http://www.beanwoodpoultry.com en-gb beanwoodpoultry.com 2010-4-27T00:00:00Z beanwoodpoultry.com http://www.beanwoodpoultry.com/page5.htm#63974 Bit late this year as fertility was a bit of a problem however with all this lovely spring weather fertility is definately on the up with the large Hatching is now well underway and the first hatched youngsters are strong and growing well. Some large salmons showing promise good sized chicks and a good ratio of girls and boys for a change Bantams we now have chicks in blueblack and splash and salmon and hope to have more salmon and ermine bantams hatching late May early June. Photos of this seasons chicks to be loaded later 2010-4-27T00:00:00Z http://www.beanwoodpoultry.com/page5.htm#62545 Sorry I missed an update in March but I have been really busy Incubators are on full blast and the chicks have started hatching...I love this time of year Some nice large salmons have hatched already plus a few very well marked bantam salmons. The first blueblack and splash bantam faverolles are due this weekend plus I hope to hatch off some gorgeous buff bantams later this month. Fertility has been very slow to take off with the large but now I am happy to report the large have started treading with some enthusiasm now the sunshine is out I expect fertility to rocket over the next hatch. On the duck front the new Muscovy has settled in very well we have named her Ginny and I am really pleased she decided to hang around The first couple of weeks I really wasnt sure after she flew past my head a couple of times It looks like though Maggie might be planning on ducklings I am pretty sure she is checking out potential nests as I keep finding her inspecting various corners of henhouses s... 2010-4-8T00:00:00Z http://www.beanwoodpoultry.com/page5.htm#57592 Well maybe I am being a little optimistic But I have seen the daffidols starting to push their way up...well a few have been pushed up my moles admittedly we seem to have colony of moles at the moment. Funny to watch Remy one of the cats frenetically trying to dig them out...then traipsing his muddy black paws inside the house The bantam faverolles have started to lay but wont be looking to hatch just yet. I think we will be hatching banties largely under broodies this year as normally late spring I usually rather a lot of them although irony dictates that the hens I want to breed from will be the broody ones This year I am hoping for blue black splash and salmon in the bantams will be working on blue salmon as well. The large well I have finally sorted breeding pens out. Wont be popping any in the incubator for at least 3 or 4 weeks not too worried as long as they get most of spring summer to grow and at least they will go straight out on fresh grass which helps. I have been surp... 2010-2-3T00:00:00Z http://www.beanwoodpoultry.com/page5.htm#56063 What a start to the year I do enjoy the snow and mostly it has been lovely. The farm and surrounding area is set within a valley so the snow looks beautifuland with the wood as a back drop gives it quite an alpine feel. I guess the challenge has been trying to keep the birds and ducks happy with plenty of fresh water which with the outside tap freezing over has meant traipsing inside with buckets. As quickly as the trugs have been filled it seems Mr Frost has frozen them over again The birds dont appear to have suffered a few have started laying a bit sporadically but nonetheless poached eggs are back on the menu Talking about eggs we have managed to source a supplier of 12v timers ideal for attaching to a 12v battery and this has meant we have been able to add a bit light to the end shed which is some distance from the house. Mark Huddart has been fantastic sorted out all the equipment cables etc as well as loads of advice. I will pop a link on my website as I think others will f... 2010-1-13T00:00:00Z http://www.beanwoodpoultry.com/page5.htm#54864 As I type it must be minus 3 here just outside Bristol and we had a surprise dump of snow last night. Great. Looks lovely butc ouldnt get out of the driveway this morning Doesnt look like things are going to improve much for tommorrow. The birds being faverolles are incredibly hardy and handy having your own ready made scarf and muffling to keep cosy. Not too keen on snow though one of the boys pranced out this morning and flew straight up on to the nursery shed roof and looked miserably down muttering gloomily to himself Dspite the awful weather the birds are looking good the late hatch of large faverolles July seemed to have grown overnight still wont be at their best until the Spring and will be a bit young to use for breeding. Still nice birds and surprising heavy will be interesting to watch them fully mature in the spring. The bantams have done me proud. Took 3 little poppets to the Federation in Stafford this weekend and all 3 won cards despite 2 of them being my reserve bir... 2009-12-21T00:00:00Z http://www.beanwoodpoultry.com/page5.htm#53431 The weather is still horrible making life miserable for the chooks the ducks are more that happy though Have had to bring one poorly looking faverolles bantam inside not sure what is wrong yet I am hoping she is just under the weather a pretty little thing too but rather thin and miserable. Popped her into the nursery with some heat to see how she fares fingers crossed it is just a little tlc she needs. Our mains energiser is on the blink by the looks of things so have had to fork out on a nice new posh one that can power a lot more nets as well as cope with less than ideal conditionsit has loads of different functions as well and has quite a bite We have seen evidence that Mr Raynaud is back in town so now it is crucial not to overlook those maintenance jobs Roasted one of the surplus cockerels this weekend fantastic meal so much better than supermarket chicken Surprisingly tender as well with lovely dark tasty leg meatvery nice. Never really like killing our birds but it is part ... 2009-11-26T00:00:00Z http://www.beanwoodpoultry.com/page5.htm#52758 Well this time last year if I remember it was freezing cold dry and with bitter early morning frosts saying that I much prefer that weather to this rain and galeforce winds. The ducks are loving it making it quite an adventure trying to get in and out of the duck run without slipping in the mud This is a good time of year for me to sit back and reflect what went well with this years breeding season and to start sorting out likely candidates for next years. I am pleased with the large this year one likely fella I am thinking of using next year just wish I hadnt sold all the older pullets will be waiting an age I expect for the youngsters to come into lay and the dear old girls I have are heading towards semiretirement. So all my plans to hatch early might well be thwarted I am dead chuffed with this years bantam faverolles Danny De Vito has done himself proud by producing some lovely offspring particulary special as some are from Fish my dear old salmon bantam lady now in her four... 2009-11-18T00:00:00Z http://www.beanwoodpoultry.com/page5.htm#39428 April is turning out to be quite a busy month What with hatching lots of lovely faverolles chicks spring renovations outsidesorting and disinfecting the henhouses checking and reseeding all the runs and making sure that they are left fallow as appropiate so the growers when out on grass have lovely fresh new grass to play on I must say though the ladies in the breeding pens took their time to lay but worth the wait as the chicks are lovely big and very healthy The ducks have decided that they dont want to go to bed and would rather stay out late dabbling in their pond so each night we play chase the ducks around the duckhouse before eventually herding them into bed. This time of the year I think they are burning the candle at both ends The drakes are definately doing the business although due to an unfortunate prolapse poor Zeus is somewhat less of a drake than he was before poor lad think he was rather overdoing it............... Healthwise the birds are all looking smashing and lo... 2009-4-8T00:00:00Z http://www.beanwoodpoultry.com/page5.htm#37061 I noticed one of my lovely faverolles girls had lost a bit of weight she looked well and healthy and seemed to be pecking normally. Looking at her crop became a little concerned it felt hard and very much like something possibly was lodged in there. After a little massage however I still wasnt happy so popped her down to the vet. The vet agreed that the crop felt impacted and decided the surgical removal of the blockage was the best way forward. She made a vertical excision through the crop which doesnt contain nerve endings so no anesthetic was needed. The crop was emptied flushed sewn up Filly was prescribed a course of antibiotics and given a painkiller to make her feel more comfortable. When we got home we popped her in a dogcage for the first 24 hoursa sort of intensive care this allowed me to observe her keep her wound clean and manage her diet which was normal food with a little chopped egg mixed with a few oats. The advice from the vet was little and often so not to distend th... 2009-2-22T00:00:00Z http://www.beanwoodpoultry.com/page5.htm#36770 Well it has been an interesting month so far The heavy snow meant we had a little more to do in the mornings defrosting drinkers filling up the ducks pond after digging out the ice brrrrrr... To cap it all we then had a bit of a flood once it all melted never mind today really felt like spring is in the air The breeding pens are all up together will be hatching bantam salmon and blue faverolles this springandof course large salmons. The hens have all just started laying so will leave it a bit longer to let them get into full swing. Bigfoot has been decidedly slow in treading but I think thats because he knows when his girls are ready such a gentleman. We have a new additon to the flock a rather handsome salmon faverolles bantam cockerel we have named Danny Devito the name does suit his rather cheeky charm Rather hoping that our bantam faverolles Fish will take a liking to him we would love to have chicks from her The ducks are as daft as ever we have moved them to their mid wi... 2009-2-16T00:00:00Z http://www.beanwoodpoultry.com/page5.htm#34419 Well its been freezing 3 for the last couple of nights and not much less during the day. Challenging to keep drinking water from freezing. I have resorted to keeping a little drinker inside the big shed and emptying the plastic drinkers to pevent them splitting from the icealthough have lost one alreadydarn Whilst we have been of work we having been getting to grips with a few repairs Marcus put a new floor in Bigfoots house and popped in a new perch. We lifted all the houses to check underneath for the presence of rodents all looks OK apart from one suspicious hole not sure if its a mouse hole better be on the safe side trap down and baiting stations to top up. Hens all healthy although Sally one of last years breeding hens is on a course of antbiotics she was a little chesty so better to be on the safe side. Brought her in for a night to observe she is much better that reminds me must bring her in for her meds as a little piece of bread as a treat The runners dont seem to mind t... 2009-1-2T00:00:00Z