Escape at Dawn

At 6am this morning I was awakened by screeching and flapping in the backyard. Dawn was just breaking and I had just dozed off to sleep after a restless night.

Our mother hen was flapping in her little shed and kicking up a squawk. Her baby chickens were screeching at the top of their little beaks. I immediately thought there might be a cat or a crow attacking and trying to get into the cage.

Be good little chickens and come here to Mumma.

Chickens Escape

I was at the bedroom door in a sleepy flash and raced out in the dim light. Chickens were peeping at such a screech I knew they were disturbed. Two of the little creatures had gotten out, I just don't know how. They were darting around under the nasturtiums and I didn't know how I would catch them. I couldn't even see them.

Suddenly, there on my red Chinese silk slipper, a little chick was standing. Carefully I grabbed it from above before it knew what was happening. I popped it through the door and the other chick appeared, trying to get to its mum.

Zap! caught that one too.

I listened and all was quiet. It sounded as though I must have caught them all. I raced back to bed and fell asleep.

Later, when Dear One went to check on them, another chick was scampering around outside. Little devils.

Tonight they are firmly closed in. I hope I can sleep in in the morning.

Read more about my chickens at my new website http://www.mygardentreasures.com.au/chickens.html

Free Photo Editor

Pelargoniums and mosaics in my garden

We are so lucky today that we can use so many tools that are freely available on the web.

Here I have made a collage of some beautiful pelargoniums and a geranium along with a daisy and my birdbath that I decorated with mosaics.

The program I used is called PicMonkey. Try it out for yourself and see what you can do with your photos.

Bantam Chickens find a New Home

Our little chickens were hatched under a hollyhock plant and surrounded by a garden full of plants. The chickens, at two days had begun to scurry throughout the plants. The crows had invaded our neighbourhood and would not mind a tasty little chicken for breakfast, or any time of the day. They stole eggs if they could get them.

So we went out one evening to collect the young mother hen and her chicks. I had a little cage ready for them.

Chickens new homes

 

Catching the mother was the easy bit. Once they mum was caught she set up a racket, calling madly to her babies. Now to catch the babies.

 

Well, for creatures that were born two or three days ago, they could certainly out run me. and to make matters worse, all six of them took off in different directions, squeaking at the top of their voices. They ran under the plants as fast as if a cat was after them. We had to be careful because we didn't want to stand on them.

 

Once Mother was in the cage all she wanted to do was escape to protect her babies. One by one we caught them and popped in with their mum and peace reigned again.



Mother hen and baby chicks

Announcing the Birth of Six Babies

There was great excitement today when I saw 6 baby chickens. Two of the tiny day old creatures had wandered over a metre away from their mother out through a forest of garden plants, under the Kiss-me-Quick, around the Hebe and past the pelargonium cuttings.

Young Mother Hen has this garden for her canopy.
The Hollyhock leaves act as her roof keeping her dry from all the Spring rains.

The teenage Mum clucked, and next the chicks had disappeared. I was frantic with worry wondering how they could find their way through the forest of garden plants again, back to their mother's side. But amazingly, they did.

Four of our six baby chickens, all purebreds, different breeds

And they arrived safe and well.

Dropper Bottles and Vials

 

 

 

 

Here is a video of different bottles, Vials and Jars you can order to make your own lotions and potions.

 

I really love making healing and body creams, flower essences, homeopathy and perfume sprays in these lovely containers.

 

They make gorgeous homemade gifts for Christmas.

Art in Photoshop Elements

You can do wonderful things with your artwork and photo in Photoshop Elements.

I took a photo of some crosses I had to sell on EBay. I was cropping them in Photoshop Elements and decided to experiment with some parts of the program.

 

Here's what happened. They turned into a piece of artwork.

 

 

Experiment with Photoshop Elements and see what you come up with.

 

Hatching Day

Our little orange hen, who last year was only a chicken herself, is hatching some chickens today. I am very excited and I'm sure she is too.

Hatching Time

Eggs take twenty one days to hatch after the mother hen sits on them to keep them warm. This little hen has been sitting on the eggs for the twenty one days plus another two to three weeks.

As we live in a seaside town, we are not allowed to have a rooster, so the eggs our girls laid were not fertilized. You have no idea of the trouble I had trying to find fertilized eggs, let alone BANTAM fertilized eggs.

Bantams

Bantams are miniature chickens. Some are a smaller version of a large breed and there are a few breeds that are just miniature and don't have a larger version.

A normal size sized hen is, I think, quite large. They are called STANDARDS, meaning the large or normal size of a hen.

Egg Size

Standard hens eat more, take up more room and lay the size of the egg you get from the supermarket. Bantam hens eat less, take up less room and lay a smaller egg than those in the supermarket. Their eggs taste just the same.

If you normally eat two normal sized eggs, you could probably eat three bantam eggs.

Bantams are great Pets

Bantams are very friendly as you can see. These are the chickens from last year. Our little mother is the little orange hen in the background. The colour orange is called BUFF in the poultry industry.

Chickens in the Backyard

Chickens in my backyard make it come alive. It is always exciting when you go to hang the washing on the line to pop on over to the chicken house and see what they are up to.

They are usually waiting for me to let them out to scratch around.

I usually let the hens out around midday. By then most of the eggs have been laid.

 

Chicky Bid has a Hollyhock leaf for a Roof

One little Chicky Bid tricked me this year though. She just completely disappeared. I could not see her any where. Dear One and I kept checking under all the bushes in the garden and it was about 10 days before we found her nest.

She had hidden away in my cutting garden. It is north facing and very sheltered. She has a hollyhock leaf 20cm in diameter for her roof. How sweet. Well chosen Little One.

She had stashed 10 eggs here in her beautiful little nest. Little did she know that her eggs would never hatch as they were not fertile (we don't have a rooster).

So we took a trip to a farm and purchased a dozen bantam eggs. These are from five different breeds so we are hoping we get a few pretty hens. Twelve days to go.

Chickens and their Mother and their House

Little One was only a chicken herself this time last year. She is one of the orange ones in the photo. They are called Buff (the colour) Pekins. We still have her and her sister and a funny little white Silkie which was in the same batch.

Here they are with their hatching mother on the left, the hen house top right, our Silkie bantam and a batch of last years chicks.

Enjoy these Stunning Echiums

In my garden I have a couple of bushes of Echiums. When not in flower they sport large, dull grey-green leaves. But when they add their most beautiful flowers they are real eye-catchers. You cannot but stop and stare.

Bees are another species that also appreciates these stunning spires of blue. Bees love blue flowers. They love Lavender and they love Borage.

Echiums have large spires of blue but when you look closely you can see that they are made up of dozens of smaller blue flowers.

Spires of Blue Echium in my Garden

Blue is the colour associated with the Throat Chakra. Think of this colour when you have a sore throat.

 

Place a blue scarf around your neck and it will strengthen your voice. Do this if you have to give a speech and are a little nervous. Men wear a blue tie. Recently in Parliament it has become a thing for the politicians to wear blue ties. It helps them to talk more confidently and fluently.

 

There are not as many blue flowers as other colours so enjoy a blue flower when you see one.

 

Cheers