Tuesday, 27 May 2014

A Day out and the fox strikes again!

Hello Everybody.
A week since I posted. I get worse don't I?!

Welcome to  Berenice and Emma on Blog lovin and to Marjorie and Pamela on the follower bar. It's really good to see you here.

A week a ago I was thinking we needed some rain. Silly me! it's been tipping it down since ! It is also quite warm so things are growing apace, particularly the weeds and the grass. the grass in the paddock is very long, much longer than usual,. The problem is that we only have two little lambs to graze it and the sit-on mower has broken.. We'll be cutting for hay if we don't get it cut soon.
On Friday D. and I had a rare awayday. A friend had visited an exhibition of the collection of Dukes of Portland that is currently housed at the Harley gallery at Wellbeck Abbey in Nottinghamshire. He thought we would enjoy this small but spectacular exhibition and insisted on taking us. ( He drove and also treated us to lunch ) he was right .. What a wonderful exhibition. I would thoroughly recommend a visit if you are anywhere close. Entry is free. As is often the case nowadays the outbuildings of this great house have been utilised to maximise the income necessary to maintain the estate. There is the exhibition/museum building, a garden centre, a resteraunt and a food shop.
 At lunch I had brie and cranberry sandwiches with salad and D. had the ploughmans. here is a picture of his meal. How nice does that look?!


 My Eldest Granddaughter has begun an apprenticeship which entails machine sewing. She has taken to this like a duck to water and has now ordered her first sewing machine. I was talking to a friend about this and she asked if EGD and myself could make use of some fabric she had stashed away.  Could we?!! We now have a large bag of different cottons ideal for patchwork and project work. I have told myself that I will not start anything new until I have finished my important outstanding projects. The most important of these is the removable  futon/ sofa cover for my Godson. This is in exchange for two tonne bags of chippings. A good bit of frugal bartering.

 And now for some really sad news.... The fox has been again! We have lost Mummy Buff, Black Mummy and Flump. We had just introduced Mummy Buff to Flump and they were getting on REALLY well (if you get what I mean) so we left them to it when we went inside for our tea. Less than half an hour later D. went outside to find Flump lying in the grass outside the barn and the two hens missing. Huddled in the corner of the barn was a hen with all the chicks behind her, ready to fight off all comers, bless her. D. looked over the wall to see the fox standing on a mound next door. We are absolutely gutted and going through a fierce fox-hating time at the mo.
 Talking of foxes, a wild animal that is, against all other animal trends, increasing in numbers. A few years ago a local chicken keeper, who kept chickens for a living not a hobby, took a shot at a fox that was circling his hen houses (NOT battery before anyone judges). His neighbour came out of her house shouting at him not to shoot the fox. It transpired that she was a member of a group that saves foxes from the towns and releases them into the country. I guess that little story will trigger different reactions !

Off to look at the comments on my last post and then to get ready for the tuesday gang for lunch.
Take Care All
Gillx



23 comments:

  1. Oh I am so sorry to hear about your chickens. I was loving Flump, the new man/chicken. I know it is natures way but so cruel.

    Your outing sounds great as does your fabric windfall and bartering arrangement. Just remember if you go into the paddock leave your coordinates and take a flare in case you get lost!!

    Have a good week
    RedSetter

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    1. tee hee will do!
      We didn't have Flump long, but we had grown to love him

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  2. Glad you had a good day out but, sad for the you and the hens.

    One thing I am most concerned about as a (nearly) chicken keeper is foxes, there are quite a few around here and the only type of boundary fence that the landlord would put up is chain link fencing - crap at keeping out foxes and only 48" high!
    I've re-constructed this fence in a particular spot twice in the last week or so, as I was expecting to be keeper of at least 2 hens this week, Sadly I was let down due to lack of transport for the coop/run, as needed asap.
    I WILL get my hens, I have Plan 'B'!

    Hope the remaining hens settle and remain safe from everything.

    Sandie xxx

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    1. Ensure your run is fox proof. In built up areas there seem to be lots of foxes because of the availability of food scraps. All the hens apart from Flumps little adopted family are in a fox proof run.His little group are pretty traumatised still. I have only just ead your comment from my last post. I will get back to you on that soon

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  3. with as much food there is in town I would of thought moving them to the country is not doing them a favour. We saw more foxes when we lived in Reading than we have since we moved into the country. Glad you had a nice trip out.

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    1. The foxes are not country savvy either if they have been born in the town. yes it was a good day.

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  4. the people that "rescue" foxes from the cities and release them in the country make me SPIT! So sorry to hear about your fox attack, daytime too something that wouldn't have happened a few years back when foxes were frightened of man. The electric fences still seem to be working here.Touch wood and anything else thats lucky
    Sounds like you had a good day out.

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    1. Yes it was bright and sunny. As you know though, he'll be back!! The main flock of chicken are in the fox proof orchard. (as you say.touch wood!)

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  5. I just can't be doing with people getting all fluffy about animals, rescuing individual foxes - they seem oblivious to the obvious truth that *species fox* has suffered disgracefully since the mangy manky things have been allowed to proliferate without restraint. When I was a child, a dog fox in winter was an awesome sight - that was back when countryside management benefited the entire ecosystem, not some fluffy, imaginary, cartoon character, and was generally managed by qualified and experienced people, not pop stars and twitter. Soap box. Off. Sorry.

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    1. Couldn't agree more. it's a whole new ball game nowadays.No probs with soap-boxing!

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  6. Sorry to hear about the fox incident. We had a mum calling her cubs outside our bedroom window a couple of nights ago but as we don't have chickens they're not really a problem for us.

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    1. I understand that. Keeping rabbits can be a draw for them too. But they are lovely creatures to look at when in good health.

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  7. Sorry about the chickens. We went to a lot of trouble digging down netting deep and fanning it out round the hen house and run and later round the rabbit house and run. It has proved absolutely fox proof and don't think Mr cunning hasn't had a go. Then of course someone went and forgot the door ajar and the rabbits sadly ended up as fox dinner. Pam

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    1. All our chickens apart from Flumps little family are in the fox-proof orchard. As you say human error can sometimes cause huge problems. The problem we will have is from autumn when we let the chicken free range over our holding.until spring and planting time when they go back in the orchard again. I guess we will have to rethink that system. Shame!

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  8. Thats really a downer on a nice day out, its terrible that people are introducing rescue foxes to the country side, I would definatly be getting the gun out.

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    1. We have been offered a gun actually! I think if I had caught it I was angry and upset enough to strangle it with my bare hands and I'm normally a pacifist!

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  9. I'm afraid that many 'townies' think of Foxes as living in underground cottages, with patchwork quilts on their beds, and surrounded by baby foxes who all wear coloured waistcoats. Well, it ain't like that; I once lost a whole run-full of hens (20-ish) to a Fox. I'll never forget finding the carnage that morning.

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    1. That happened to our neighbour a few years ago. His whole flock was slaughtered. it was an awful sight.

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  10. p.s.That Ploughman's looks DIVINE.

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    1. It was and that pork pie was as good as it looked (pork pies can be disappointing can't they?)

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  11. That Ploughman's is making me very hungry! Yummy :)

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  12. It was yummy!
    Thanks for commenting, I see you live Derby way and make some lovely things.
    Gill

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  13. Lunch looks lovely . SO sorry to hear about your poor chickens x

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