Hello and welcome to The Compost Bin. I'm Compostwoman and I live with my family in rural Herefordshire. We have nearly four acres of garden and woodland, all managed organically and to Permaculture principles, which we share with Chickens, Cats and assorted wildlife. We also grow a lot of our own food, run courses in all sorts of things and make a lot of compost!
I am a Master Composter and have spent more than a decade as a volunteer Community Compost adviser with Garden Organic and my local Council.
I'm a self employed Environmental Educator so I run workshops and events where I talk about compost, veg growing, chicken keeping, cooking, preserving and sustainable living. I also run crafts workshops and Forest School/outdoor play sessions in our wood.
We try to live a more self sufficient lifestyle here, as best we can, while still having a comfortable life and lots of fun.
To learn more about us click on the About Compostwoman tab and remember to click on the photos to make them full size!
Thursday 2 October 2008
September egg round up
Henny has laid EVEN fewer this month, she is no longer broody but has begun to moult so has laid only 19 eggs in September ( and none during the last week)
Ginger continues to lay well, she laid 24 eggs but in the last few days she, too has gone into moult.
Attila and Cathy have laid 22 each, not bad especially Cathy as she is still a baldy girl and an ex batt as well!
Sweetipie is too busy being a good mum to the Sweetie Six to bother with egg laying and Genghis Hen is too silly.......and has laid precisely NO eggs at all......
But yet again, the absolute stars of the Eglu are Babs and Goldie! yep the new girls laid the most eggs! Babs laid 25 ( and remember she WAS ill the first week and went off lay for a few days whilst on the antibiotics) and Goldie laid a magnificent 28 eggs out of a possible 30!
THANK you all girls, you are all a bit of a trial sometimes but I wouldn't be without you!
Well done to your girls for being so helpful with their egg laying! Ours are currently on strike and it's only the bantam (or maybe one of the Silkies?) who is laying at all., let alone every day!
ReplyDeleteWhich brings me to my question - what's your method for telling who is laying? Is it as simple as spending time with them and seeing who goes in to the Eglu to lay?
Hi Jo
ReplyDeleteI watch who goes in to Cluckingham Palace or the Eglu, and correlate the egg laid with the hen...I also have been known to shut a hen individually in each of the houses and runs , if she hadn't laid, to see what colour/shape egg she lays.
I only did this whaen I first got the girls, I had Henny and Ginger first and they lay different colour eggs ( dark brown speckled, pale brown and pointed) so that was easy. I then got Sweetie, Attila, Genghis and Cathy
Cathy and Attila lay similar cream coloured eggs but they are VERY different shapes, Genghis doesn't lay, or lays a soft shell mess...when she DOES lay its a huge misshapen thing!
Sweetie lays very round very pale white eggs.
Babs and Goldie came here only a couple of months ago and live in the Eglu so they were easy to identify! They both lay pale brown eggs, Babs lays slightly speckled eggs whereas Goldie's are plain.
It IS useful to be able to tell the eggs apart, although I rather think Compostman thinks I am mad to do this........
I find this all so fasinating... I do not have hens, but love them.. I have so many happy childhood memories with hens.
ReplyDeleteI love the names you have for them and its amazing how they have their own little personalities.
Of course nothing better than your own hens eggs.. a really lovely treat.. happy, happy days!!
Jane xxx
I thought that might be your method. Unfortunately, I seem to end up spending most of my time in the pig field, not the orchard, so never get to see who goes in to lay. Ah well, it meant we had great fun trying to work out the hen/cockerel combinations when our chicks hatched!
ReplyDeleteIncidentally, do you have the eglu or the cube? How have you found it? And how on earth do you keep their food dry? I've just bought one of each and each time it rains, the feeder fills up!
Hi there both!
ReplyDeleteI am glad you like my witterings on about the hens Jane, I find them endlessly fascinating, if a bit of a trial sometimes!
Jo I have an Eglu, with a tarpaulin over the run gate end which provides both shelter for the hens from the rain ( when they have the wit to use it!) AND keeps the "grub" feeder dry.
I shall do a pot about the hen runs in the next day or so as I have just done a major re orginisation of the various hen houses and runs today!
I meant to sat I would do a POST soon.....its been a long day here at Compost Mansions.............( roll eyes!)
ReplyDelete