Things You Should Know About Keeping Chickens

OK so I know chickens aren't the most popular kept kept animal, but trust me once you have them you won't regret it.

 There are so many things I have learnt since we started keeping chickens 2 and a half years ago, I thought I'd hare some of them with you today.

They are addictive. No matter how many you get to begin with.  You will always want more.

They each have their own little personalities.  I just assumed chickens would be very much the same as each other and impossible to tell apart but this is certainly not the case.   

They crap everywhere and a lot.  The first ones in the morning are the worst, definitely watch out for those!

You will want to buy anything or will be bought everything that has chickens on it.  All of a sudden we seem to have notepads, door mats even a bucket.

They can be noisy.  Don't get me wrong it isn't usually for long, but if they want something, you will know about it.

Chickens like to dig.  We seem to have a lot of craters about our garden now where they have dug down, once they've done this they like to get right into it and have themselves a little dust bath, quite amusing to watch.

They can be quite bullyish towards each other which to begin with can be upsetting but it is just their way.  It's where the saying the pecking order comes from, they're fighting it out for the position of top dog (or in their case top chicken).

They are amazing animals to keep and if you decide to keep chickens I can assure you, you won't regret it.  The fresh eggs are pretty great too.  Maybe I should have added that as another point, you will never want to buy eggs from a supermarket ever again, they are just not the same.

Seriously though I have learnt an incredible amount about chickens and looking after them, it is one of the best decisions myself and James have made since moving to out little countryside cottage and when we move to our forever home we will definitely be getting more.

~ Gem x

Around the Garden

I love being outside, enjoying our garden.

Watching it change and grow with the seasons.

We were really lucky to have some beautiful plants in our garden already when we moved in, however we have added a lot to it.

I'd like to add even more, but as we only rent our property it would be a shame to keep planting and then not be able to take it away with us to our next home.

I dream of one day owning our very own home with a beautiful cottage garden, that we can keep adding to and watch it grow with us over the years.

Not having to worry about packing up and leaving it behind, or having to think about digging it up to transport to another place, wondering whether it will survive the journey.

For now though, we are enjoying this time right here, right now.

Oh how I love taking time out, even if only five minutes.

Wandering around the garden and looking at all the pretty flowers, breathing in their scent (especially the white roses, divine), and from time to time cutting a few stems to bring indoors to brighten up a windowsill.

Quite often, there is nowhere else I'd rather be.

Love Gem x x x

A Review of 2014

I can't believe the year is at it's end already, it doesn't seem possible.  But my word, what a year it has been.

I've always wanted to do one of these review posts, but amongst all the Christmas chaos have never been organised enough to do one, but all that has changed this year.  I'm a very organised person but this year I'm aiming to be super organised starting from now.  So here it is my review of 2014.

January

January was a good start to the year.  I bought my wedding dress, visited London with my Mum for a spot of window shopping and to see the Bodyguard, which we both loved.  Country walks were had, time with friends was enjoyed.

February

Sadly February didn't follow suit.  It started badly from the off with the devastating news that our dear neighbour and landlady had passed away.  We had only known her for a year, but in that short time she touched our lives and our hearts and we will remember her always.  The rest of the month wasn't much better with constant rain and flooding.  However, the chickens didn't seem phased and there was progress made with the wedding plans.

March

March saw the start of spring and what a welcome sight it was too.  A visit to my Grandad's bench, lots of daffodils and cherry blossom.

April

April embraced spring time with beautiful apple blossom.  We had our first camping trip of the year complete with little lambs.  I visited my first craft show of 2014.  A weekend was spent apple pressing to make cider.  We celebrated Easter.  I received happy mail from Canada and colour was beginning to appear in the garden.  It was a pretty month.

May

During May lots of time was spent outdoors.  The weather was very kind to us and an early summer was enjoyed.  I began the practical part of my bee-keeping course.  Spent a day at the young farmers country show.  Visited the 2 churches in Willingale with family and enjoyed watching the skies during the occasional downpour.

June

In June we welcomed 2 new chickens to Hensington Palace.  Annie & Clarabel are light Sussex hens (we discovered in September that Clarabel was in fact Clarence, so was replaced by Pip) I made Elderflower cordial for the first time (probably the last, I wasn't keen).  Spent a day with my Mum & my Nan and enjoyed afternoon tea together.  Lots of jam making in preparation for our wedding and lots of lovely flowers and confetti making too.

July

I celebrated my birthday in July.  Me and James spent the weekend camping, we got to try out the Tiny House at the camp-site we regularly visit and James had booked me onto a basket making workshop.  Cream teas were had by myself and Marie and some stunning sunsets were seen.  A very beautiful month indeed.

August

August involved lots of wedding planning with crafts aplenty, bridesmaid hair trials and dress fittings, days out with my girl in London to visit the felt Cornershop, a trip to the seaside with my man, and walks across the fields to sit on hay bales and watch the sunset.  Perfect.

September

Lots of hen celebrations in September.  First with a weekend in Bath followed by my country bridal shower consisting of yet more cream tea and pottery painting.  My new passport arrived.  And lots of wedding preparation took place.

October

By far the best month of my life.  We got married on the 10th of October, it was a truly magical day spent with all of our friends and family, seeing all of our hard work and efforts coming together was a great accomplishment.  We honeymooned at Ragdale Hall health spa and enjoyed each others company for an uninterrupted week.  The end of the month involved Halloween & Firework plans coming together.  

November

We celebrated Fireworks night with our friends and family with a Halloween & firework party at ours.  I carved our giant pumpkin.  Spent time blogging.  Spent a day with Gemma at the Country Living Country fair and met Cherry Menlove.  Another Christmas adventure was had with Marie at Norpar Barns.  Christmas preparations were well under way.

December

December is one of my most favourite months in the year, purely because of Christmas and this year was no exception.  Lots of tree photos, and yummy food, family and gifts, a spot of crafting and lots of candles.  We were even treated to a wedding this year too.

It has been an amazing year, Thank You 2014.  Let's see what 2015 holds.

Happy New Year x

An Update On Hensington Palace

I've not blogged about Hensington Palace for some time now.  Thimgs have changed quite a bit since the last time I spoke to you all about it.

There have been 2 new additions to the family.

I'd like to introduce you all to Annie & Clarabel.

They are light Sussex chickens and a very welcomed addition to the family, although at the moment I'm not sure the other girls quite agree with me.

They are getting used to having each other around but from time to time there are still squabbles but I'm pleased to say they are becoming few and far between.

They have grown so much already since we picked them up.  They are already the same size as the other girls and are still growing.

We are getting the occasional cluck from them but the rest of the time they just cheep away to each other.  They are still not laying but we don't think it will be much longer till we get our first eggs from them.

So for now we are just enjoying watching them grow from little chicks in to beautiful fully grown chickens.

~ Gem x

Springtime

I love all the different seasons, more so now that I can appreciate them all, one of the many joys of living in the countryside.  It's surprising how much more you notice the slightest of change.  I know I've already done a spring post this year but I just thought I'd share a few more photos with you of springtime in my little part of the world.

Blue skies and bright white blossom.

Mrs Honey Bee collecting pollen

Gladys & Margaret having a natter amongst the daffodils.

A beautiful evening with the apple blossom.

So delicate and pretty.

I hope you are enjoying spring as much as I am.

Love Gem x x x

Spring in the Garden

Well what a beautiful day that was.

It seems that Spring has truly arrived and it's let us all know about it.

We practically spent all day in the garden today, it was lovely.

The chickens loved the sunshine and treated themselves to many a dust bath plus lost of sunbathing.

We even managed to have our second BBQ of the year.  not bad considering it's still only the first week in March.

Hope you have all had a wonderful day too.

Love Gem x x x

Hensington Palace

I had planned to post this piece a long time ago, shortly after my last post but it seems time has run away with me once again.

I had mentioned in my last post about a new arrival, a new addition to our family, it has been keeping me rather busy, not that I mind of course.  Back at the end of August we picked up 4 ex-battery hens.  I honestly didn't think it were possible to become attached and fall in love with chickens, but it really is.  They are my little babies.

So let me introduce to you, the girls.  Gladys,

Margaret (with her back to the camera, she is the only one I don't have a photo of on her own),

Marie

and Ginger.

We had chosen names before we had even collected them, I thought it would be difficult to decide which chicken should have what name but it was surprisingly easy and they have stuck too.  It's funny how their personalities somewhat reflect those of who they have been named after :)

It didn't take long for them to settle in.  They have all seemed pretty happy from day one.  I was expecting them to be in real bad condition especially when researching some of the conditions that battery hens are kept in (it really is awful) but they had the majority of their feathers, a few bald patches but nothing extreme.

We had a few teething problems with one of the girls, Gladys (my favourite, if you can't tell already with all the photo's of her).  The others just wouldn't accept her and would constantly try attacking her, not just a little peck but actually latching onto her and not letting go.  Thankfully that has stopped now and they are all getting on fine and dandy.

I feel like I'm really living the country life now and I am loving every single second of it. 

Love Gem x x x x