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Thursday 22 December 2016

Preparing for the storm....



I got all my supplies for Christmas in yesterday, so today I've been working as well as making sure all hatches are battened.  We've already had hail showers, with thunder and lightning. I've been racing to unplug the internet modem at every rumble!

The skies have been quite dramatic today but it has barely got light. These photos were taken from an upstairs window at 2.30 this afternoon.


Though things were a bit brighter at 10am this morning.


The hens are hopefully comfortably settled in their hen house.  They have had to be kept shut indoors in most of the UK since 6th December by order of DEFRA as a prevention measure due to fears of transmission of avian flu from migrating birds to domestic poultry. Sadly the two cockerels had to be "despatched" as they would have fought in the hen house, and the girls are more settled without a cockerel around.

They have lots of straw, as well as roosts.  The hen house is a reasonable size with natural light (I'm about a 3rd of the way down it taking this photo). They are being fed more often and I'm giving them lots of veggies and things for them to rootle about with, as well as extra grit and shells and food scattered among the straw to stop them getting bored!


The hens only get up once it is proper daylight and go to bed as soon as the light level drops, so even on good days at this time of year they would only be out for a few short hours.  In this weather they are better shut in anyway to prevent them being blown away!  They have a small run cobbled together outside "for the duration", but it's a bit "Heath Robinson" so in bad weather they get shut in for safety.

I've left Charlie, the barn cat, with extra supplies of food.  He'll just hunker down among the hay and straw. Plenty of mice for him to catch if he feels like it!

As for Princess Button, she's nice and snug and warm, thank you very much.  She's got plenty of food and is quite happy indoors. Indeed we will have arguments when she needs to go out "to do the necessary". Sigh.... she refuses to use a litter tray so out she has to go!


There will be no more beach walks for a few days yet!


Mmmm think I might join Princess Button on that fleecy blankie!

8 comments:

  1. Love the pic of the girls in the barn and button on her chair. Stay safe in all that wild weather and happy Christmas x

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    1. Happy Christmas to you too! Everything fed and watered so I'm hunkered down now with Button for the duration!

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  2. That sounds like a rather fierce kind of weather, Sian, but I suppose you are used to it, living where you do? I heard on the radio that the raging winterstorms with the outrageous temperatures in the US will come this way because of some odd weather phenomena. Hope they will leave your houses untouched.
    And hope you can celebrate a bright Christmas with the girls and miss Button and warm blankets, fireplace and all. Merry Christmas to you and your family and may the days of long walks soon be back! Thanks for those cozy and exciting pictures!!

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    1. Yes we are prepared for gales etc. Though this one seems fiercer than usual. And we have had such a benign autumn that we forget what it can be like with wind screaming around the house for days.

      Merry Christmas to you and yours too!

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  3. You sound as though you've had storms like this before! You know how to batten down hatches. We run to unplug our modem as well at the first sign of an overhead storm after having blown out three of them.

    Merry Xmas. Hope the storm passed quickly

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    1. Merry Christmas! Hope you have a great time in somewhat warmer climes than I am living in! And yes, first thing to do is unplug the modem, 2nd thing reach for torch. I have my priorities. Haha!

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