
Grumpy Chicken's Backyard Blog

Hi my name is Beth and Welcome to Grumpy Chicken's Backyard Blog!
This blog is a collection of articles about the various successes, failures, worries, heartaches and joys in the life of an animal lover. If you are looking for heavy duty post apocalyptic homesteading or raising your own meat then this blog is not for you. My eclectic mix of animals are my family and they are all spoiled rotten. I wouldn't dream of asking you if you are planning on eating your children when they get a little bigger and fatter and the same principle applies to my little feathered family members!!
If, however, you are looking for some interesting tips and tricks resulting of my never ending learning curve when it comes to my feathered, furred or shelled friends or enjoy reading about the trials and tribulations of renovating and setting up your own small homestead (or just want to ask some questions or have a friendly chat with a fellow animal addict) then please read on and I hope that you enjoy what I have to say as well as finding at least some useful information to take away with you in amongst my rambling!!

This Site Is A Work In Progress Please Keep Checking Back For New Content!
Introducing The Chickens
I started raising chickens back in 2011 when I found myself living up in Scotland on an old disused farm. I had always liked the idea of having my own flock and had been considering making the leap for a long time but until the little feathery bundles arrived I had no idea exactly how rewarding keeping backyard chickens could be!!
Anyone who has ever had the joy of owning chickens can tell you that each one comes with his or her own likes, dislikes, quirks and personality and no two are the same. I raised my initial birds from eggs that I bought through eBay (yes it is that simple to get started!!) and I will try to go in to that process in more detail on the blog for you. The main thing with chickens is not to get more birds than you have the space or the time to accommodate. They love human interaction and suffer cruelly if bored or neglected. Little chicks are cute and fluffy yes but they will keep growing and you can't tell for several months if you have little girls or cocky boys running around your coop.
Two things I would like to stress before you read on is firstly; Hens can be just as, if not more, noisy as their male counterparts and while roosters only crow for the most part hens are experts at developing a range of the most annoying noises they can muster in order to demand your attention. So do not think for a moment that just because your council says hens are OK and roosters are not hens must be the quieter option because quite frankly it just isn't true!!
Secondly no matter what the so called 'experts' and people who think they are 'in the know' say you can categorically keep more than one rooster together you do not have to automatically get rid of your extra roo. From experience as long as they are of a similar age and you have actively hand reared your flock and as long as there are ample hens and enough space to go around then multiple roosters can be perfectly happy cohabiting. In fact my three older boys actually get on better with each other than they do with the girls and on a night time the boys are snuggled on one shelf and the girls on another. This doesn't mean that all your boys will automatically start up a bromance worthy of the history books and you need to monitor the situation carefully especially in the beginning as they are coming in to maturity and discovering their place in the flock but it is definitely possible to create a beautiful dynamic there without too much pushing on your part.
Again I will try to cover all of the ins and outs of flock dynamics in the blog but in the meantime here both past and present are the colourful members of my my beautiful little backyard flock...

1st generation Millefleur Pekin Rooster. Hand Reared.

1st generation Millefleur Pekin Hen. Hand Reared.

1st generation Bantam Silkie Rooster. Hand Reared.

1st generation Bantam Silkie Hen. Hand Reared

1st generation Bantam Silkie Hen. Hand Reared. Sadly lost to cancer in 2016 Aged 5

2nd generation Silkie/Millefleur Cross Rooster. Nest reared.

2nd generation Silkie Hen. Nest reared.

2nd generation Pekin Silkie Hen. Nest reared. Sadly lost in 2014 aged 3 compromised immune system caused by vaccination stress

2nd generation Pekin Silkie Hen. Nest reared.

2nd generation Silkie Hen. Nest reared. Sadly lost in 2015 aged 4 cause unknown.

3rd generation Millefleur/Silkie Cross Rooster. Hand Reared.

3rd generation Millefleur/Silkie Cross Hen. Hand Reared. Sadly lost in her sleep 2016 Aged 1 cause unknown

3rd generation Millefleur/Silkie Cross Hen. Hand Reared.

3rd generation Millefleur/Silkie Cross Hen. Hand Reared.
Baylea The Rescue Pup
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Hello! My name is Baylea and I am nearly 3 years old...or at least that's what my human mommy tells me. I don't actually know when my birthday really was as I was taken away from my doggie mommy when I was too young to really remember and left all alone. I missed my doggy mommy sooo much and I was very very scared of everything as I didn't have a mommy or nice humans to show me that I didn't need to be afraid. The next humans that kept me seemed to be nice but they made me sleep outside of the house and the storms and night time noises used to frighten me. I wasn't really getting enough to eat there either even though my bowl was full as there were other dogs there and I was shy.
Also I felt very poorly in my kidneys and it hurt me every time I went to the bathroom but I lived outside so nobody noticed. I taught myself not to drink as much to try and stop the pain but this only made it worse not better. One day my humans put me in the car and we drove what seemed like a really long way to another house up on top of a big hill and there were other humans there who I didn't recognize. I was so scared of the stairs (I'd never seen so many all together before) that even though I had grown a lot in the last 5 months and was quite heavy one of the new humans, who smelled like fresh sawdust, chickens and berries, had to pick me up and carry me slowly up to the door of the house. When she put me down she opened the door and went inside and there were lots of interesting food smells in there but I had always been told off for trying to go inside before so I just stood still and tried very hard to stop from shaking. She turned back around and looked at me and smiled and then she got down on the floor making herself smaller and more like a dog and held out her hand for me to sniff. I still wasn't sure but then she helped me be brave and walk in to the house and there waiting for me was the softest bed I had ever felt and a whole box of toys!! After a while my humans left and I felt sad again as I thought this meant I would be alone again but then the new human told me that this was my new home now and that she was going to be my human mommy and help me to play with all my toys and that the other humans in this new house were my new family too!!!
I was so happy that I was warm and comfortable and I loved all of my new toys although I didn't really know what they were for yet but then later that day I really needed the bathroom . My new human mommy had shown me that the bathroom was still outside in the yard but I hadn't found my voice yet as the other places I lived didn't like me talking. The pain in my kidneys got really bad and to my shame I had an accident as I was trying to get to the front door. I cowered and ran in to the corner of the room waiting for the humans to get angry because I had made a mess in their house but instead my new mommy came and gave me a cuddle and a kiss and told me it was OK and that I would need to go and see the vet because my wee was the wrong colour and had lots of blood in it. I don't remember it ever being a different colour but my new mommy seemed worried so I sat down next to her to try and make her feel better. She gave me a shower next with foamy stuff which I didn't really like much but it washed away some of the nasty biting things that made my skin itch so badly so I felt a bit better afterwards especially when she put the magic cream on my tummy to sooth my red itchy skin. That first night I didn't sleep much (it took me a long time to feel safe enough to sleep) but my mommy made her bed on the floor next to mine and stroked me lots which made me feel better. The next day we went to the vets and he was a nice man who smiled and stroked my back and he gave my mommy some pills and injections to give to me.
It took a lot of weeks and a lot of different types of pills and injections before I started to feel better again but my new mommy said that i was very good and brave and that helped her a lot as she was really afraid of the big needles too and was so scared of huirting me by accident. The vet told my mommy that one of my kidneys was badly damaged by the infection that i had had for so long and that it wouldn't ever work properly again and my mommy was very sad but I didn't really understand why as I don't remember ever feeling so well. I licked her and told her it would be OK and wagged my tail a lot.
For a long time every time we went in the car I was scared that my new mommy would leave me just like all the other humans had done but every time we came back up the hill and I saw my new house I would get sooo excited that I would jump up and down and howl. This used to make my mommy laugh which made me happy too :} I am a big boy now and i don't do that any more because I know now that my new mommy will never leave me alone again and that this house is my home which no one can take away from me. Nowadays if i am feeling poorly I tell my mommy and she and the nice vet man make me feel all better again and I get to wear my magic pajamas which make me feel all snugly warm and safe (sometimes I even beg for my magic pajamas when I don't feel poorly because I just love them so much!!) I love my new home and I hope that all of the other poor doggies who get left all alone can be just as lucky as me and find human mommies and loving families of their own...and biscuits...yeah lots of biscuits!! :]
Its never too late to change the life of a rescue dog for the better - Adopt don't Shop!
African Leopard Tortoises
Like Baylea, Merlin and Xena were rescues. I took them in when their former owner discovered that she didn't have the time or space to devote to them once they had outgrown the tortoise table.
African Leopard Tortoises are the 4th largest terrestrial tortoise species in the world and average adults can grow as large as 50-60 cm across and weigh in at anywhere around 25-30 kg. They can live for between 80-100 years and needless to say require a good amount of space and healthy food as well as warm conditions year round. This means that in the winter you have to provide them with both UVB lighting and heat and get creative with locating food sources when the greenery dies back. The bulk of their diet is grass based (low in moisture and high in fiber) supplemented with a good choice of nutrient rich weeds and a little fruit and veg as treats.
Not long after they came to stay with us their little family grew by four as Treacle, Pudge, Merl and Lynn joined the party and all of them enjoy free reign in the house and plenty of grazing opportunities on the 3 or so acres of land that the property enjoys.
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In 2017 I hope to start work on their new deluxe tortoise garden complete with interesting obstacles and tunnels but I have to wait until the builders have finished the renovation work first so I will be revisiting that I'm sure in the not too distant future :}
Merlin, Xena and the gang are a family meaning that none of them are or ever will be for sale nor will they be bred as 6 giant tortoises is just the right amount of time and work for me. People see tortoises as a simple pet requiring little maintenance but that couldn't be further from the truth so please consider both this and the cost implications of their heating/lighting/dietary requirements and the space they need as they grow before you decide to bring one home.
*1 UVB light bulb alone costs upwards of £27 (30 Euro)*
This is without the fitment itself or the hours of electric needed every day throughout the winter!!
Wildlife Rescues
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