To blog or not to blog... that is the question.

The funny thing is, I wrote a blog on Friday night. I came online Saturday morning and it wasn't there? So whilst i thought I pressed the publish button, I obviously didn't who knows where that blog is now.... in the bowels of my hard drive.

I've had a funny old week really. It was quite stressful, because we had an RSPCA inspection on the birdies on Friday, and of course there are always things which you are supposed to do which perhaps you have let slip that needs to be seen to have been done on inspection. Nothing major but we do have to record the minumum and maximum temperature in the hen house, and in the packing room. We also have to record how many eggs are produced each day. We have to make a note of all mortalities too. They also want to see how much water the girlies drink each day, so that has to be recorded too, and we have to tick boxes to say we have inspected the hens three times a day, morning, lunch and afternoon/evening. Then we also have to record what we do with regard to cleaning the pick up area and tick a box to say if it has been done. We also have to keep a medicine record, a record of all the disinfectants and other things like bait (for getting rid rats and mice (big carriers of disease) ). We can only use Government approved disinfectants, and we have to keep COSHH records of these and the baits and any other hazardous substances. We also have to have a note of how much feed we get delivered each week and keep a sample of each feed for each house and an analysis of the feed mix. We have passports for the hens and have to do salmonella checks on each house every 15 weeks to ensure the birds are not exposed to any salmonella. The house has to be swabbed after it has been cleaned down after it has been emptied and cleaned to ensure that there is no salmonella present before the new flocks go in. We also have to check for red mite, because this is a particularly irritating parasite which the birds get and which the RSPCA don't like you to have, because obviously is distresses the birdies. Any red mite has to be sprayed against. This includes all the nest boxes, feed tracks and any nooks and crannies where they might live. What the little blighters do (the red mite) is they jump onto the chicken as they come into roost, and feed off them for about an hour before they go to sleep and then jump off again.

So next time you go and buy an egg, think on... and make sure it comes from this country, because despite the fact that they are in the EU, the regulations in other countries like Holland, Spain etc are not the same.

Me - well my RA has been fairly quiet. But I did have a couple of miserable days on Friday and Saturday, which was probably due to the stress.

Oh and by the way, we passed our inspection with flying colours, except that the shelters in the range (which are compulsory) need to be a little more robust and we now have to range management policy, another piece of paper and something else for us to do....

Sorry if this is boring, but it's all I could think of saying because that is all I have had to think about all week!

tara a bit

Julie xx

[Hidden]

well done on your inspection sounds you farm in the most eggscellent manner!! my usual bad pun here!!,

I always use english free range and sometimes local too, morrisons is all british and at one stage was all free range but have noticed some caged hens boxes have crept in..

When i was young we or I kept chickens the two little rhodies huddled together on the "lawn" when let out cos they didnt know they were free to walk around, and if you ever visit a battery farm its a sad site, four /six chickens in a small cage and some peck each others feathers off ,free range is better, had six.. four black leg horns quite large birds and two rhode island red. one black died. was about eight and carried the blacks round like pets they lived in a large out building at night and i feed them meal and corn and cleaned them out. and were allowed out to roam free.. was told they went to good homes when at 10- 11 I went secondary schoool.. suspect some one ate them but who can remember or who still

knows.. when i was even younger we had ducks.. but the fox got them one night,, but my parents thought i had let them go?

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Thank you Alison, Ours are columbian blacktail and are sold in waitrose.

You will be pleased to know that in 2012 caged hens will have an enriched life!" I think this will mean that they will have less bird per cage and the floor of the cage will be of a better perching quality than present. even better news is that a lot of the old caged egg producers can't are finding that it is cheaper to go free range than refurbish,or get out of the business altogether.

[Hidden]

Good lord Julie never would imagine so much work and paperwork having to be done for some chickens!

It's certainly made me think, I must admit I've never actually checked as to where they come from i generally just look for free range and presume they come form this country, but i will check next time.

Well done on passing your inspection all your hard work certainly paid off. I was just thinking that's just the chickens how about all the other animals I presume they all have a similar regime of checks then. Sorry to be so ignorant, but it is also very interesting to us non-farmers.

Anyway glad your feeling ok, apart from a few miserable days but your getting there! farming certainly keeps you on your toes.

Take care

Mandy xx

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Hi Mand. Yes check them out...

The cows are nearly as bad, Each calf has to be registered andhas a passport, and everytime it moves off the holding (farm) it has to be recorded. Then we have to have the yearly TB tests and if we have a reactor, you are put on restriction and cannot sell anything until you have two clear TB tests 60 days apart. so when you have a suckler herd like us, and go down with TB, you can't sell anything and if that is all you are relying on at the time, your income just stops!

Sheep aren't quite so bad, we just have to tag their ears, two tags for breeders and one tag for lambs going to (you know where).... and we have to record their movements in a book too. all animals have a medicine book (one for each herd, or flock, not each animal!) I could go on for months......

Thanks for being interested!

Julie xx

[Andrea_Shapiro]

You're not being boring, Julie! It's lovely to hear about your chickens: I used to keep a few when I lived up in Penrith for a while. I had five gingernuts. I think I had that urban enthusiasm about living with nature. I never doubted how hard going it must be, but had that arrogance at the time that I could, 'get back to nature', and have a little go myself. However, I do only buy local eggs: my husband goes to work in the back of beyond around Cheshire & Lancashire & I ask him to pick some up (along with rhubarb & local asparagus). Hats off to your dedication; it must be very hard with RA. Andrea x

[Hidden in reply to Andrea_Shapiro]

It is nice to buy local food and know where it comes from. It's not so much hard well not for me, perhaps for RH but it is every day and getting time off is hard sometimes...

Julie xx

[Gina_K]

Hi Julie,

Well done on passing all critteria (pun) sounds like hard work! Being a pen pusher & a city gal I can't imagine, but farming sounds difficuIt, but I guess you have lovely views , whereas my house is amoung lots of other houses! I too always buy free range, and love my eggies & dippers. My big news is... see blog

[Hidden in reply to Gina_K]

Thanks Gina. Living in a city does have it's advantages too...

Will read blog

[Hidden]

I accidentally bought some caged ones and my youngest son went bonkas and put me on a real guilt trip for that- well done julie keep bloggin. I love your writing

xx

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Tut Tut Sparkie and thank you.

Julie xx

[Tricia-P]

Hi Chicken Chaser, I'm a free range girlie, hubs gets them from one of the receptionists at work whos mum has chicks,I love to bake with them as the yolks are almost orange in colour so you get a lovely deep coloured sponge and the Yorkshire puds are amazing.

Now I have a question we've had a couple of eggs where the shell is very thick and is wrinkled it looks like the poor little chuck was constipated and needed extra bran, the egg itself was fine.

Thanks Julie

love xTx

[Hidden in reply to Tricia-P]

Ah well I can help you there. This is from a chicken who has put on a little too much weight. what has happened is that because it is a bit blobby the oviduct is squashed up and it wrinkles the shell which doesn't go hard until it is almost at the end of the oviduct about 8 hours after the chickies have gone to sleep. Did you know they have about 5or 6 eggs inside them (the chickens that is!) all the time and they release one a day. The egg starts its travel within minutes of the chicken laying an egg, but it's not ready until the chicken has been asleep around 8 hours or so. depending on the time of year. If you frighten a chickie in the night or as it is going up to sleep it can slip this unready egg out and it comes out as a bag because the shell hasn't gone on and been hardened. Fascinating or wot!!!

ta dah.... I am fully of useless information.... Large free range eggs are best for lovely fluffy deep sponges... yummy...

Julie xx

[Hidden]

Hi Julie boring never!!

I was facinated, I cannot believe what you have to go through just so I can have soldiers and a dippy egg......have never looked at country of origin but will do so in future.

Two years ago my son bought his three little daughters a real chicken each for easter instead of a choccie one. I did agree with my daughter-in-law at the time that such a purchase was defo grounds for divorce.....however we have all grown to love Sumer Camilla and Annabel so much. They have their very own full size shed style chicken house, and this weekend we all helped to build a single story extension the chickaservatory so that they can get out into the air without pooing all over the garden which the little ones then get on their sandals and all over the lounge carpet!!!

Once the weather cools and the girls aren't out playing so much then the choocks will have the run of the garden again. Aren't the eggs fantastic!!

never stop bloggin Julie

love Sue xx

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Ah thank you sue. Your grandaughters brood sound lovely. and they are safer in their chickaservatory as the foxes are about this time of year especially..

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Hi Julie

Really loved reading your blog I never imagined there would be so much paperwork involved in egg producing. I will never look at an egg in the same way again

Off to check where ours have come from ... just assumed they were local free range but perhaps not!

Lyn x

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Thank you Lyn. I have paperwork coming out of my ears. I daren't throw anything away and we have all these different people sending us through "useful" information every day, I shall drown in the blooming stuff...