Dark Mornings

The mornings seem to have suddenly become dark, with them comes a change in my early morning poultry routine.

As most regular readers will know my poultry are split between two areas, the younger birds I keep at home, the breeding flocks and layers on land in a neighbouring village approximately two miles away.

During the summer months when I am busy with broodies and young chicks my morning work starts around 5.30 am.  giving me an hour or so before having to leave for the yard to tend the older birds before work at 8am.

In the past week it has been nearly 7.00 am before it is light enough to let the birds out at home, by next week I will have to leave them until after I have tended to the yard birds. Fortunately, at present I only have one large pen of the younger growers at home. 

In a couple of months time these birds will be old enough to move to the yard and I will be able to 'make good' and rest the growers pen ready for next year.

With the dreadful weather we have experienced over the summer and now into the autumn I am behind with treating the houses. Each summer I like to wood stain and rest the houses in turn but we have had very few consecutive dry days. I was hoping October would bring a spell of crisp, dry weather but it is pouring down as I write and the forecast is for much of the same. I'm sure they will get done.

The end of October sees the clocks being put back an hour, although this means fewer daylight hours it enables us to shut the yards birds in for the night before coming home from work, therefore not having to turn out again later in the evening. Something we do look forward to.