Well I've changed my mind, it's a womans perrogative ok? I'm not getting Bantam Araucanas after all, because the eggs will be too small, 2 bantam eggs to 1 hens egg. I remember when I kept the Pekins, I used about 8 for a decent omelette.
So after a lot of research into different breeds, I've plumped for Marsh Daisies. They're an old English breed. They were developed in Lancashire in the early 1900's. They're slightly smaller than large fowl birds, but not as small as bantams, hens usually weigh around 5-6lbs the cockerels larger, but I won't be having a cockerel as I don't want to upset the neighbours. They don't tend to go broody very often which is a big plus. Don't eat very much compared to other breeds, lay standard hen sized creamy/beige shelled eggs, and do well on boggy ground and wet conditions. Sounds ideal for my garden.
I think they'll do very well, and not being as big as some other breeds, the three of them will have plenty of room in my beehive hen house. They'll have all the garden to roam in, which suits their character as they don't like being confined.
I'll be getting them in April when they'll be about 19-20 weeks old.
Not sure how Bonnie will take to them. She used to spend hours stalking the Pekins, and peering round corners at them. I'll just have to keep an eye on her and teach her not to chase them as they're producing food and not something to shake like a toy. That will be interesting.
Next door's cat made the mistake of getting into the garden the other evening at dusk. I didnt realise it was there and let Bonnie and Midge out to toilet. Bonnie spied the cat straight away and was like a rabid sow! She chased the poor thing and almost caught it, but it managed to scale the 6ft dividing fence and throw itself into it's own garden and safety. Goodness knows what she'd have done to it if she'd caught it. Yet she's fine with my cats, even a little scared of them. Especially after tormenting them for a few minutes and when they stick their claws into her she runs away frightened.
Apart from the housecat Lily of course. But then Lily does think she's a dog. Bonnie and Lily play together almost every day. Bonnie will drag her along by the scruff of the neck and then Lily will jump up onto Bonnie's back and ride her like a bronco, biting Bonnie's neck into the bargain. They're both as bad as one another, and both seem to enjoy it.
It's a damp wet miserable old day today. I have to go and remove the special duvet style bedding I put ontop of some dry moss in my nest boxes, as the Tits don't approve, and have spent all day pulling it out, tiny piece by tiny piece. If I left it in there, it would probably take them a month to get rid of it. So I must go and do that shortly.
I'm dog sitting today. My elder brother, Nigel and his friend have gone to London. So I'm dog sitting Gizmo, his dog. Gizmo's a cross breed but a cute little feller. His mother was a Fancy Chinese Crested and his father a Papillion. He looks like a Gremlin, with huge ears and a funny little face.
Nigel and George are having a sight seeing tour of London, sort of. Both being model railway and steam enthusiasts they'll be going to the National Transport Museum and somewhere in North London where there is a huge model railway exhibition. They were hoping to take in the British Museum as well, but I doubt they'll have time for that.
They'll be back just after 11pm tonight, to collect the Gremlin. Lily is quite disgusted he's here and keeps peering through the bannisters to see where he is. She'll overcome her disgust by this evening, and come into the sitting room for her usual cuddle and doze on her recliner.
The recliner was supposed to be mine. My brother bought it for me, as I only have a large sofa in the sitting room, and it gives me extra seating when I have visitors. Thats funny, because I rarely have visitors. It's a nice recliner, it also rocks and has an electric vibrating system which I never use. It also has a matching cream leather rocking foot rest/stool. I've only sat in it once or twice, briefly, Lily claimed it, so after putting a pet blanket on the seat I've let her keep it. She is most indignant if I sit in it and glares at me with those big green saucer eyes of her, flicks her tail in disgust and stomps off in a sulk, then sits about 10ft away staring at me to make me feel guilty and let her have it.
My pets always seem to rule the roost. I treated myself to one of those electric heated mattress covers, because I was fed up with sleeping on the edge of the bed with no electric blanket under it, because Midge, Bonnie and Lily were hogging the bit that the electric blanket covered. Yet I don't seem any better off, they just spread out more to enjoy the heat, but at least the edge I'm allowed to sleep on is warm now.
As I said, it's wet and mucky out today. I got so fed up yesterday having to clean Bonnie each time she came in from the garden. She only has short little rat's legs, and so her legs and belly get smothered in mud. So last night I spent an hour or three, as you do, on Ebay, and found just what I was looking for.
An all in one dog coat. Washable and waterproof, think it's nylon. It will cover her whole body, apart from a little bit under her bottom, for obvious reasons. I'd looked on some pet sites and they were extremely expensive and rather fancy for what I wanted, but the one on Ebay is excellent and cheap too. Just over a fiver.
She won't be wearing it when we go out, just in the garden in wet weather. I don't think she'll appreciated being strapped into it, but tough! I don't appreciate having to wash and dry her umpteen times a day. She doesnt mind wearing her other jackets though, so maybe it won't be such a struggle to get those little ratty legs in it and zip it up.
Not sure if I've already mentioned in a previous post what she's like in the car? In a word RABID!! She jumps all over the place barking at pedestrians and cyclists. A total nutcase. So to stop that happening I invested in a special doggy seat belt that clips into the normal seat belt clasp and holds her in the passenger seat. You should really put them in the back seat, but she's used to the front so that's where she sits. It hasn't stopped the barking. She tends to sit bolt upright like a meerkat using the seatbelt as support and thats how she stays til we reach our destination. She does look funny. The only thing it has stopped is her throwing herself from back to front in the car and up on the rear parcel shelf. Which one day collapsed and dropped her into the boot below. All I could see in the rear view mirror was a ragged little white head bobbing up and down as she tried to get out. Goodness knows what the people in the car behind thought. But I didnt get a visit from the RSPCA so didn't worry too much.
If I can insert a photo here I'll try. I don't seem to have much success doing that. Here goes!
oh it worked! Well there I go. Cleverer than I thought. LOL
Speak again soon, hope you enjoyed my ramblings today.
