Friday 25 December 2020

Christmas 2020 Version

Today was a very different Christmas Day due to the strict rules preventing the usual Christmas celebrations within families.  We normally meet up with our families in Salisbury and sometimes they come down to Devon.

We did the usual farm chores of course - the alpacas, hens, dogs and cat did not know it was a special day.

The hens  love their new shelter even though they have to stay indoors all day at the moment because of bird flu restrictions.   We managed to source some straw from farmer friends in the village and the girls had a whale of a time running through it, spreading it arround and rummaging for seeds.  The noise of the excitement of 31 hens romping and scratching around in the straw was deafening.

 It will be a lot easier to keep their residence clean now. 

Mike and I decided to have our own Christmas Dinner despite being just the two of us.   We are both getting on a bit and Mike has had some health problems in the past which makes him a bit more vulnerable.  I cooked a free range chicken with the usual roasties and fresh vegetables from the farm shop next door (almost).  Mince Pies and Ice Cream for pud.   (no such thing as an ice cream-free desert for me!)

At 4 p.m. we took part in a pre-arranged Zoom get together with son, David, daughter-in-law,Jane and grandchildren Zach and Tara - both young adults now.  It was nearly as good as having them in the room and we all found plenty to say.

We had some lovely thoughtful presents and plenty of "goodies" too.


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Sunday 6 December 2020

Avian Flu

 

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Unfortunately there have been cases of Avian Flu (Bird Flu) and at the beginning of November there was a governemtnt warning that chickens and other poultry would have to be shielded from wild birds who carry the virus.  Their feed and water have to be kept under cover to prevent contamination by wild birds and other animals.   This was not really a problem for us as we have always fed them under cover.   There is always a drinker in the hen house but there was another drinker out in the field.   We have now brought that under cover too.

There is now a new notification  and all poultry has to be housed indoors.  I should think there are some really big free ranging flocks who cannot possibly be brought in under cover.   We have decided to move the hens to a large  shelter (originally built for alpacas when we had a much bigger herd)

On Tuesday when we have help on the farm Mike and his merry men will be making the new hen house secure and the old hen house will return to being a field shelter for the alpacas.  They will have to put up high fences around the area and roof in as much as possible.  Defra have allowed up to the 14th December for poultry keepers to comply.

It is especially unfortunate for us because we only keep the hens as a hobby and the proceeds of egg sales go to a local charity so any money we spend is just lost.

I have nearly sold out of socks left over from the days when we had a farm shop selling alpaca products mainly - socks - hats - gloves etc:  There are still some hats, mittens and gloves available - ideal Christmas presents !
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