Monday, 30 August 2010
You shouldn't name pigs if you are planning to eat them!
Tuesday, 24 August 2010
The Michaelmas Goose
I'm sure the work will be worth it when we taste the first one fresh from the oven!
Say hello to the Hockey Girls
On the way home we were discussing names and it seemed like a good idea - to me anyway - to name them after some of Linda's hockey friends. Obviously we had to study them carefully to ensure that the names were appropriate, but after at least 10 mins consideration we are pleased to present Susan, Karen, Jinty and Ali T (from L-R):
I will leave it to those who know their namesakes to guess which of their traits we recognised but it is probably fair to say that Jinty was the first one out of the house wanting to make friends, while Susan always wants to be in charge!
They took to the henhouse immediately and Linda was delighted to find the first egg on their first morning with us.
Within no time at all, they were each producing an egg every day - a little on the small side to begin with - but they are now averaging 28 medium eggs a week. No consideration at all for my low-cholesterol diet! And the noise they make when they are announcing the arrival of an egg - no need for a rooster to wake us up!
Friday, 20 August 2010
Normal service to be resumed
Life at Moyhill continues to be everything we could want. Looking after the geese, hens and pigs is keeping us busy, amused and fairly fit.
The morning routine starts around 7.00 am and takes an hour or so before breakfast. Then there are the daily maintenance checks, making sure the electric fences are clear and energised, and that the watering system is not blocked etc ; and the cleaning chores - clearing chicken shit daily, cleaning out the goose pen every 2-3 weeks, and likewise for the pigs. As we move from summer towards autumn there is also the issue of vermin - currently setting 5-6 traps for mice every day with chorizo still the most successful bait - luckily we have no evidence of rats in our sheds but have seen them next door.
After all this we can get on with the day until the evening chores which usually start around 6.00 pm and completed after dinner. We now understand why evening events here all start at 8.30pm or later - so that everyone has time to get all their jobs done!
I promise I will bring it all up to date over the next week or so - lots of stories to tell: e.g. who are the hens and pigs named after? how do you treat a poorly hen? where can you buy decent pasta in the West of Ireland without driving too far? What wine to serve with pigs tails and ears?
Sorry again for the long silence. You'll all be begging me to shutup again soon and this may be the only blog for a while which doesnt mention the weather!