The lame chick, who hatched a five months ago, got lucky

I didn’t think the chick would survive and she walked with a limp and often fell over. However the lovely Dianne adopted her.

The bad “bird” news is the resurgence of Avian flu which will require all poultry to be kept indoors from Monday December 14th. We have some preparatory work to undertake to get the old quail barn ready to house the Silkies and we need to put a new cover on the poultry poly tunnel for the other hens and cockerels. I hope that there won’t be too much fighting amongst the birds when they are all housed in one large unit.

Baked NOT fried

He loves his morning saucer of goat milk. He accompanies the milker to the milking parlour and trots behind the full pail and the “strip” cup and whoever is carrying them. The “strip” cup is what we use at the beginning of the milking to check that the milk coming out of the udder is free of any taint or impurities. This is the milk that Nigel gets each morning. But – this morning it is unrelentingly wet outside and warm and cosy indoors. Nigel prefers to be in the kitchen but also wants his milk. He stands by the back door trying to go out for the milk but the rain sends him back for cover. I gave in and put the milk inside the damp porch. If he could I am sure he would say “thank you”!

Planted out as seedlings below