The Domestic Fowl Trust and Honeybourne Rare Breeds

Today my youngest son and I decided to visit 'Chicken World'.  The Domestic Foul Trust.  It isn't too far from us.  It is in the County of Warwickshire.  I thought I would show you this picture of a Village called Alcester, it looked pretty with the remnants of yesterday's street party for The Royal Wedding.  Warwickshire is Shakespeare country as it is the County where William Shakespeare was born.  Even the hen houses are mock Tudor.

Well these ones were anyway.  The Domestic Foul Trust near Honeybourne has a museum containing all things chicken and egg related.  We read about the history of Cockerel Fighting and looked at the Factory production of chicken and eggs.  We also enjoyed looking at old chicken themed toys.  When we left the museum to enter the park we were mobbed by trained racing chickens sprinting towards us as they must have known we had bought feed to share out on our way around.

They look sweet and innocent but some could jump pretty high and manged to peck the paper bag in my son's hand.  I made friends with one before I realised it was a cockerel.

It's loud crowing gave me quite a shock.
My son made friends with this one...

It actually followed him all around the park for about fourty minutes, they had quite a bond between them.  Euan called it Freddy the Chicken.  Freddy certainly got reward for his friendship with Euan and we probably left him nicely fattened with a belly full of corn. 
We had a tour around the world in chickens and saw 131 different breeds of chicken, from British and European breeds to American and Asian breeds, you will forgive me for not remembering all of them.  Many of the exhibits had tried and tested escape routes from their enclosures and were at large around the park.  I am a complete 'Townie' and the size of a full grown chicken surprised me, some are huge.  The cockerels and Turkeys were a bit scary.  I am sure by the way this turkey puffed himself out he was as scared of me as I was of him.

It was quite hard to tell which was the head and which was the tail with some breeds.

I found myself admiring all the miniatures and bantams.  They are definitely on my wishlist for the future.  I particularly loved these miniature Buff Orpingtons.  They are about a third of the size of a Buff Orpington.  There were also Buff Orpington Ducks but I didn't photograph them as they were too busy having a bath.

We went even more miniature in the chick room....

Very cute with all the different breeds of chick all together.

I can see three ducklings in this picture too.
Euan got very sad when it was time to say goodbye to Freddy so I had to promise we would go and see him again soon.

Coop D'etat

I don't think these would win me any prizes if I exhibited them at the County Show!  To me they still look quite cute though, in a scruffy kind of way.  They look like they have been had by a cat!  I am on holiday from work so I have had time to fuss my new babies and we are developing quite a bond.  (Well I am not sure they feel the same way but I'd like to think so).  They still spend most of their time indoors under a heat lamp, but they are on their third brooder box as they have grown so fast.  I have taken advantage of the mild weather and popped them outside in their coop when I can.  They seem to love it scratching and pecking around in the dirt, running, jumping and flapping.  I have spent far too much time sitting on a chair right next to them with a coffee in my hand.  I consider I am on 'Chicken Patrol' a very important duty.  I occasionally nip off to do the odd household chore or two but I have to keep popping up the garden to make sure they are ok. 

They are yet to discover the roost and the nest boxes they just like charging about outside.  They climb the ramp but don't enter the 'upstairs quarters' they just jump off at the top.  I think they maybe afraid of the dark.  I don't know anyone that keeps three adult chickens in the house as pets...I maybe a first!  When I bring them back indoors they crash out exhausted by their adventures.  They don't even cluck yet and I fear an egg is a long, long way off in the distant future. 

Ten Day Old Chicks - Photographs

The Girls are settling in nicely, I slept on the sofa until the crick in my neck got too bad at 1.30am, just to make sure the Brooder box did not go up in smoke!  I also dreamt about chicks...escaping!  I am not sure what a psychologist would make of me but I do not intend on going to see one.  Today I upgraded their Brooder to a larger box and my Dad transferred the bulb which is their heat source.  I also got a smaller 'Drinker' as it is too cold for a paddling pool.  Bob the old Budgie had a perch he did not like and never used so he kindly donated it to the chooks and we attached that to the box aswell.  The chicks grow a lot each day and change very quickly, they are leaping, flapping, scratching and running about, then they will crash out and sleep.



At first only one managed the perch, the others ran into it, hopped over it or wobbled on it.  Now two of the three have mastered the art of perching but they still sleep huddled on the floor.

My 14yr old son, a typical teenager, has amazed me, he really tried to talk me out of these chickens.  This morning I found him cradling Daisy chick to sleep, telling her how lovely she was!  He is insisting her name is not Daisy but Dotty as she is dotty and she has a green felt tip dot on her head as a remnant of her 'School experience'.

You can see Dot's dot!

It is a good job my youngest son has generously agreed to the name change Dotty-Daisy. 
I may get a break from chick duty and actually get some knitting done this evening!

10 day old chicks - finally I have girls!

The Cosmos blessed me with two sons, I thought I wanted girls to cook and craft with but I did get over it and adjust to boys and one out of the two likes cooking and craft!  A Mother of my youngest son's friend has two sons and has just found out she is expecting twin boys, she is a little disappointed.  Today three girls arrived at my house, Poppy, Rosie and Daisy (named by my six year old).  They are the chicken variety.  They look quite exhausted with their adventures.  They are cheaping away in the living room.  The dog is bannished to the kitchen and she isn't happy about it.  The budgie however seems delighted to have company.  My 14 year old did not want chickens but thinks these are great and keeps asking if he can hold one.  The six year old did a victory dance when I told him the chooks had arrived.  He told me tonight he has always wanted chickens.  I have chicken researched myself senseless, to the point of obsession.  My youngest has gone to bed tonight reading the chicken care manual.  The chicks will be 10 days old tomorrow.  Seven had to go back to the 'Farm' today as I felt three was a sensible amount to take and couldn't take any more.  Everyone at work has said they will buy eggs off me, what they don't know is I will charge £1.50 for each egg!  I will try and get pictures of the 'Girls' tomorrow. 

Aaaaahhhhh! Spring Chicks...

I woke up this morning with my mind on chicks, rather than the Lesson observation I was having today by a representative of The Local Authority!  I hurried myself to work early, like a broody mother Hen.  I wondered how the little fella from yesterday would have managed the night.  I met my colleagues who were also early and excited to see what had happened overnight.  They was much ooohing and aaahhhing and we managed to get a final beak count of nine fluffy chicks.  They were all cheaping loudly in the incubator and rocking and rolling the three remaining unhatched eggs.  They needed to be transferred to a heated 'Brooder' box.  We plugged in the brooder to warm it up and immediately the bulb that heats it blew!  We had a panic, two shops later and three bulbs later we were sorted.  Then a chick got its head stuck between the element cover of the incubator and the incubator wall, it looked very poorly.  I ran around like a headless chicken while my workmates tried to release the loudly protesting chick.  Thankfully they managed.  At one point we were actually checking each others pulse rates as the stress was considerable, before any pupils arrived.  When the kids arrived we had transferred the stronger looking chicks to the brooder.

The children were very excited to see their chicks.  They spent an hour observing and seemed fascinated, but they have not seen one hatch yet.  About an hour after hometime chick number ten made its appearance.  There are two eggs left and I am keeping my fingers crossed that they will hatch.  The children have named the chicks, Max, Ken (Tucky), Chicken Little, Kung Fu Panda, Bob Marley and Charlie,  I can't remember the other names!  Aren't they cute?  Incidently my lesson observation went pretty well I got 'good' in several areas and 'outstanding' in three areas.  The three areas of 'outstanding' were my relationship with the pupils, classroom organisation and planning and the management of pupils behaviour.  I am eggsausted after a cracking day at work, shell I go on...sorry they are terrible yolks!

Spring chicks...

I stayed late at work today, but I wasn't working!  I teach children with Emotional and behaviour problems, I am in my eleventh year at the same place.  Currently I work three days a week but occasionally more if there are staffing issues.  This year is the first time we have had an incubator to hatch chicks.  The eggs were delivered this afternoon.  At home time a little crack appeared in one egg and four out of twelve eggs were wobbling.  If you were quiet you could hear the eggs cheaping.  Very cute.  I have never seen a chick hatch before it was fascinating.  One chick was an early bird.  I called my Mom to bring my sons round to watch.  After approximately a two hour struggle with little cracks appearing and alot of wobbling the egg split open and out popped a bedraggled and heavily panting chick.  He unfurled his little self and stretched his legs and wings, with lots of resting and panting.  Within about ten minutes his little beady eyes were open and he was cheaping like crazy, bumping in to the other eggs.  We were all spellbound.  I felt sorry turning out the lights and leaving one lonely chick, but I am sure by the morning he will have playmates.  I think the pupils will be amazed tomorrow, it is a shame they missed the first one.  It will be nice to see the bedraggled chick all fluffed up and dried out.  He looked like a little alien.  My camera was not at work but I will take it tomorrow and see if I can get pictures to show you.  I am not sure if chicks like flash photography.  The man that dropped them off will collect them in twelve days he said if anyone wants any they can have them.  He suggested a minimum of three.  I have a small garden and a dog that currently loves to chase birds (I think I could teach her to leave them though) and twelve days is not long enough to build a chicken enclosure.  I would love chickens, I have twelve days to convince myself it just isn't practical.  Impulse buys with yarn and looms and stuff is one thing but chickens!!!  My youngest son is on my side and wants chickens too.  Any chicken advice for the urban garden would be gratefully received....