by Steve Byrne | Feb 3, 2016 | animals
For three years people asked “free range hens – don’t you worry about foxes?”. “Not at all”, I would reply casually, and so our hens wandered all over the place, right up until the night I came to their house, to be greeted only by the plaintive cheeping of one of the baby hens
by Steve Byrne | Aug 22, 2015 | animals
Today was ‘chicken day’ – 15 weeks or so ago, these 10 birds arrived as day old chicks, supplied by our friends Brian and Becky, as something of an experiment in rearing our own meat. They have led a happy outdoor existence, foraging, enjoying...
by Steve Byrne | Sep 20, 2014 | animals
The unstoppable broody Fluffers has done it again, this time vanishing to hatch 8 healthy chicks, returning to parade them around the place today. She’s perfected the knack of sashaying about with them underneath her, which is quite a sight, and here they are...
by Steve Byrne | May 13, 2014 | animals
After years of making do with a camera phone, we finally bit the bullet and got ourselves a decent camera. I have to say that the results were worth it, and our chickens have been obligingly posing for me. f
by Steve Byrne | May 13, 2014 | animals
We love our hens, and I can’t imagine a time when we wouldn’t have them here – after all, what smallholding doesn’t have hens roaming around? Although ours have lived at times in a contained area, they love to free range around the...
by Steve Byrne | Mar 24, 2013 | animals, smallholding, the farm
At last the rain and snow have stopped, and there is a hint of blue sky above us now. The wind is still bitterly cold though, and the snow shows no sign of leaving us any time soon. This winter has been an especially difficult one for anyone with livestock, and we...
by Steve Byrne | Jan 15, 2013 | climate, smallholding, the farm
Following the midwinter break, we’ve emerged from a brief hibernation to begin the process of preparing the ground for growing our veg, fruit, trees and flowers. Although the hens are helping enthusiastically by scratching over and fertilising various bits of...
by Steve Byrne | Dec 12, 2012 | smallholding, volunteering
Well, after nearly three weeks, our first proper experience as Wwoofing hosts is over, and our volunteer (and now extended family member) Bettina has left to begin her journey home to Austria. Hers will be hard boots to fill, as we have achieved much in her time here,...
by Steve Byrne | Nov 29, 2012 | volunteering
Although it has been a quiet week on the blog, here on the farm it’s been all go. Our intrepid WWOOF volunteer Bettina has arrived from Austria, hitch hiking all the way – at one point on a tractor. A terrifyingly long list of things to do exists, and...
by Steve Byrne | Nov 11, 2012 | animals
Yesterday I set off to collect our new hens from William over in Cloughey. Daylight reveals that we have 1 Welsummer cockerel, 2 Welsummer hens, 2 Light Sussex, 2 black bantams, 1 goldeny bantamy thing, and a mystery grey hen. They are living in the new polytunnel for...
by Steve Byrne | Nov 9, 2012 | environment
Midwinter is now only weeks away, and our day is finishing ever earlier. This evening brought us some dramatic skies, and the promise of a nice day tomorrow, perhaps. I am off to collect some more hens, and our first rooster, from the other side of Strangford Lough,...
by Steve Byrne | Sep 8, 2012 | buildings
It’s a sign of how little sun we’ve seen this ‘summer’ that come autumn, and a little sun, I just wandered about the place, marvelling at how magical it is. As I took this picture I could hear the sound of birds of prey calling, and little...
by Steve Byrne | Aug 29, 2012 | animals
Hooray! Having been egg bound since her arrival, and with a sore leg to boot, poor old Hoppi was looking very sorry for herself. Hence she has been holed up in a box in the kitchen, to escape bullying by the other hens and to give her a chance to unblock. Whether it...
by Steve Byrne | Jul 15, 2012 | animals, smallholding
RIP Lily hen, taken by the evil cat. Our growling hen vanished last night, at the hands (or paws) of the resident semi-feral cat. The layer of the green eggs is gone, and she, and her eggs be sorely missed.
by Steve Byrne | Aug 31, 2011 | animals
Finally they have arrived – our four hens have taken up residence. We have an Ancona (pictured above left); a Lavender Araucana (above right); a Black Araucana (below) and last but not least, a rather marvellous Welsummer. They have had a fairly eventful 24...
by Steve Byrne | Aug 30, 2011 | animals
Here is my best attempt at a hen house yet. This version has front and rear windows, side door, 3 nesting boxes, and a pull out floor. As with all my constructions it won’t blow away. The frame was made from reclaimed 3×2 timber, and we went mad and bought...
by Steve Byrne | Aug 23, 2011 | animals
Claire has been studying chicken books all week, and we went to the Rare Breeds thing at the Folk and Transport Museum at the weekend, coming away convinced that the mighty Arucana hen is the one for us. Specifically the lavender Arucana, which lays fantastic...
