Generally, chickens will put themselves to bed as the sun starts to lower towards the horizon and light levels drop. However, sometimes, they need to be put away earlier. When we come back from an evening out we want to know the girls will be safe and sound and not chicken dinner for a fox.
Getting them into their run when they do not want to go takes some cunning. Chasing them there is not an option, as they will simply split up and circle round you. Being small and quick, they know that hiding under bushes makes them difficult to catch.
Bribery used to work, when they were young and easy to trick, but chickens learn, and they remember and Madge and Dot are great autodidacts. Dot would go into the run and peck away and Madge would wait a few feet distant. As I went to chase Madge in, Dot would stroll out, cool as cucumber. For a while, shooing them along with an open umbrella worked too.
Mostly, putting them to bed early was a two person job but now we have a new tactic that, fingers crossed, still works after two months or more. An old curtain pole, being hollow, can make a satisfying thwack when banged on wood or a more ringing sound when banged on concrete. It can be held out, at chicken height, to shoo them towards home. They do not like the noise and even though they could easily dodge the curtain pole as it shoos them along, they do not.
Once in, they are rewarded with a handful of meal worms and competitive eating ensues.
Tuesday, 7 August 2012
A Day out in Long Whatton
Long Whatton House and Garden is well worth a visit. Lovers of Calke Abbey and other National Trust properties will find much merit here.
On arrival, you pay a modest £3.50 into an honesty box. Toilets, for those who need them, are near the entrance. There is a tea room too, sadly closed when we visited, but open on Sundays and each bank holiday.
Colours greet you as you walk along paths by her Ladyships flower beds, a classic cottage garden on a large scale. The garden boasts a rockery, ponds, sculptures and benches in rain proof arbours. Another highlight is the Chinese garden, with Terracotta Warrior replicas.
Luscious green lawns flow under oaks, shrubs and magnificent cedars. The gardens are kept by one gardener and the Lord and Lady of the manor, still. Due to the weather, our visit was peaceful and we had the garden very much to ourselves. On sunnier days, the gardens are ideal for picnics, families and their dogs are welcome.
http://www.whattonhouseandgardens.co.uk/
On arrival, you pay a modest £3.50 into an honesty box. Toilets, for those who need them, are near the entrance. There is a tea room too, sadly closed when we visited, but open on Sundays and each bank holiday.
Colours greet you as you walk along paths by her Ladyships flower beds, a classic cottage garden on a large scale. The garden boasts a rockery, ponds, sculptures and benches in rain proof arbours. Another highlight is the Chinese garden, with Terracotta Warrior replicas.
Luscious green lawns flow under oaks, shrubs and magnificent cedars. The gardens are kept by one gardener and the Lord and Lady of the manor, still. Due to the weather, our visit was peaceful and we had the garden very much to ourselves. On sunnier days, the gardens are ideal for picnics, families and their dogs are welcome.
http://www.whattonhouseandgardens.co.uk/
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