Tuesday 17 March 2015

Poorly Hen

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One morning recently I found one of our hens lying on her side and apparently unable to rise.   On examination she appeared to be injured but it was hard to tell where or by what as she had been in the clay mud that prevails here and her feathers were very matted.

Eventually Mike held her flat on our picnic table to enable me to examine her properly.  She had a strange congealed wound, a swelling and her wing feathers on one side were broken (possibly by attacks from other chickens.  They are not kind to the sick or dying.)  I cleaned her up, removed what I could and treated the wound area with anti-biotic spray.  She is now recuperating in the farm office and I give her physio during the day which means that I hold her up whilst she walks around the grass outside the back door.    She falls over if I let go.

I am hoping that it is just a matter of balance and that if and when her wing feathers grow back properly she will return to normal
Every morning when I come downstairs I am expecting to find that she has gone to the great hen coup in the sky, but she seems more lively and chortles when she hears me come in, which is sweet.

Obviously if I was a serious chicken farmer it would have been curtains for her straight away as it is not cost effective to treat a hen in this way, but hay ho - they are pets to us and they pay for themselves and provide us with lovely eggs so it does not hurt to give a little extra time occasionally.

The shop is still going well and our lovely colourful alpaca socks are still really popular.   We also sell them online, so it is worth a look, even if you cannot make it to the shop.

Wednesday 11 March 2015

Hedgerow Deadline

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Nick and Mike have been busy tidying up hedges.  Nick is a traditional hedge layer and is making a beautiful job.  All work has to stop at the end of March to allow all the birds and small animals to nest, and reproduce.

We have also started on another leg of building works.   We now have a patio and at last the water feature which my friend, Pauline, gave us as a house warming present about 18 months ago, has been installed.  Unfortunately there is no electricity yet so the water pump does not work!!!


We are now trying to work out a way to keep the alpacas off it whilst still allowing them to free range - which we love to see.   In the past they have chosen to spend the night in front of our french windows.

The website revamp is now complete and apart from adding a few more products, is looking good.   Our excellent Alpaca Walking socks have been reduced to £12 per pair.   They are ideal for walking and hiking at all times of the year.   They have cushion soles which help to preven blisters and sore, tired feet.