The penultimate post in my chicken keeping series is raising chicks. There are two ways to do it. With a cockerel in your flock, if a hen goes broody and wants to sit on eggs, you can let her and let nature take its course. In three weeks, fertility dependant, you could have a clutch … [Read more…]
Wow what a month is has been. The weather has been glorious and, for once, my house has been exceptionally tidy because the children have hardly been inside. We have been to the beach twice, enjoyed dinosaur crazy golf at our local garden centre and generally had a lot of fun outside. Despite lathering them … [Read more…]
Summer is here and the weather seems to be playing ball so far. What better excuse do you need for getting out in the big outdoors and experience the countryside? I have come up with ten things you can do in the countryside this year. I don’t want the ideas to be used solely for … [Read more…]
I don’t know whether I should have written this post first. I feel like I’ve sucked you in with the desire to keep hens but not I am going to tell you all the bad points. Sorry. I feel I have to tell you though, it would be silly of me not to tell you … [Read more…]
I can’t remember the first time I came across Lorna Sixsmith. It was a long time ago though and, while we are unfortunately yet to meet in person, through the beauty of social media, we have been friends ever since. Lorna is a farmer, farmer’s wife, blogger, author and social media consultant. She is the … [Read more…]
This month’s Women in Farming is a lady with big ambition and a quirky style. Abbie Dixon, 26, is the creative mind behind the independent Manchester based fashion label Bee Sting. Inspired by her horse Makalu’s shoes, Abbie started the brand from her bedroom on the family farm in Bolton, where she grew up. The … [Read more…]
The first thing many people ask when they start to keep chickens is ‘do you need a cockerel.’ The short answer is no. Hens lay eggs with or without a cockerel so, if it s eggs you are after, the male is not necessarily needed. The other thing people often wonder is, if you do … [Read more…]
I love our life. We are lucky in so many ways and I am so grateful that my children get to live an outdoors life and have so much space to explore every day. For the sake of other farmer’s wives though I felt I had to write this post. This time of year is … [Read more…]
When we got married, I didn’t go totally farm-themed for the celebrations. I think if we got married again, I would definitely choose more farm inspired things to decorate our day. Our tables were named after cow breeds as, at the time, my husband farmed beef. The top table was Aberdeen Angus. I suppose if … [Read more…]
The next in my series on chicken keeping is choosing the right hens for you. I am afraid choosing chickens is like choosing everything else. It is all down to personal preference and what you want them for. I would sit down and ask yourself this before you read on. If you just want to … [Read more…]
