Our First Light Sussex Chicks!

On the 27th May 2013, I returned home from a weekend away, checked the incubator containing 6 Light Sussex and 6 Ixworth eggs.  I found some of the eggs had began to hatch, 21 days since first being placed there!  I rushed them round to the farm and carefully placed them under some broody Marans (6 each).  I could have left them in the incubator and raised them by hand but on this occasion I wanted them to have the real thing!

Welcome Blossom, our first Light Sussex Chick!

I had been preparing separate living quarters, to avoid any confrontation and egg claiming, for two Maran hens which had conveniently become broody, they had been sitting on some fake eggs to keep them interested until they were ready for the real thing.  I hoped to place the eggs under them near to the time of hatching, I nearly left it a bit late!  I was relieved that both took to their cheeping eggs immediately and have sucessfully hatched about 7 eggs between them. I will leave the Ixworth eggs under yet another broody hen for a few more days, but I have a feeling they are not going to hatch. I'm delighted with my gorgeous Light Sussex balls of fluff! I took a bit of a risk letting the hens hatch the eggs as I had read conflicting reports regarding the suitabilty of Marans as mothers but ultimately it is better for the chicks to have a caring hen to look after them.

Another proud Mum!

Proud Mum!

We are now looking forward to hatching our Indian Runner ducks!

Hens in the garden, Eggs in the Kitchen is an essential book for the anyone who has chickens, full of useful advice and information,  even recipes for eggs!  

The Chickens in Our Family

There are 15 Chickens at Allendale, 14 Marans and 1 Welsummer named Lemon!

Marans

This large breed originated in France and came to England in 1929, they are fairly good layers and produce large brown shiny eggs, some are plain, some speckled and even strange shapes!  They become broody but don't seem to be committed to sitting long enough to hatch their brood!

Welsummers

This friendly breed, named after the village of Welsum, comes from The Netherlands. Although they do not have a great reputation as being consistent layers, I have found Lemon to be extremely reliable.  The eggs are large matt brown and the breed does not go broody. They are also good table birds but I'm unlikely to be eating Lemon!  Her brothers, however, were extremely tasty!

Lemon Chicken, the Welsummer

My Girls...

They are fairly good layers, in fact, twice this year I have collected 13 eggs in one day! This is an improvement on last year and I can only put it down to a slight food change.I decided not to feed any mixed corn and have simply given layers pellets.  There are a few chickens, who, despite having their wings clipped, insist on escaping from their pen in search of cattle feed, they love it! I regularly check there water is clean and fresh.

The chickens are extremely spoilt and have a large paddock to scratch about in (large enough for at least 2 ponies). As a result of this, the eggs they produce have deep yellow yolks. They live in a hen house big enough to hold them all, attached to the sides are 3 nesting boxes. For some reason there seems to be a favourite box! They enjoy having a dust bath if it's been dry enough in their paddock or in the dry soil under their house.

Enjoying a dust bath

Our First Eggs!

Today we have put some hatching eggs in the incubator, hopefully, in 21 days we will have added 6 Lights Sussex and 6 Ixworths to our collection. We purchased the eggs from a good friend at the LVMS show a Lambourn Woodlands on Sunday. This is a fabulous show with tractors,  land rovers,  heavy horses, sheep, pigs, goats and fowl.  Such a great day out with plenty to see and do.

Sussex

This is an old English breed bred in the 1800s for its meat and eggs, it is a popular table bird.

                                                           
                                                                          Ixworth 

My Egg Collector!

An English Chicken which originates from Ixworth in Suffolk. Good for meat and eggs.   

       

See Animal Farm and the Ponies

The Animals in our family: Dixie & Apricot

This is Dixie, I bought him for my children at the end of 2002, we are not quite sure of his age but a vet who saw him about 6 years ago thought he was between 25years and 30years, so I guess he is quite an old man now!  He is a Welsh pony, 12 hh and a typical old english type of children's pony.  We have had many challenges with him but have thoroughly enjoyed having him around.  My children have all ridden him but my daughter has had most use out of him.  He has been used mainly for hacking around the countryside but he has also been to a few shows and won some rosettes.

Laminitis

This has been Dixie's biggest challenge.  The first time it happened was in winter, we had had many hard frosts and he had been out day and night for a few weeks.  I noticed he was quite tottery and decided to bring him in to investigate.  He laid down in his stable and refused to get up, after a visit from the vet, laminitis was confirmed.  It was the first time I had heard of laminitis being caused by the frost grass.  Apparently the grass alters to survive the frost and becomes higher in sugar.  Dixie had his feet x-rayed and the farrier was able to see how much the pedal bone had rotated and trim his feet accordingly.  Unfortunately it was quite severe, his feet had to be cut so much he had his hooves bandaged over thick support pads.(I was so glad Vet Wrap had been invented!)  He was in a lot of pain and although he was given pain relief, he had blood in his urine, it was affecting his kidneys, so it had to be a low dose.  I turned to complementary and alternative therapies and learned that fresh willow could help.  I also administered 100% stabilised Aloe Vera Gel to help as an immune system booster, pain relief and anti-inflammatory.  It seemed to go on for weeks, in fact it was months before he went out again but at last we succeeded! 

Gradually we brought Dixie back into work and decided it would be fun to break him to harness!

We bought a very basic trap and harness and got to work.  It seemed Dixie was born to drive, he loved it and so did my husband Jim!  It was great exploring the area, he especially enjoyed going to the Ibex at Chaddleworth where he would get a carrot! It wasn't long before we invested in a Bellcrown gig!

  

Unfortunately in February 2012 he suddenly became very tottery,  it was quite a surprise to learn he had laminitis again as he had been rather pampered in his old age, coming in at night, being turned out in the day and kept off any frost grass.  It was quite a bad case again but not as severe as the last.  A blood test confirmed the early stages cushings disease, what a blow.  Thankfully he didn't suffer for long and was back to normal in a short space of time.  I was surprised how well he coped with the 2012 winter and now he is full of mischief!  My daughter even took him out for a hack a few weeks ago, which he loved.

It was a sad time at the end of October his companion had to be put to sleep.  He took it quite badly and was a bit depressed and lonely without her.  I decided to enquire at the BlueCross to see if they would loan a pony to me.

  

Apricot arrived as a companion for Dixie and a surprise present for our 3 year old daughter just before Christmas 2012.  She is a 9hh, 6 year old chestnut Shetland pony.  She is adorable and we love her very much.  More importantly Dixie is very happy!