Monday 25 January 2016

A new car and goodbye to the cockerels

This weekend we went up to Lincoln to buy a new car for me. In a few weeks I'll be starting my new job and the Focus that I had was slowly falling apart at the seams. It was time to part-ex it in for  something with fewer miles on the clock and a bit more fuel efficient. We got a two and a half year old Hyundai i30 diesel. I felt the difference driving it home, for a start the gears worked! We got three stone chips in the windscreen driving home though. That took most of Saturday. In the afternoon we spent time with the kids. 

Yesterday I noticed one of the hens, Penny, being bullied by the two cockerels and prevented from eating. The boys in the last few days have been pecking the girls when they tried to get into the coop at night and the girls were hanging round outside in the dark. We knew one had to go. Tonight I went to check everyone had gone to bed and when I opened the door Penny had a huge hole in her neck. No prizes for guessing what had happened to her. As I had seen both the boys ganging up on the girls I'm afraid our hands were tied and their time had come. In the end once they were to bed for the night James took his air rifle and took each one aside and finished them off. Penny is tucked up warm in the broody cage with some antibiotics to help her heal up.

I always buy free range chicken and then only occasionally, mostly I use quorn and I never buy pre-made chicken meals as I know they're probably battery farmed. I shed a few tears for them as they were both incredibly beautiful. They've been plucked and butchered this evening and at least I can say that they enjoyed a happy life, foraging, free-ranging and enjoying the ladies ;-) 




I'll do a post later this week on how the cabin is faring, I'm sure you must all be as sick of hearing about it as we are of doing it!

Oh and the washing machine packed in, along with my second hand iPhone.

13 comments:

  1. I hope you love your car I have an i20 and I love it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Marlene, it drives so smoothly and I am really pleased with the extras you get in a base model Hyundai compared to other cars. Plus a warranty always make me feel better.

      Delete
  2. Three chips isn't good!
    Well done with the cockerels, nice slow cook for them, we normally curry the legs after a roast as they are a bit tougher.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We roasted him as normal and he wasn't tough at all, he was quite young after all.

      Delete
  3. Cockerels! What terrors they are! I hate it when they gang rape the hens and force them into submission, so when any cockerels we have here start that type of behaviour they go into the freezer. Gorgeous birds for sure, but have bad attitudes.
    And what is this about 'getting tired of reading about the cabin'! Nonsense....I love reading about how you are getting on, so keep letting us know.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Vera, they did start some pretty antisocial behaviour and they seemed to feed off each others bad energy! I feel like all I've talked about recently is the cabin, but I'm glad you're not bored of it.

      Delete
  4. Sounds like "the Walrus and the Carpenter".

    I let my roosters fight it out. Since the chickens all roost in the trees, the El Supremo rooster and his hens usually roost in one tree, and the lesser roosters have one or two hens and go off to their own trees.

    If my roosters or cats fight, my dogs come swarming down and break it up. They are the law keepers of the compound.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My dog wouldn't intervene if I was getting attacked let alone the hens! No seriously she's old and spends all day on her bed in front of the fire. She's earned her relaxation time.

      Delete
  5. Well I'm not tired of hearing about the cabin, and hang in there....it will be worth it!
    You know...it might be sad killing the cockerels, but beautiful as they are, and what animal isn't in it's own way, that's what you raise them for, to eat. So good for you for eating free range, low stress, antibiotic free, hormone free, factory farm free food!

    Cindy Bee

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Cindy, that's how we feel. I know they've had a good life and I don't feel bad, they also had a good death. Not to mention they were being bloody terrors.

      Delete
  6. Cockerels can be terrible bullies. We do the same thing with ours.

    New car sounds great! I know you must be relived to have it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I know absolutely nothing about owning a chicken. I have an uncle, though, who has always wanted a couple. He lives in the woods, but I don't even know if that is a good environment for chickens or not. I can definitely see the advantages to owning a chicken though. You can have all the eggs you want.

    Eleanor Nelson @ Performance Auto VA

    ReplyDelete
  8. What a great new car. I am glad you are enjoying it so far. I bought the base model for my wife not too long ago and she loves it. She has a really short commute to work and its more than enough for her. Might also get one as it is so economical to drive. Great post thank you.

    Jeromy @ Fiesta Kia

    ReplyDelete