Quick, quick the chickens are coming

I'm sooo excited, I'm getting chickens tommorow (it doesn't take much to excite me!). They are ex-battery/barn/free-range hens, not sure which, that the farmer has allowed to go to new homes as opposed to ending up as chicken nuggets.

So, this has meant an onslaught of hard work getting their house in order. On Monday there was just a hole in the ground. On Tuesday there was shed - and alot of muttering from the labourers about "bloody chickens". The aforementioned muttering labourers were my youngest son Chris and my DOH (darling other half) Steve, without whom the chickens would be living in a cardboard box.

There was lots of talk about "why can't you just wait until the shed and run are finished BEFORE getting chickens?"

My response was "well how long does it take to put up a shed, for goodness sake."

Fortunately, the chickens have to stay inside for a few days to acclimatise to their new surroundings, which is just as well as the run won't be built till Monday.

I have recycled an old shelving unit and some seed trays for nest boxes, and an old fence post into a roost/perch.

I still have to find something to put food and water in. Something they can't tip over. For the time being they'll have to put up with old dog food bowls.

I can't wait to find the first egg, although I think in the spirit of good will, it should be my long suffering DOH who should eat the first one. Better make that 2 eggs girls!

The Adventure Begins

Have you ever watched one of those TV shows about how we should all be doing our bit to save the planet, and thought, "it's alright for them to say that but they don't live on my income and have an uncooperative family"?
Well, I did! I have a disposable income of about £20 a month, 4 adult children, a dog and 2 cats. And we all live together in a very small council house in Croxley Green, Hertfordshire. If I were to ask the council if I could install solar panels on my roof, I know exactly what they would say! Of course, I can't afford solar panels and therefore must think of other ways to reduce my families carbon footprint as cheaply as possible.
My children think 'green' is a dirty word, one to be avoided at all costs. They like the house lit up like the Blackpool Illuminations and turn the central heating up as soon as I walk out the front door.
I think getting them on board is going to be my biggest adventure.