the daydream fund challenge thread

lostinrates

My cats are quite good with the chickens. They love a broody in the summer, they snuggle up in the heat of the hutch with her. I'm always very protective over chicks though....some things are just too tempting.

Rummer

One of mine is just such a bundle of fun that he wouldn't take the hint and would probably end up eyeless! Just looking at the rain being blown vertically across the window and trying to convince myself that I really do want to make the dash to the greenhouse to make a start in clearing it. Keen to get some lettuce seeds started and I am running out of window ledges!

Edit: I did finally go to the greenhouse and I have cleared it all out and given it a good sweep, it was in a shocking state! Now I have started washing out all the pots! The never ending clean has begun!

alfie_1

LIR..... ooooo how exciting !! i was watching the goose ,on the lake island ,sitting on her eggs today. she got off and came over with the others for her food and i had to laugh, a teal tried to sit on her eggs. it was like she was perched on a pyramid..... she gave up and headed back to the floating nest house !!
RUBY has now settled in with all. she came up to me today when i put her bucket on the fence without me calling or coaxing so im chuffed. farrier next week for all 9 !! trims so not too bad ! im bringing ruby in the day before as i just know she will play up if i dont and she cant miss it !
i feel like im walking like an egg bound chook at the mo...my back is cronic but its my own fault for lifting too many things this week !!
i seem to have a dozen "dates" buzzing in my brain for events/apps etc....i HAVE GOT TO LEARN TO WRITE THINGS DOWN !!

Im behind with my veg planting too...i plant at a friends place who had a purpose built raised beds area built on thier land for me to use and they get veggies in return. we plant "by the moon" which i burst out laughing at when he told me about it...BUT having followed it for 2 years now i must admit it works !! i planted my peas at the WRONG time last year [thought it wouldnt really matter as it was just tosh!] and they failed miserably compared to the year before...... so i am sticking with it as in my opinion there is def something extra productive about it....

alfie_1

having just read re cats and chooks.. my jack R has a thing about my male sebastopol goose. he does what i call a "fly past"" with the goose hissing and aiming at him ...well tonight JR miscalculated and the goose hit its target and pecked JR on his butt.... he was so indignant he fled indoors and hid behind the sofa. the goose has won before, but JR will be back tomorow for another try !! he only does it when im getting them back into thier enclosure for the night, i think he thinks hes helping...HES NOT!!! lol

my cats and dogs have never taken any notice of poultry, they have had so many "orphans" around them its just part of our family to them.

COOLTRIKERCHICK

my cat just totally ignores the chickens, one of my previous cats used to sit in the chicken run with them:rotfl:

rhiwfield

Scaredy chicken things, in no particular order:

• flapping tarpaulins
• plastic bags blown in the wind
• wheelbarrow
• lawnmower
• strimmer
• planters being carried
• pigeon flying over

Instant chicken love things

• raspberries
• more raspberries
• leaf beet
• yet more raspberries (I'll take mine into the nest box so you cant get them off me )
• blueberries
• Edit: GRUBS
• Edit: Beetles
• Edit: Worms
• Edit: chasing flies
• Edit: dustbath
• Edit: scratching in the sun

rhiwfield

Leaving the chooks to one side and back to the money, a neighbour pointed out that our surface water drainage was to soakaways, so a letter on its way to Dwr Cymru to get bill reduced, only £40 a year but once the meter's installed that should be £450-£500 a year saved.

Dont know how others tackle money saving.

FWIW, we find that using 2 simple methods can help.

The first is "chunking": that's staring at the mass of problems and concentrating on just one, like we're doing with water atm, and working out how to get the cost down (so far, meter, surface water drainage, hippos, water butts etc) Do that, then move on to the next big cost. Often, trying to cope with everything at once just leads to nothing being tackled effectively.

The second is measuring progress against achievable targets that you set. Then, when you achieve the target, you get a positive "feelgood" feedback. One business saying used to be "if its not worth targeting, its not worth doing"

Lotus-eater

Another thing you have to watch out for with chickens and cats, is that chickens love eating fresh cat poo. I don't know why, it's just one of those things.
It's never worried me to death, but I always try not to let it happen.

lostinrates

Lotus-eater wrote: »

Another thing you have to watch out for with chickens and cats, is that chickens love eating fresh cat poo. I don't know why, it's just one of those things.
It's never worried me to death, but I always try not to let it happen.

yuck! Thank fully I've never seen that, but depressingly know I'll watch out for it now.

Last year our chooks lined up on top of fences chomping on the late elderberries....they adored them. re raspberries, the thing that makes me love my rooster most, when he finds a raspberry cane, he jumps up and holds it down...so that his wives can eat the berries. That must be the chicken equivalent of the last rolo.

I'm meant to be pruning at my mothers but got a flash migraine this morning and have just resurfaced. So instead I'm thinking of tackling the supermarket: get all the yucky stuff out of the way

Davesnave

COOLTRIKERCHICK wrote: »

just thought i would share the view from our bedroom window:o
It's a nice view and at least the fences are good and high too.
Looks as though we were outbid on the old cottage... spoke to the estate agent yesturday... they havent let anyone know yet, as the person who put the higher bid in asked a question regarding hte access ( i thought hte bids were unconditional.. basically pay your money take a chance) it shoulds as though the seller has now got a solicitor to find out about previous planning applications etc. I am so confused...lol...

As they used to say on 'Thunderbirds' "Anything could happen in the next half hour!".... or few days.

Sounds to me that if the highest bidders don't hear what they want to hear about access, they may yet walk. Their bid must be a good one, or the vendors wouldn't be favouring them, but if they're after residentisal or business use and don't see it happening that bid could evaporate, leaving ......?;)