And The Winner Is .......

A message to my reader who has been to Tam O'Shanter for the first time having read this blog.  I'm so pleased you enjoyed yourself.  I go there for a couple of hours a week to help out in the office and I must say it really is a wonderful place.  For anyone who hasn't been, it isn't just for kids, if you're an animal lover it's a great way to get up close and personal with them.  Nice little coffee shop there too!

A total of 27 of you have read "Big Kiwi's a Gem"  and not one of you has come up with an idea.  So, having coffee this morning with two very good friends we had a team meeting.  One of them (and you know who you are) had her pen and paper at the ready and was totally monopolising the "ideas" conversation.  My other friend sat quietly in thinking mode.  When we asked for her suggestions she just said "will you two just be quiet for a moment and let me think".

We duly did as she suggested and a moment was all it took.

FOWL PLAY

Yes, we were thinking fruit machine, chicken skewer, rolling fruits, on and on it went but without doubt this is what it should be called.  It is after all a toy for my chickens to play with.  The fact that it feeds them is a bonus.

I've already had two orders for it!

On the Polly front, I had my first full night sleep last night for the first time since we got her.  There was a quick fox watch from the Buff at 4am but not a sound from Polly til 0817 hrs.  Hopefully we've broken the back of it.

Big thanks to my wonderful neighbours who have been very understanding and supportive about her morning noises.  Looks like Polly's here to stay and I for one am ever so pleased.  She is an absolute darling and a wonderful addition to our family.

Big Kiwi's a Gem

Yes, every home should have one.  A Big Kiwi that is.  A few days ago I asked my father in law (Big Kiwi) to make me something for the chooks.  If I give them apples, or other fruits they eat some of it then it ends up on the floor going rotten so I thought of putting them on skewers (the fruits not the chooks).

Big Kiwi surpassed himself and produced the item exactly to my specifications.  There are two levels of metal skewers at just the right height for them to munch from and a good base so it doesn't tip over with their eagerness to chomp away.

I duly painted it a lovely shade of dark green to match the rest of Feathers Lodge decor and as you will see here it's a big hit with the girls.  Typically Doris was first to have a go and then they all got stuck in.

Now I need a name for it - please help me out with some suggestions.  Then I'm thinking about selling a couple on ebay.  Honestly, they're great fun for the girls and it keeps it all off the floor.  Next stop Gordale!

Fave Spot

We all have a favourite place don't we.  Well my girls are no exception, and here are a few shots of them at their happiest.

Buffy has many favourite places - my Dad's knee, on guard duty, the fourth stair up, in a sunny spot - the list goes on.  She's always happy though if she's asleep.  In fact I often come home to find her and The Kiwi having an afternoon nap spooning eachother.  Here's one of her at her most relaxed!

Penny and Hetty are sisters and they love to sit in the sun together.  The first time I saw them doing it I thought one of them had died!  Chooks settle down on one side and stretch their other wing and leg out to get the best of the rays.

And on to the lovely and very dotty Doris.  Basically she's happiest if she's nesting or if she's eating.  I'm a bit worried about her as her breathing is starting to get bad again and she's looking frail and mucky.  Her feathers on her crop are coming out and her head looks like she's shoved her face in a pile of dirt.  This was taken yesterday though and as you can see she's not holding back on the grub.  As long as she's hungry the vet said she's OK!

Mary is seen here perching on their trough under their sun terrace.  It had only just been put back in place after decorating and she was straight on there.  She loves to sit on it first thing in the morning before I open the doors to Feathers Lodge.  She's got a great view of the garden from here.

Helen just loves to be in my arms having a cuddle.  She'd stay there all day if she could, the tamest of them all.  I've mentioned before that when we got her she wasn't expected to last the week out but she hung on in there and look at her now.

Isn't this just the best shot of Joan ever!  She looks like a little cartoon chook.  Her fave place is anywhere I am.  Not because she wants to be picked up or given any attention but if she's near me she gets little scraps of food every so often.  She's the bottom of the heap so is always last in line at feeding time.  It is soooo funny watching her eat with the others, she grabs something, runs off with it and then darts back, grabs another bit and does a runner again.

Here's Polly behind her tree.  It was a small one I chopped down a couple of months ago and just threw in the corner and before I knew it she'd made it her best place to rest.  She can rub her neck and head on the branches to have a good scratch and her hay is just behind her so there's food readily available.  The chooks often gather round here too so she's always got company.  She's rather taken a fancy to having a daily groom and as you can see here she's got beautiful fluffy wool!

And this one's for me.  One of my favourite views in the world.  When I go here I sit and have tea and toast early in the morning and have strictly me time. I generally have a book with me but never get to read it because I'm too taken with the view. How fab is that!

Polly's Day Out

Polly has done such a wonderful job on our garden my friend wanted to borrow her for the day.  I duly put her on the lead and trotted her happily down the road where she commenced munching immediately.

I went out for a while and on returning I thought I'd better check that my friend had put out water for her.  Buffy and I went down ther but nobody was at home.  I crept in through the back gate and there was Polly sitting in the shade resting after a few hard hours at work.

There was a large bowl of water for her so I gave her a stroke and left her to it.  Oh no - she wasn't having any of it.  Now that she'd seen me and The Buff she wanted to come home with us.  I squeezed The Buff through the gate and pushed Polly back while I tried to get through myself.  She's quick though, and I mean really quick.  You try fending off 3.5 stone of determined creature with one hand while opening a gate with the other.  After a few failed attempts I finally managed it.  The gate isn't very secure so I put a brick against it but that didn't stand in her way.  Up came the front legs and she bashed it as hard as she could then made her escape.  She's hard to keep control of without a lead but I held her collar as tightly as I could.  She wasn't hanging around though, she was headed home and wasn't about to let me hold her back.  Buffy was first up the road followed swiftly by Polly dragging me behind her.

Once home she charged round our garden for a while making her presence felt then I put her back on the lead and returned her to her day nursery.  After a few bleats when I left her and she was fine.

While she was away I put myself to work deciding how to overcome my morning "polly stress".  I composed some letters to give to all neighbours within hearing distance explaining that as with a baby crying she needs to be left to bleat in the morning without me attending to her.  I asked my neighbours to be patient for a week and if it isn't resolved by then I'll look into finding her another home.  Oh how sad would that be!

I also phoned Environmental Health and explained to them what I'm doing just in case anyone puts in a complaint.  So, I've gone down all the right channels and Polly has a week to calm down between 5 and 7am.

This morning she started at 6.15am and it went on and off for about 45 mins.  Starting with a little mumble, raising to a shout and then coming down to a grumble.  This cycle took about 7 mins then she'd have a break from it but after a few minutes the mumble would start again, rising accordingly and each time finishing with a "humph" which showed her displeasure at being ignored.

That was day one - how will tomorrow go? 

Nice photos of the chooks coming up tomorrow - shots of them in their favourite places in Feathers Lodge, oh and their food toy too.  Yes, I'm teasing you with that one but patience is a virtue!

Feathers Lodge

Everything in our home has a name.  Our house is called Taihape (Maouri for where two rivers meet), our shed is called Terrence 2, our lawnmower Padraic and our car is Little Betsy.  It seemed only right therefore that after rennovating the chooks residence we gave it an official title and Feathers Lodge seemed appropriate.

The Kiwi slogged away at it for over a week putting a concrete base in to make it rat proof.  I touched up the paintwork and then we both spread out the bags of chippings to finish it off.

The photos here show their bedroom complete with perch, poop deck, steps and nesting boxes.

Then you can see Helen munching away outside their bedroom and finally the last two shots show their Conservatory where their Play House is, their Perch and their Sun Terrace with a trough underneath to sleep in.

Yet still they love to be in the garden! 

More antics tomorrow about their new "food toy" and what I've decided to do about Polly .........................

What A Madam

My goodness, it all seems to be about Polly doesn't it?  I promise to put in some photos tomorrow of Feathers Lodge but today I was at the end of my tether with the lovely Pol.

She started at 5am bleating intermittently to start with then getting more urgent as I tried to ignore her.  Even Buffy couldn't be bothered springing to her attention.  I got up, put a small bowl of food out to keep her quiet and climbed back into bed.

All quiet until 7am.  First it was the sound of the bashing that got me.  She was round in the area where her food is banging away at her food container.  She wasn't able to open it today so after a while she came to the back door and started tapping her hoof up against it.  Honestly - is there any need?!

We (The Buff and I) got up and I sat on the edge of the dancefloor stroking her but this wasn't what she wanted.  She jumped off and stood looking at the food area, then glanced back at me for a moment and then back at the food.  This went on for some time then she tired of waiting for me to attend to her needs and jumped up on the dance floor behind me and proceeded to head but me into action.

Yes, she rammed me time and time again with her head - now complete with a beautiful set of horns - and when I wouldn't do her bidding she started on Buffy.  Well, The Buff wasn't having it and went straight inside.  I wasn't giving her more food so I pulled more hay out of her bag and she was happy getting stuck into that.  Of course, as soon as I went in to feed the chooks she did her usual stomp over them and anything else that was in her way and knealt down in front of their feeder to try and get some of their pellets.

Have you ever seen anything like this?

Pollyanna is one spoilt little madam!

And they say sheep are dumb

The automatic feeder was going great guns for a week. Then I thought I'd set it wrong because it didn't seem to be turning round properly. I'd often see Pollyanna bashing it with her hoof but presumed it was sturdy enough to resist her. Yesterday it came to my attention that she'd found a way of moving it on and by 10am she'd had 3 portions! On close examination I realised that with each determined hoof hit she'd managed to break the spring load function and could push it onto the next section herself. I swiftly put a stop to this by removing the object of desire out of her reach. This morning there wasn't a sound from her so going out to see her at 8am I thought she'd be gagging for food. She had her nose pressed firmly up against the hen pen (now aptly named Feathers Lodge - but more about that tomorrow). She loves to tuck into their goodies whenever she gets the chance and as soon as their gate is open she barges past and heads straight for their feeder. Looking at that pretty (and starving - or so I thought) little face, I went to get her some breakfast. No wonder she was quiet, she'd managed to open the large plastic box we keep her food in and had obviously gorged herself senseless!

Stupid -I don't think so!