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!


Sunday 31 January 2010

The Sunday morning after the massacre.

Morning all

Thanks for the good wishes, seemed very odd to let the remaining 9 hens out this morning (gulp) and see so few...

Spot the Cream Legbar Cockerel and the 2 Cream Legbar pullets have refused to go into a hen house and have become feral birds, roosting in the Juniper or Wellingtonia trees about 20 foot up in the air..I can't get them to come to me and I can't get them down, so they have become a "problem to be dealt with sometime"

Ruby the Silver Dorking was their Brooder Mum, so I guess they saw what happened to her and have become very frightened?

Anyway, they can fly very well and seem to have the sense to get up out of reach.

If any of you reading this came on one of my chicken keeping courses last Autumn, you would have met Ginger, as, although quite new to people, she was the star turn who whould let you all stroke her and everybody cuddle her and allow me to point out all the chicken parts...I am missing her a lot this morning.

I DID wonder if some of the missing girls had been pinched, but as this happened in broad daylight, from my garden, quite close to the house, it seems unlikely. I guess I am clutching at straws in the hope they might still be alive, somewhere. But not so.

Also 3 of the missing girls were not tame and no one else would have got near them..they didn't squat or come to any one else...so I have discounted the idea and sadly assume Fox(es) had a good meal yesterday...

Feel a bit...at a loose end this morning. Not sure what I want to do, today...think I will continue in the polytunnel, maybe plant some seeds ( always makes me feel cheerful!) and of course take part in the Big Garden Birdwatch for the RSPB.

Have nice days, everyone..
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5 comments:

  1. Tree Huggin Momma31 January 2010 at 15:51

    How sad. I worry about raccoons in my area if I decide to get hens (since I live in the city), but foxes are a common culprit.

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  2. willow31 January 2010 at 20:17

    I am so sorry to hear about your hens, in daylight too, no wonder the other hens are frightened.

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  3. Charlotte Scott1 February 2010 at 01:24

    We are so lucky here in NZ that the worst I have to worry about is the neighbours dog.

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  4. dND1 February 2010 at 10:34

    I was sorry to read about the fox visit; losing so many at one go is hard. I guess there are a few more foxes around these days and more pressure on their food supply.
    Deborah xxx

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  5. Little Messy Missy2 February 2010 at 03:05

    I am so sorry. We had raccoons take out entire flock of chickens and ducks, 2 different times and two years apart. A dog solved our problem nicely not to mention the "ladies (chickens)" love him and he follows them around proudly. We adopted an 3 year old dog who had never been around any other animals and it took a a couple of months to make sure everyone played nicely together. I wish you luck. Once again so sorry.

    ReplyDelete

Hello! Thank you for reading my blog and for commenting. I try to reply as quickly as I can and I really appreciate your interest in my life and doings here in The Compost Bin.

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