BOB

I had about 50 replies to an ad trying to get rid of a sewing machine. I gave up trying to read them all (sorry) and gave it to the first reply, it seems the fairest way to me

Happy Birthday Michelle

We couldn't afford any help either so we are still work in progress - 4 years on. This year's projects are completing the pond and pergola over it, planting a hedge to replace a few trees that we have lost over the last couple of years, maintaining what we have completed so far and starting on the veg patch and greenhouse again. Not much going on there then - I don't have time to go to work!

Yes my lot wandered home with a ton on mud stuck to each of their feet and they didn't bother to wipe them before they went to bed . That's all of my hard work mucking out on Saturday wasted!

I tried candling early but really wasn't sure what I was looking at . I made another attempt at 15 days and it was really quite clear which contained chicks and which didn't - the little eggs looked full up with chick. Only one of ours didn't hatch and it wasn't fertile which was amazing for post delivered eggs. It supposed to be about a 50% hatch rate when theve been jiggled about on the road. Good luck with your babies

Very funky, I'm very impressed it's a great facelift

Ahhhh she's lovely and she does seem to have made herself at home

I have a chicken jumper made up if you need one . I knitted a few back when we collected our ex-battery hens as they were pretty threadbare.

Bless him. I hope he gave them what for. He is lovely Fee

She was such a beautiful girl. Sleep tight Megan

They're lovely And what a comfy bed they have complete with fluffy pillows.

Oh I'm so sorry . I'm sure she has had a wonderful life with you over the past 18 months. It is never an easy decision but whatever the decision is - it will be the best one for her.

I raised my first chicks this year but under a broody. If you take your chicks from about 7 or 8 weeks then should be off heat even at nighttime as long as they are indoors or very sheltered at this time of year. We've taken in chickens at all ages and I think the ex-bats at 18-20 months were the most friendly. I don't think I would want to raise chicks from hatching as my first go at chicken keeping. They are mischievous little things and do cause lots of worry when they are little - and they fly well It depends how adventurious you are - if you do have some boys at least they will have a home.

Come on Rosie - cheer up little lady. It'll soon be Christmas and I'm sure Santa has something nice for you. Stop worrying your foster mummy and give her a big wet sloppy kiss.

It's all good fun 3 of my little ones are now laying regularly although one insists on laying on top of the straw bale only and will not use the nest box. I worm them using dried mealworms - I mix up the required 7 day dosage and then feed them equal measures every day. There is always a scrum for mealworms so I know they are all getting their dose.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY doggy.lover

Your new arrivals are both lovely

We have that one too. Do you find it smells a bit funny? We only use in emergencies but it is warm.

Fantastic news. Enjoy your new home Sadie.

Kisses is also looking for a rescue space if anyone would take her please?

Posting on behalf of a friend on another forum. If anyone could help she would be most appreciative. Sharon lives in the Birmingham area. "Recently my partners ex wife died leaving their 16 year old daughter "home alone", they have a dog and the daughter is moving to a small flat nearer to us, she cannot take the dog (a 9 month old staffy X) we have rung around every dog shelter, warden and the RSPCA and they have an incredibly long waiting list to take in dogs, she has been told to either PTS or dump the dog on the street (told this by the dog warden & RSPCA who can pick the dog up off the street but not collect an owned dog with no home) My step-daughter has lost her Mother, her home (the council owns it and wont let a 16yo keep a 3-bed house) and is now losing her dog because they are moving her to a high-rise flat with a "no pets" policy. Now we have to tell her she has to have her dog PTS or tie it to a lampost so it gets picked up by the dog warden and taken to the dogs home. Unfortunately her dog doesn't get along with other animals or we would have taken it in til a new home could be found I said that i would help her find a new home for the dog and i don't know how to tell her what the options are without adding to the problems she is already having. I seriously think we might have to face the inevitable with this dog, she has separation anxiety (destructive), animal aggression and not keen on men, even though she is only 9 months old and i feel needs training from an experienced owner to turn her into a lovely dog (she is called "Kisses" as she is affectionate!). She is a Lab X staffy and is black (somewhat resembling a pittie type) so i guess no-one is going to leap out and take her."

That's a lovely picture - reminds me so much of old Bouncy Bouncer our oldies foster.

How exciting Celeste, great big fluffy orpies wandering around I'm not sure that we could cope with the dispatching of chickens just yet, especially with having them as pets. Quail apparently are not very responsive to people so they wouldn't be pets as such. I'm a veggie but hubby and son eat meat and I have a huge issue with the way animals are raised for meat so really would like to know our food had had a nice life.

We were extremely lucky this time around we think we've got all girls (there's just one we are a bit unsure of purely because of the size in all other aspects it's a definate hen). We planned to keep any boys unless the neighbours complained or they fought, in that case we had homes for them on a nearby farm, eventually the boys will be sunday dinner though. The babies are a mixed bag of marans, black rock and a heinz 57 that has a bit of light sussex, a bit of silkie and a bit of buff orpington she's just started laying at 22 weeks.

I think hybrids make just as good broodies and mums as pure breeds although are not quite as tenatious hatching anything that's not moving as pure breeds seem to be . My chicks were hatched under a broody speckledy who was a great mum. Incubators seem a bit too fiddly for me, adjusting temperatures, adding water, monitoring humitity, rolling the eggs - a broody does it all for you and it is lovely to see mum proudly leading her babies through the garden. We've been comtemplating raising meat birds - We're going to start with quail in spring.