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Just booked one of these for next year. It was developed in Hope Valley, the place I lived for most of my adult life. Must be getting sentimental in my old age! The breed is called the Whitefaced Woodland.

Thanks Marigold. I’ve learnt how to do it! (Picture is of no relevance to anything. It’s just a birthday card I sent to a fan of the Pet Shop Boys.)

As I mentioned recently I hatched three Buff Leghorns back in the Spring. They are prodigious layers and not particularly flighty. I owned one a few years back who contravened Leghorn regulations by going broody and three blue males to use in a breeding experiment that was unsuccessful. Now I’m...

Years ago I bought some Buff Faverolle hatching eggs. When they were 15 weeks old someone rang me asking if I had any pullets. In a moment of rashness I sold them. I’ve never found any BF eggs since. Must remember, engage brain before heart.

Back in March I bought some Buff Leghorn eggs on eBay. I was disappointed that the eggs were quite small. Nevertheless I hatched them and the three pullets are now, at 27 weeks, in lay. The eggs are much bigger than the eggs from which they hatched so I’m very happy with them. But. when they...

I’ve just completed the book you posted a link to. “Island Dreams” by Gavin Frances. It was published on October 1st so was firmly rooted in the here and now. No sentimentality here. No reflections on simple folk battling the elements to eke out a living. No references to community spirit. It...

I am always a bit closeted about publicly admitting my passion for the sport of snooker for fear of appearing a bit nerdy. But tonight the final and deciding frame between Wilson nd McGill was the most extraordinary thing I have ever seen in any sport. My heart goes out to both these combatants...

There was a very interesting documentary on TV the other night. It was about a young, married couple who were both transgender. Before starting they’re gender reassignment he had frozen some of his eggs. Later they wanted a child so one of his eggs was thawed, donor inseminated and then carried...

I’m getting sick of the endless ruses used to try and get you to impart personal information or to hack into your account. These attempts are either online or by phone. They’re usually pretty basic and easily recognised but I don’t really want to live my life in a constant fog of suspicion. I’ve...

All valid points. All eggs incubated from ones own hens should be clean. Thus they are never washed because any infections in my birds will be passed to the chicks in due course anyway. Soiled ones should be discarded, fed to livestock etc. The shell is a protection against bacterial infection...

Not my picture but it was taken at midnight in late June. No wonder my chickens don’t go to bed until gone 11pm.

It’s that time of year when I buy Christmas cards. This years one is this except it doesn’t have Alamy printed on it. For £11.99 you buy the picture to use for personal use.

Out of doors these are supposed to flower in the Spring and then die down for the Summer. Because they are quite pretty I decided to pot one up and keep it on a windowsill. It’s leaves did not die back but it grew lots of new leaves and is now flowering profusely. So outside as days lengthen and...

I hesitated about posting this but in the end decided to because it’s one of the hard facts. I hatched, as I said earlier, 48 chicks. However there is considerable ‘wastage’ for the following reasons. 1) Dominiques and Barred Rocks can be sexed at one day old via a combination of head spot size...

Yes they are beautiful aren’t they. Mrs Biscuit, Isabel is the name given to bicolour that possess the lavender gene. The black areas are changed to lavender and the gold areas are “bleached” to a pale straw colour. Perhaps this is most usually seen in tricolour Pekins where the colour Mille...

Forty eight chicks hatched over the last 24 hours. What joy. No power cuts please, The first picture below stolen from Google image is what you get if you do Blue x Buff Orpingtons Among my hatchlings are Blue Jersey Giants and Buff Leghorns. I hope next year I’ll get some like that. They’re...

Panic buying? For Petes sake. I’ve not panic bought hand sanitizer, toilet rolls or food. But I do have Fever Tree tonic and Ocean Sent gin in my shed in more than normal quantities. ? If I die, I’ll die happy.

Well if you think that ones funny just wait until I tell you the one about the bishop and the prostitute!