One chicken, two chicken - three chicken, four?

Towards the end of last week we were getting set for new arrivals... two more chickens to add to the two we currently have...

Frankie and Jerry - residents at Fallen Towers

We bought an extension to the existing coop and run, which now gives the chickens a lot more floor space, and given that we are likely to be in the garden less and less as the nights draw in and temperatures drop, more room to scratch about without needing to be let out into the garden quite so often.

The original house (r), with the extension in the foreground

I extended the concrete bowl, already fashioned for the coop move some weeks ago, and after only a few adjustments to make the surrounding bricks more level, the run was installed and ready for the extra chooks.

Two un-named Cotswold Blacktails

They were picked up on Friday - two good-looking Cotswold Blacktails - Em and her sister Jo introduced them to the run extension, with the two existing birds in their original house (the idea being that they would get used to each other before we put them in all together).

Frankie, who is top of the pecking order, appeared to have very little issue with the two extra companions... she even appeared to come over to the mesh between them to say 'hello'. For Jerry however it was a different story...

As soon as they came out of the box and were put in the extension, Jerry 'bocked' and squawked for what must have been 5-6 hours straight. She can be a bit mother hennish, but even so, this was so loud and prolonged Em had to go to the neighbours either side to apologise and to let them know what was going on.

Jerry was getting more and more distressed, and also laid a soft egg in the middle of the run, which is most unlike her... she seemed unable to take her eyes off what I guess she must have seen as intruders, or a threat to her second position. We were prepared for a bit of pecking between them - a few squawks and flying feathers - but not this much audible and visible distress.

We're responsible pet owners, and we've given Frankie and Jerry a great life here. We wanted to do the same for these other two chickens, but we were coming to the slow realisation that unless we were willing for our own sakes (and for the neighbours) to put up with this palaver for another few days, and continue to see (and hear) Jerry in this much distress, we were going to have to take the the two new ones back... which in the end is what we did.

Our supplier very graciously refunded us, despite the contamination risk posed to the rest of her flocks (because they had been in close contact with our two hens) - the Blacktails were put in a separate run back at the farm to undergo a quarantine procedure before being sold to someone else.

Rulers of the roost

Oh well, you live and learn. We haven't ruled out adding to the brood in future, but with the loss of a chicken so recently, we weren't prepared to see our other beloved chicks come under unnecessary distress too.

If we had a farm / weren't surrounded with neighbours, and we hadn't named our chickens and treated them like pets, I think we would have just got on with the noise and let them sort it out... Jerry would I'm sure have got used to it. But for now, it remains just Frankie and Jerry.

Planting out at the plot (part 2)

Yesterday I was back out at the plot getting the beetroot planted out...

I've opted to plant them in the same place as originally planned back at the start of July. I had ten seedlings in all, of varying quality... they look good planted out though in two rows of five... just hoping that they can flourish before it gets too cold.

The picture above was taken before I covered them with copious amounts of netting - the local wildlife is apparently partial to beetroot leaves... Maggie gave up on hers earlier in the season after they were pretty much all eaten!

I also took along a few other seedlings that had grown well over the last few weeks. I was given a mixed variety of beans and peas - so, with all the naivety of Jack, I planted them to see what beanstalks would grow...

I can identify peas of course... apparently these are also on the local wildlife's most wanted list, so I wrapped them in netting too.

I also added what look like a couple of french bean seedlings on the end of the existing row of beans I have growing... probably a little young to plant out, but nothing to lose now really...

The beans planted last week have wound their way around the short canes, and don't appear to be too adversely affected by the leaf losses...

And finally, as a reward for my progress, it was time for my only radish to be harvested:

The sum of this year's plot crop thus far...

After a wash, it was quite a dark colour... it also smelled like sweaty feet - not the most appetising odour...!

The radishes I planted in year one of my grow your own adventure were sweet and crunchy... I did a taste test of this one, and boy was it hot! My tongue was on fire, and my mouth ulcer was raging...!

If the French have these for breakfast, goodness knows what they eat the rest of the day long!

Part three to follow soon - more radish(!), and some fennel and cabbage seedlings...

Planting out at the plot (part 1)

It's been nearly a month since I've been over to my plot in my friend's garden, and this morning before work I went over to get my dwarf bean plants into the ground. This was my view upon arrival: 

Almost none of this greenery is intentional...

Quite frankly, a brazen offence to the world of allotmenteering. I would be embarrassed, but there just isn't the time! The only encouragement I can garner from this is that things will grow and grow well if only the slugs and snails gave them a chance!

A reminder of how it used to look (*blush*)

Well, there was no time for a pity party - I had 45 minutes to plant four plants, which was achievable. I'd got prepared - the plants had grown their second sets of leaves, and were starting to produce the stem growth which would wind itself up the canes.

Unfortunately, between getting the plants out of the greenhouse, leaving them out overnight during an unusually windy August evening, transporting them in the car, and then perhaps also being a bit cack-handed (I am left-handed, so that is a true definition!), some of the large primary leaves were either broken or falling off. In fact, in the next picture, you can see one upturned leaf already fallen to the floor... gutted.

Still, pressing on, and with the four plants in the ground, up went the canes. A few minutes later, having seen just how much the gusts of wind were moving the plants, I added some short canes too so that the plants would have something to gain immediate support from.

I'm just hoping now for the plants that have lost some leaves that they will quickly settle in, and given a chance, produce some beans at the end of it.

So, one of those mornings that should be exciting, but just ends up tinged with mild disappointment... if only there was something, anything growing on the plot that would give me some hope...

But wait... is it a bird? Is it a plane? No - it's a radish!:

I'm not sure how this one survived, but survive it did! I've not picked and eaten it yet - I think I'll savour the fact that I've intentionally grown something on the plot just a little bit longer...

In the next part of this thrilling series (ahem), I will be planting out the beetroot and fennel... 

Benny

Sadly, earlier this week we lost one of our hens - Benny.

Benny having a cuddle with Em

We were blessed to have her as a pet for the time that we did - she was a real character - bright and friendly, inquisitive and docile. Out of the three hens, she was probably bottom of the pecking order, but she didn't seem to care.

Benny 'helping' me with some potting

She was very partial to mealworms and Jacobs crackers(!), and had taken to following us around the garden, even if we didn't have food in our hands. She was also the easiest to handle, and would purr and close her eyes when cuddled... very cute.

However, a few weeks ago she started behaving out of character - not laying, eating very little and preferring to stand still rather than walk around and investigate the garden with the others. At first the problem seemed to be an impacted crop. Once this was treated, she returned to something of her former self - however, she had been developing a limp over the course of the last week, and her demeanour took a turn for the worse on Monday.

After a visit to the vets later that day, the diagnosis was egg peritonitis, which is fairly common among chickens and nearly always fatal. So on veterinary advice, and given the fact that she appeared to be in increasing discomfort, we took the decision to have her put down.

It was extremely sad and upsetting - any of you that has taken a pet on a one way trip to the vets will know how that feels. After all our efforts to protect the chickens and keep them safe from foxes and the like, we were beaten by something entirely out of our control, which leaves you feeling angry and helpless.

Some people will probably say 'you shouldn't have named them; you shouldn't get too attached'... well, we took the decision to have them as pets rather than just as livestock, and particularly in Benny's case we were rewarded with a real character.

Frankie (top) and Jerry (bottom)

So, we are down to two chickens now - Frankie and Jerry. After the last few days your instinct is to pack it in - sell these two and the house, and spare yourself the pain. However, over the last few days with grief and upset replaced by thankfulness and good memories, it is looking likely that instead at some point in the future we will add to the brood... we figured, just as Tennyson did, that 'it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all'.

Sticky bean rice

This recipe is one good way to use up a surplus of any type of bean. I am using runner beans as I have a lot of them this year, but really any beans or pods like mange-tout can be substituted in.

My first harvest this year of runner beans

I have quite a sweet tooth - you may want to avoid the honey part of this recipe if you want to keep the sugar content down... but your rice will also not be as sticky!

You will need the following ingredients (serves 2):

1 tsp olive oil
1 onion
100g pancetta, diced
50g runner beans (roughly 4 or 5 good size pods)
1/2 yellow pepper
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tbsp set honey
250g brown rice, pre-cooked (I cheat and use microwave rice)

Put the oil in the pan or wok, and set to a medium heat. Slice up the onion into half centimetre widths and add to the pan with the pancetta. Let this sear for a while so that the onions start to soften and go brown at the edges.

Add the runner beans - I have topped and tailed them, and then cut them into centimetre diamonds (or rhomboids, if you prefer!). Keep the contents of the pan moving around every so often.

Then add the yellow pepper, again sliced into half centimetre widths. Then add the nutmeg. Once stirred, cook the contents of the pan (stirring every so often) until all all ingredients are cooked/softened. Then add the honey, and stir in until the mixture is coated, giving it a glossy, glazed look.

Now add the rice, and stir into the sticky mixture - cook for a little longer to ensure that the whole dish is hot, and so that the honey has had a chance to coat the rice.

All you then need to do is plate up... and enjoy!

Holiday harvests

It seems like a long time ago since my last post... I am currently on a two week holiday from work, and the first week Em and I spent in a holiday cottage in Somerset, which was amazing. This was the sunset there the first night...

It was wonderfully relaxing, but it has been equally relaxing and rewarding being back home and  returning to some steady seedling progress and some encouraging harvests(!).

Recently we had to move the hen house from the back of the garden to the front, and so I decided to relocate my plants and greenhouse to the space vacated by the chickens. A bijou potter's paradise, if you will...

It's starting to look very promising in the greenhouse, with radish and beetroot front on the top shelf, dwarf beans and kale behind; cabbage at the front on the second shelf, fennel and spring onion behind - all growing well... I had to re-pot the dwarf beans and fennel as they seemed top heavy to me - in other words, needing a little more room to grow down under...

You could see in the left of the wide picture the runner bean plants, which are still producing flowers higher up the canes. I took my first handful of beans from them the other day - perhaps a little undersized, but I prefer them on the tender side. They were delicious in a sticky rice I made - the recipe for which will follow soon...!

I also emptied one of the potato grow bags - the leaves were looking decidedly pale, and they were beginning to droop and go brown, so I decided to cut my losses. I was happy with the result though - about a kilo of white potatoes. Still not sure about the variety, but I used them in a vegetable curry and they were a lovely texture.

It was the first time I have emptied a potato bag, and it was like digging for treasure! I also guess that's the reason that no matter how small, I kept them all (note a few of them that are no bigger than marbles). I'm sure someone could start a business selling the little ones as 'popcorn' potatoes... seems a shame to think that on an industrial scale they may go to waste for not being the correct size...

I also took a chance on what surely must now be the last good rhubarb of the season - I last said that around a month ago... unprecedented growth from the rhubarb patch this year. I have frozen it and I am using it in a number of experimental dessert/baked recipes(!). 

This picture has an unusually soft focus - not sure why...?!

Elsewhere in the garden, the honey bees seem to be enjoying the buddleia - Em was sat nearby watching the chickens and came up with these shots... there are some even better shots  of bees taken by Sue at Green Lane Allotments.

We have two sets of bee traffic in the garden (they have been very kind in pollenating my veg, so it seems rude not to give them a mention!) - the bee top right is one of the ones from under our shed; whereas the other three are clearly a different breed... someone down the road sells honey from their drive, so I think they may have found their way along from hives there.

On the plot front, it won't be long now before I'm over there again, planting out some of these seedlings - the dwarf beans are pretty much ready, and I think the beetroot are almost there too... I'll keep you posted...