It’s been a lousy month for pet hens. My neighbours have lost hens recently, all unconnected. And then Brazil came down with septic peritonitis, which apparently isn’t uncommon for ex-battery hens. It’s bittersweet being at the allotment now. The 3 new hens have settled in well, made friends with Brazil, Carly (ex-bat) and myself, and are laying their first little eggs.
I’ve harvested cauliflowers, broccoli, beans, salads, asparagus peas, strawberries, blueberries, courgettes, onions, carrots and potatoes, and everything is growing well with plenty to share with my friends and neighbours.
But I miss Little Miss and Harriet, and will miss Brazil, who was laid to rest today to end her discomfort. She first saw the vet on Monday, we hoped she’d stabilise, but that didn’t happen.
Keeping ex-battery hens is very rewarding. They fall in love with you as much as you do with them. I have no regrets. But… it is heartbreaking that they leave so soon because of their stressful past lives.
I lost two chickens within a week of each other. Harriet was sudden, possible heat stroke. Little Miss (posting her pic was very late, I was too upset) has had numerous problems, and another came up. We decided to have her put to sleep. That was the most heartbreaking, as I was holding her when she was injected and took her final breath. It was really hard.
Three more chickens moved in, they were arriving anyway, and I decided not to postpone. So now there are five. They are all well, although none are laying. The new hens are too young, and the old hens are a combination of old, and stressed. They may lay a few months more when they’ve adapted to the new chooks.
Haven’t taken many pics lately, but I’m harvesting new potatoes, carrots, asparagus peas, romaine lettuce and beets on a regualr basis. The strawberries were bountiful, I’ve frozen 5 litres, and eaten 3 litres in 2-3 weeks! They’re ended now. Oh! And today I ate a handful of blueberries, too.
Courgettes will be ready very soon, as well as french beans. Left a veg box at my neighbours today. I like giving the gift of veg, especially when it’s so colourful!
Todays dinner was these potatoes (which are so creamy they’re like eating butter), my own baby leeks, and baked tofu with lemon, parsley, and cilantro. It was heavenly!
Dessert was my own strawberries, straight up. I’m so overrun with strawberries, some are already heading for the freezer for later smoothies. Mmhmm.
No photos this time, but an update. Yesterday I harvested my first new potatoes, some baby carrots whilst thinning them (they were perfect!), and a few peas (eaten right there at the plant, hehe). I’ve also been eating my own strawberries for about a week, and today I’ve brought home some “Devil’s Tongue” lettuce, and some baby beets.
The elderflower cordial is all done and bottled. I’m so pleased with it, it’s gorgeous, especially made with sparkling water. Next project before it’s too late is elderflower champagne… I’ll be starting that in the next few days.
Slugs have been eating my uber-cool kidney bean plants before they have any chance… I’m not holding out hope. This is what they would’ve been:
Otherwise, everything seems to be growing well!
Strawberries! They’ve started setting fruit, so I’m going to have an early strawberry season.
Onions (plus 8 garlic plants) doing what they do. They’re quite low-maintenance. Just some occassional weeding and a drink once a week as it hasn’t rained in over a month. Last year I failed to store the onions properly, and they rotted. This year I will try give the issue a lot more thought.
Carrots are coming up a dream. As the soil in our area is so poor, very heavy clay, I grow carrots in raised beds, using about 18” of spent compost. Spent compost is better than fresh, as too much nutrient in the soil makes for loads of green growth and small (if almost non-existant) taproot.
I’ve had plenty of success with carrots in the past two growing seasons, and the height of the sides of the bed (about 20”) keeps carrot root fly at bay.
Sweet potato slips rooting in the kitchen. The yellow in the background are lemons waiting to be made into elderflower cordial and champagne. I can’t wait to start! Hurry up, elderflowers!
This week I planted out sweetcorn (pictured) and tomatoes. We’re having a hot week, but I still need to keep an eye on overnight temperatures, and cover the tender crops if we head towards freezing in case of frost. I’m really hoping it doesn’t come to that.
May brings the feeling of summer, and the hopes of bumper crops. But as always, May can be deceptive. Around these areas frost isn’t unheard of in May or even June, meaning we have to be careful what gets planted out, and a careful watch of overnight temperatures to know if tender plants need covering with fleece.
As it stands, I’ve only planted out peas, onions, and early potatoes so far, and riskily sown parsnips, carrots, a few lettuce and beets. The greenhouse is swelling with other plants to the point that I’m going to have to risk frosts if I want to make any more sowings. As there are a surplus of some, I’m thinking about planting out half for the space, and retaining half for a few more weeks.
The chicken, Little Miss, who was rushed to the vet isn’t doing as well as I’d like. She was on antibiotics for an infection, but deteriorated when the course ended. She’s now on a second course, but has lost so much weight (yet eating well) that when she gets checked up, I may have to make a difficult decision about what’s next. Understand that my chickens are pets, not livestock, so her health and well being are paramount.
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