the depth of my feelings about Eglus.
A company has jumped on the bandwagon to take advantage of the resurgence of
interest in chicken keeping to tell newbies that they can keep chickens in a
small plastic hut with a tiny run attached which they sell for a lot of
money.
Instead of paying 200 plus for an Eglu, get a cheap garden shed 6 x 4, put
some perches and nestboxes in and make a pophole. *Even I was able to do
this.

Plastic huts are a recipe for respiratory diseases in the winter as they
attract condensation when the birds spend so much time in them overnight.

Judith is quite right - don't start me on Eglus.

I hear that the same company is going to market plastic beehives as they've
noticed an upsurge in interest about beekeeping.

I do not keep bees, but my friend does and she says a plastic beehive will
not work.
But what does that matter when a profit is to be made?

Tina

Oh Dear I told him not to mention it, wait until he gets back he will
be slapped :-)

"Aries" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:50:50 -0000, Christina Websell wrote:

Instead of paying 200 plus for an Eglu, get a cheap garden shed 6 x 4,
put
some perches and nestboxes in and make a pophole. Even I was able to do
this.

this is what we did at our last place when we had hens. But for a small
garden like this one I'd prefer a movable ark but would need to be a one
that is easily moved and wooden ones tend to be heavy
--

You can get wooden arks with wheels and handles on and runs that re-attach
easily after you've moved it (if not safe to free range.)
Alternatively you can make a pop-hole in each end of the shed, provide two
runs and use them alternately.
Or if free of daytime foxes, leave off the run and let them out of their
nice shed. If the weather is really bad you can keep a few hens inside
without making them stir crazy for quite a few days. As long as they have
plenty to scratch around in on the floor, they will be quite happy.
If I were a chicken (which I am not!) I don't think I'd like to live in an
Eglu for a few days, they are far too small and not at all suitable. IMO.
The thing is that chickens are able to survive horrendous circumstances
(battery farms) and they still lay. It can lead us to believe that's all
they need.
Well, that is true. They can survive it.
I guess I could also survive shut in my small bathroom if someone fed and
watered me. My life would be sh*t though.

Tina

High density polystyrene hives are very popular in many other northern European countries. In Germany for example, one of the major suppliers of beekeeping equipment does not list a single wooden hive in its catalogue.

They are available in the UK from about £50.00 upwards, and as Phil says, they provide outstanding warmth for the bees. However, make sure you choose one made of high density expanded polystyrene. There are a few around made from sheet insulation and should be avoided.