The Blog from Welle House, East Prawle

More birds!

2009-09-19T17:32:00.015+01:00

Muscovy ducklings hatched by their Mum 2 days ago.

Here we go again

2009-05-06T16:53:00.010+01:00

Another year and more goslings, but this time they managed to do it properly!

We collected the first few eggs after our geese, Lola and Amelia, started laying in mid-February, and after that left them in the nests they had made in the frames left in their stall.

Over Easter they started sitting, and I moved a drinker near to the stall, so they wouldn't have too far to go for food or water. I wasn't overly confident that the sitting would be successful. None of last year's eggs had been fertile, and the one time I saw Amos, our gander, doing what ganders are supposed to do, he seemed to be making a fearful hash of it.

I was able, after about 2 weeks to candle 3 of the eggs whilst the geese were having a short break for food and water, and they did seem to be fertile, although as I was only using a small pocket torch, it was very hard to be sure.

The expected hatching date, 4th March, came, and although there was no sign of any goslings, Amos' behaviour changed. During the sitting, he wandered around the paddock, looking somewhat lost, and although he would hiss if I approached the stall while he was there, it was more of a greeting than a threat. However, from 4th March, he would not leave the stall, but stood guard at the door, and making serious threatening noises and moves at any approach.

Then, yesterday morning, when I opened the stall for the geese, I was sure I could hear a "peep peep peep" under the hissing of the adult birds. And when I checked later that afternoon, sure enough, there was a little bundle of yellow fluff!

I was able to get close enough this morning to count 8 goslings. They were all in Lola's nest. We still may get some from Amelia, but I suspect that either she was a less attentive sitter (and she did seem to be up and about far more than Lola), or Amos restricted his attentions to one bird.

Eight goslings is probably too many for the amount of land we have (although it would save on the lawn mowing!), and I'll probably try and sell half of them when they're a little older.

Leghorn Cockerel - 26 weeks

2008-10-24T15:30:00.007+01:00

Ok. The plan was to put up a photo of the leghorns every week until they were grown.

Then the season started, and the B & B takes up nearly all our time during the summer - certainly not leaving time for frivolous things like photographing chickens.

But the little chick that hatched way back on 12th May has grown into such an impressive bird that I had to post a photo.

Egg production has dropped right off for the moment, but when it picks up again in the New Year we'll put this chap (we haven't worked out a name for him yet) in a run with some unrelated Leghorn hens, put 2 or 3 dozen of their eggs in one of the incubators.

We also have a Maran cockerel ( I'll have to do an item on him soon), and we'll do a similar exersise with him and the maran hens. That way we keep up the laying flock as the older birds' production falls away.

The plan is that we'll hatch out the new chicks before we need the incubators for the geese and ducks. Ideally the geese will hatch ot their own eggs.

We'll see.

Hello Rangemaster

2008-10-21T21:04:00.004+01:00

We decided some time ago that we wanted to do something to make Welle House greener and more fuel efficient in some way. I thought of solar panels, wind turbines etc, but nothing really seemed to fit the bill (and the available funds).

I spoke to Devon Council, who are really into this stuff, and they told me that basically none of the new technology is cost effective yet and the best thing we could do (given its age) would be to change our boiler.

We then spoke to our friendly, and utterly reliable, plumber. He checked out our boiler and basically said it wasn't worth changing it. It's a very good one and has been well maintained.

What we needed to do was change the Aga. Shortly after that our oil tank went dry and we contacted our usual suppliers (and some others) who told us that it would cost about £1600 to fill it.

We went for a half tank and started using the Aga only when absolutely necessary; switching on last thing at night and switching off after breakfasts.

I became really adept at cooking eleven full englishes on two electric hobs!! Yes really! I am amazing!

Anyway, we then did the research. Logically speaking, all fuel is going to go up, but the fuel that comes from non-renewable resources has to go up more as it runs out. We don't have natural gas here anyway (which was always my favourite, but the same reasoning applies) so that basically left electricity.

We then read about "induction". Brilliant we thought! Less consumption. More efficiency. More control. And electricity can always be generated using green methods as well as fossil fuels.

So I've got a new cooker!!! A Truly Super Duper job. It's an Induction Range cooker. Rangemaster Classic 110. It's only the second time Andy and I have ever bought exactly what we wanted (on electrical type stuff) instead of going for the cheaper option - the first being our lovely big TV (which I talked him into buying), and which is still going after almost 20 years - and STILL looks good.

We've had the new cooker 1 day so far, and so far it's better than expectations.

Bye Bye Aga

2008-10-17T19:28:00.005+01:00

When we first bought Welle House, we were thrilled to have a kitchen with a real Aga cooker. It was an old, probably 1940s solid fuel Aga, converted to oil.

We moved in just before Christmas, and coming into the kitcken with the all pervading warmth was a rreal treat.
Then we ran out of oil.

We called in the oil men, who filled our 2500 litre tank for about £700. We soon found that running our particular Aga as it was meant to be run meant about 3 tank refills a year, even when we switched it off during the quiet times.

Then came the massive rise in oil prices this spring. The tank needed filling, so I phoned our supplier. To fill the tank would have cost £1600. Three times a year, that comes to nearly £5000! Totally unsustainable.

So we made the decision - the Aga had to go. And 3 days ago, it went. It took the best part of a morning to dismantle and remove it, and for this coming weekend, when we are full up for The Animals gig at the Pig's Nose, Mo has a a two ring work top unit to work with.

But on Monday, we get a Rangemaster induction cooker. Not cheap, but the saving in oil, even with reducing oil prices, will pay for it within a year.

Photo to follow!

More ducklings, with a hen for Mum!

2008-08-27T16:09:00.008+01:00

Using the incubators, we have successfully hatched out 48 Muscovy ducklings this summer. 3 died in the first few days, which is a reasonable survival rate, although I hate losing any.

The photo to the left shows the first two clutches that hatched in June. The eldest of these are now 10 weeks old, and are pretty sizeable birds.

Whilst the 3rd and 4th clutches were in their respective incubators, we had one of our Marans chickens go broody.

Chickens stop laying when they go broody, and you have the alternatives of putting them in a special coop where they cannot settle (we use a cat basket) with food and water for a few days, so the broodiness stops, or using the bird's natural instincts to hatch out some chicks.

The muscovies were still laying, so as an experiment, we put 6 Muscovy eggs under the Maran in a run seperate from the other hens.

Chicken eggs normally incubate for 21 days before hatching, whereas Muscovies take 35 days, so it was a big ask of the hen, but she stuck to the task diligently, and this weekend hatched out 4 ducklings. One died shortly after hatching, but the other 3 are doing well, and Mum had them out in the run two days after hatching. They could not be more adorable.

Now we have ducklings!

2008-06-27T21:26:00.013+01:00

The four birds on the right are Samson, Thelma, Louise and Delilah, our Muscovy
Ducks. Unlike "regular" domestic ducks, they are not descended from mallards.

The wattling around the face, more noticeable in the drake, is an obvious
physical difference. The don't quack like mallard type ducks. The drakes are virtually mute, making no more than a hissing sound, and the ducks make various pipping noises.

Their eggs take 35 days to incubate, unlike other ducks which take 28 (
see entries about Wee Curly elsewhere in this blog), and the offspring of a
muscovy/mallard cross will be infertile.

We put 2 dozen of their eggs in the incubator 6 weeks ago. We know they are true Muscovies, as we have all parents, so we knew it was going to be a long incubation (5 weeks).

The first hatched out 2 days early, and the last 2 days late. A few started, but never made it out. I suspect I had the humidity in the incubator too low (60%).

The small incubator has another 8 eggs due a week later (tomorrow!), and I have the humidity up at 74%. We'll see if that produces better results.

Leghorn Chicks - Cock & Hen - 5 weeks

2008-06-16T15:27:00.006+01:00

The chicks are looking more like hens now.

For the next few weeks, the only real changes will be in size, although as can be seen from the photo of the male, they are now learning to perch.

Leghorn chicks at 4 weeks - Cock & Hen

2008-06-09T14:38:00.004+01:00

Changes are more subtle now. The birds are slightly larger, the feathering to the head is now complete, and comb and wattles are more developed in the first bird shown.

This is the same bird as that shown at 3 weeks. Given the difference in "head furniture" between the two birds, I am assuming that the first is male and the second female.

A yellow band can be seen on the leg of the second bird. I ring all birds at about this age (when the rings won't fall off), so that I can track which hatching a bird came from, once they have been introduced into the main flock.

The weather is very warm now, and the chicks no longer need to be under a heat lamp, even at night. They are getting bigger also, and I have moved them from the (now crowded) brooding pen into a larger stall.

Lola's goslings aged 3 weeks

2008-06-05T17:29:00.006+01:00

After 3 weeks , the goslings are thriving.

They have been out on the grass every day with the adults and are now 3 times their original size.

Experience over the last 3 years tells us that fairly soon they will start looking scruffy, before the feathers start to develop.

Because we didn't breed these birds, we don't have any real idea what their final colouring will be.

Leghorn chick - 3 weeks old

2008-06-02T15:14:00.002+01:00

At 3 weeks, the chick appears almost entirely feathered.

There are bare areas on the sides of the bird where the down has gone but the feathers have not yet appeared, and the head is still largely covered with down.

The comb has started to develop colour, and overall the bird is beginning to look more like a hen than a chick.

Scenes from Prawle Fair 2008

2008-05-28T07:52:00.007+01:00

Every late May Bank holiday weekend, a village fair is held on the green here in East Prawle, with funds raised going to the upkeep and maintenance of the Community Hall.

It is a fun, traditional country fair, and here are some pictures (none great art, I know) from the fair held last Sunday, 25th May.

Hogwash provided traditional music throughout the afternoon.

The BBQ did a roaring trade.

Old and young alike enjoyed boat rides around the village.

Finding a bargain on the toy stall.

The traditional swingboats are always a favourite.

Enjoying the sunshine amongst the frivolity!

A pint on a stick!

Another week, and a lot less fluffy

2008-05-26T17:02:00.003+01:00

Now the wings and tail feathers are well developed (the chicks can now fly a little), and the fluff on the body and head is giving way to the beginning of feathers.

The beak is growing, and the chick is about twice the size it was when it hatched.

Fluffy one week on

2008-05-19T17:16:00.003+01:00

I can't be sure this is the same chick I photographed last week, but all the Leghorn chicks look virtually identical.

As predicted, the feathers on the wings are much more developed, and tail feathers have started to show, although they are difficult to make out in this shot.

In another week, the chicks will be slightly less "cute", as they start to loose their body down, and feathers start to show on the back.

Whatever happened to Lola?

2008-05-14T14:32:00.005+01:00

Back on 27th April, I said that I wasn't hopeful for the clutch of eggs being sat on by one of our West of England geese, Lola.

At that stage she had been on the for 31 days. The normal incubation period for geese is 28 to 31 days, and there was no sign of anything happening, although it was difficult to be certain, as she was very defensive of her nest.

I left her on them for another 4 days, but when there was still no sign of any goslings, I armed myself with a dustbin lid, and removed the eggs from the nest. Although Lola was getting off the nest for short periods to eat and drink, I did not want her sitting indefinitely. Besides, assuming the eggs were infertile, they were likely to start going off!.

Meanwhile, I had taken the eggs laid by our other West of England, Amelia, and had six of them in our small incubator. Amelia continued to lay, and I put her later eggs into a nest I had made in their stall, in the hope that she might sit. No such luck. As soon as I had removed Lola's eggs, Lola moved herself onto this new nest, and sat there prepared to wait another 4 weeks. She really did want goslings!

We had timed the incubator for a hatch one week after our return from the Scilly Isles. Candling before we left had been inconclusive, but after our return it was clear that these eggs too were infertile. It would appear that Amos, our gander, was not performing, and the likelihood was that Lola's new clutch would also come to nothing.

So, yesterday I phoned around a few breeders and suppliers I know, and by good fortune found that one was at market, and was expected back at around 3 pm, probably with some goslings. We arrived there at 2 minutes past 3, just as he had unpacked a number of goslings and ducklings, including 6 day old goslings. We bought all 6, and rushed them home, where we put them in with the chicks that had hatched out over the weekend.

Then, once it had started to get dark, and the birds were settling down for night, we took the goslings up to the goose stall, and I gently placed them into Lola's nest. Mo & I watched anxiously, in case the geese attacked the youngsters as unwelcome intruders, but all 3 examined them with incredible gentleness.

I removed the eggs from the nest and put them in the incubator (I'll candle them this weekend), and left them to it.

And when I went out to check on the birds this afternoon, there was Lola, out behind her stall, carefully watching over her babies, and feeling very pleased with herself for at last managing to hatch them out! ( I don't think I'll tell her the truth, she probably wouldn't believe me).

Early Purple Orchid - A Regular Visitor

2008-05-14T14:02:00.002+01:00

We look forward every year to the return for the summer of the swifts, swallows and martins, the latter of which have a number of nests under the soffits around Welle House.

But here is a here is another harbinger of summer, who never really goes away.

During our first spring here in East Prawle, when cutting the grass for our self catering accommodation, I came across an orchid growing near to the northern wall. I carefully cut around it, and it stayed with us for about 10 weeks.

The following year, we had forgotten all about it until, in mid-April, there it was again, in exactly the same spot (unsurprisingly). And again last year. So that this year, along with the return of the birds from North Africa, we eagerly awaited the reappearance of this beautiful flower, and it did not disappoint.

There is a bank on the lane that approaches Stokenham, about 4 miles from here, that has a profusion of these, but this one shows no sign of spreading. Nonetheless, we feel privileged to have this one.

A surprise newcomer.

2008-05-13T10:23:00.002+01:00

Mo is a keen gardener, and when it comes to rabbits in the veggie patch, she takes the same view as Beatrix Potter's Mr McGregor - put them in a pie!

But we couldn't do that to this little chap. I was moving a pallet we use as a gate, so I could get through to cut the lawn for the self-catering accommodation, when there was a flash of white.

I followed it onto the guest patio, and there was a tiny albino rabbit, trying to hide in a corner. He seems to have been driven out by his more conventionally coloured family. There is no way he would survive in the wild - if our cat didn't find him, the fox that patrols our garden every night certainly would.

We have an old rabbit hutch that we originally bought for broody hens, so I dusted it off, bought some hay and rabbit treats (dried artichoke leaves) and put him in there with a saucer of water.

I would love to keep him, but Mo doesn't (worried about the veggie patch), so feelers are being put out to local families with small children.

And here's Fluffy!

2008-05-12T21:14:00.006+01:00

One day old, and straight off a chocolate box!

If you look at the photo closely, you can just make out the beginning of feathers on the end of the wing.

In a week's time, that feathering will be much more pronounced, and tail feathers (and possibly back feathers) will also have started.

BTW, the eggs and birds in this little series have switched between dark and light. I put two types of egg in the incubator, Leghorn (which lay pure white eggs, and in the variety I have are pure white feathered) and Marans (which lay dark brown eggs, and will end up black and white mottled - or "cuckoo").

Out at last!

2008-05-12T12:20:00.003+01:00

After hours and hours of struggle, the tiny chick at last manages to push away the top of the shell, and with a twist of its body, emerges to start it's like.

It is still wet at this stage, and very exhausted. I leave it in the incubator until it is dry and fluffy, before transferring it to a brooder pen under a heat lamp.

It carries sufficient reserves from the yolk within the body to sustain it for 24 hours or more, so there is no need for food or water within the incubator, but the brooder has a feeder full of chick crumbs, and a drinker kept full of fressh clean water.

Ready to hatch

2008-05-10T21:53:00.002+01:00

Most of the work has been done now.

The top of the shell has been separated. One more push, and the chick will hatch.

Half way to hatching

2008-05-10T17:33:00.003+01:00

Here, the chick has been working slowly around the shell, and is about an hour away from removing the top section, enabling it to extricate itself.

It can take 24 hours or more from the first pip to hatching, and the chick will emerge wet and exhausted.

First pip.

2008-05-09T15:57:00.003+01:00

This photo shows one of the eggs in the incubator which has just started the hatching process.

The build up of CO² in the egg has caused the chick inside to jerk its head involuntarily.

At this stage, the beak has a small hard protuberance, known as an egg tooth, on the tip, which initially breaks into the air sac in the round end of the egg, and later to start breaking the shell. This is known as "pipping".

The chick develops in the egg curled up, and as the hatching process develops, it slowly unwinds, and makes a series of "pips", eventually breaking away the blunt end completely (a bit like a soft boiled egg!), enabling the chick to hatch.

More Egg Candling

2008-05-07T16:06:00.003+01:00

Here's another photo of a candled egg, taken last night.

Where the last photo showed a system of veins, with the heart showing as a dark spot, here the whole top end of the egg is dark, where it is occupied by the now nearly fully developed chick.

Over the next few days, it will continue to develop, and as it does, there will be a gradual build up of CO² inside the egg.

When this reaches a certain level, it will cause an involuntary jerk from the chick's head, which in turn will cause the beak to make a small hole in the shell, starting the hatching process.

The adventures of my son and the Salcombe 'C' Crew at the 2008 World Pilot Gig Championships on the Isles of Scilly

2008-05-06T16:03:00.002+01:00

Egg candling

2008-04-27T11:17:00.006+01:00

This is a photograph I took last night of one of about 30 eggs I have in our big incubator. The egg is being held blunt end to a powerful light source, so that I can see what is happening inside.

It's not a particularly good photo, being taken with my mobile phone, but it is possible to make out blood vessels around the shell, and a dark area towards the top right, which is the heart.

I'll try and get more photos as the incubation progresses, to show how the chick embryo develops in the egg.

Lola's eggs haven't hatched yet. She's been on the nest for 31 days now. They should hatch after 28 days, so I'm not hopeful, but I'll leave her there for a little while yet, just in case.

Miracle birds

2008-04-13T19:05:00.004+01:00

As planned, I put 40 Leghorn eggs in our big incubator in early March. All went well. After 10 days we candled them (held a bright light to the blunt end in a darkened room). In 30 of them, a system of veins and a small heart could be seen, indicating that they were fertile.

The 10 infertile eggs were discarded, and incubation continued.

Then we had severe gales, and a 3 hour power cut. We moved the incubator onto the Aga to try and maintain temperature, but that is far from ideal.

After 18 days incubation (3 days before the due hatch date), we candled them again. The results were very varied. Some eggs had hardly moved on at all, and in a large number there were large dark areas inside, showing that the chicks had developed, but not as much as we would have expected, One of them was almost entirely dark, but our fear was that the power cut had completely scuppered the incubation.

The due hatch date came and went without any chicks, and we were sure that our fears were correct. Then, the following morning, when I went to check, there was a little damp newly hatched chick.

Normally, we move chicks to a brooding pen under a heat lamp, but just one? It was upset enough on its own in a supermarket basket in our airing cupboard - putting it in an outhouse would have been like torture. So, our bed & breakfast guests had trier breakfasts to the accompaniment of assorted cheeps and chirrups from the airing cupboard.

That wasn't going to continue forever, however, and we were not looking forward to the time we would have to move it out to the brooder on it's own. Then two days later, when I went out to turn off the incubator, lo and behold, there was a second chick! It is very hard work for these little creatures to break free from their shells, and it can take some time, but this was 72 hours after the due hatch date!

It is now 1 ½ weeks since the first chick hatched, and I moved them to the brooder yesterday (the eldest had managed to jump out of its basket - fortunately Mo spotted it). I am hopeful that both will develop into productive birds. If either (or both) turn out to be cockerels, we will try and find new homes for it, rather than cull it. After hatching out against the odds, they deserve all the life they can have.

Lola's moved her nest, and she ain't shifting!

2008-03-28T20:13:00.007Z

Well, I said I'd wait until I had the goose eggs in the incubator before I encouraged Lola to to use a nest in her stall. Turns out she needs no encouragement, and that she was not prepared to wait.

When I went to let her out yesterday morning, she was sat firmly on a nest she had made out of her own bedding straw and feathers, and she was not coming out. I left her to it, having made sure she was secure and had fresh water.

I checked on her at midday, and she was still there. What's more, Amelia had also laid an egg, although she doesn't seem to have the same nesting instinct, and her egg had been left in the middle of the floor.

Taking my life in my hands, I walked very slowly into the stall, picked up Amelia's egg, and then moved even more slowly and cautiously towards Lola's nest, and very gently placed the egg in the nest. Lola hissed, shifted a wing, and rolled the egg in next to the other.

Encouraged by my success, I collect two eggs from those I had been setting aside for the incubator, and succeeded in persuading her to adopt these as well.

We had a squally and windy day today, but Lola has only left the nest 2 or 3 times for water. All the signs are that she'll stick out the (28 day) course.

There's no guarantee that any of the 4 eggs she's sitting on are fertile, but fingers crossed. A mother goose with her offspring would be such a thrill.

A Nest in the Veggie Patch

2008-03-07T11:30:00.006Z

This is Lola, one of our two West of England Geese. She started laying in Mid-February, usually in her stall before I release her in the morning, but she has now made herself a proper nest, in a corner of our vegetable garden.

Her chosen spot is in an area which had become somewhat overgrown last Autumn. Mo had killed the grass which had grown up, and the next step would have been to clear the dead grass away, preparatory to tilling the ground ready for planting.

But Lola thinks all that dead grass is perfect for a nest. What's more, we have wind break netting along the side of the plot, so she's nice and sheltered from the prevailing westerlies.

When she's laid her egg (and she lays one once every other day), she spends half an hour or so carefully covering it with more dead grass, before wandering off to join Amelia, our other West of England, and Amos, our gander.

It would be nice to leave the eggs there, and let her sit on them when she feels she has a big enough clutch. But we get foxes in our garden every night, and she would be killed for certain if we didn't put her away in her stall every night.

I'll be putting 40 odd Leghorn eggs in the incubator on Monday, and after they hatch at the beginning of April, I'll put a clutch of Lola's and Amelia's eggs in. Once those eggs are in the incubator, I'll try and encourage Lola to use a nest I've built for her in her stall. If she does, I'll leave the eggs there and see if she will hatch them out.

FIRE!!! (or not)

2008-02-28T18:09:00.006Z

Tongues will definitely be wagging in East Prawle!

A little while ago Mo lit our wood-burner, and after it had been burning for a while, was alarmed to hear crackling from the chimney. With help from our son (I was delivering my daughter back to University after a weekend at home) the fire in the grate was doused.

The next day, I was sent up onto the roof to brush out the chimney. Virtually nothing came down, so the next task was to get a chimney cleaning log. This was duly used, and over the course of the next few days, fires were lit without incident.

However, two nights ago, after lighting the fire, Mo again heard suspicious noises from the flue. I was not convinced we had a chimney fire, but better safe than sorry, and the fire was doused.

This evening, Mo was wanting to light the fire, but nervous to do so. Then, a brilliant idea. She phoned the Help & Advice line for Devon & Somerset Fire and Rescue. She explained the problem, and the operator said that they would send someone round to check the chimney out.

Gratitude was expressed, and we got on with our evening. Until 15 minutes later, when two, count them, two fully manned fire engines turned up, sirens blaring, virtually doubling the population of the village in one fell swoop!

Within minutes, the phone was ringing. "Is everything all right?". Explanations were given, but our legs are bound to be pulled next time we show our faces in the pubs.

Anyway, after a thorough visual and CCTV examination, our chimney has been given a clean bill of health. We will be lighting a fire in a ½ hour or so. If I don't post anything in the next 2 weeks, fear the worst!

A new dog

2008-02-13T21:32:00.008Z

We always like to have 2 dogs, 4 or 5 years apart in age, mainly for company for each other, but also so that, when one dies, it is easier emotionally getting another. With only one dog, it would feel like replacing him or her, which cannot be done.

This would have been particularly the case with Meg, who died last week after 12 years as a member of the family. We knew she was fading, and had already been around the local rescue centres. The difficulty was that we have a cat, and the Rescue centres will not rehome stray dogs, for whom they have no history, into households with cats, in case there a conflict such that the dog has to go through the trauma of being taken back to the centre.

However, one of the centres, Gables Farm Dogs' & Cats' Home also keep a list of owners who need to rehome their dog for various reasons, and they gave us details of Becky, a 4 year old Standard Poodle. Her owner was no longer young, and had recently moved into a mobile home park, and was no longer able to give Becky the exercise she required.

We were originally looking for a German Shepherd, having lost a wonderful old Shepherd called Jason a few months before moving to Prawle. But the idea of a Standard Poodle appealed instantly. Not everyone appreciates that poodles were originally bred as retrievers, or that their coats were originally cut to make water work easier. They are a very intelligent dog, and can be long lived - 15 years or more which is a very good age for a large dog.

After Meg left us, we phoned Becky's owner, and arranged to go and see her, with our Labrador Sacha (Satch). The 2 dogs were instant friends, and after a cup of tea Becky came home to Prawle with us.

There are a number of girls in the village called Becky, and to avoid any offence, we have started calling her Bessy. On the first night home, we took Bessy and Satch to The Providence Inn, where they were both as good as gold.

The following day, we introduced her to the sea side. Mill Bay at East Portlemouth to be precise. Bessy was in heaven! (Although the water was a little cold in early February for her to be particularly keen on swimming). The tide was out, and it was a fabulous day. We walked up the estuary as far as we could, and then back again. In the course of that wonderful afternoon, Bessy realised that we were her new pack, and that she liked it.

She has attached herself to Mo, which is lovely, because Meg was pretty much my dog. She sleeps in the same bed as Satch, and play fights with him every morning.

She has abit to learn - to come when I call in particular! She's also due a hair cut. Fancy show cuts don't quite look the part in Prawle.

But she'll do. She will definitely do!

My son is an idiot!!!

2008-02-09T20:43:00.001Z

Say no more!!!

Meg

2008-02-07T22:31:00.002Z

Meg died on Tuesday night. She was the loveliest, gentlest dog I have ever known.

We got her from Battersea 12 years ago (they had named her Trixie). We had no idea where she had been found, or indeed what sort of dog she was. Battersea described her as a "mongrel cross"! She had the general appearance of, and the white bib of a Border Collie, but she was brindle, and too big and rangy. She loved to run, and could run like the wind. The only dogs that could give her a race were the traditional running dogs - greyhounds, whippets, borzois etc. Some chap we met when walking her on Hampstead Heath reckoned she was a lurcher. She didn't look the part, but on the basis that a lurcher is a greyhound (etc)/anything else cross, that makes sense.

Everyone loved Meg. Everything about her was soft. She didn't have hair - she had fur. That was also a down side - she moulted constantly - she kept the vacuum cleaner full!

She hated water - wild horses couldn't drag her into a puddle. After we got our Labrador (who loves to swim), she might think about it, but only for the briefest moment. She would much rather find a place on the beach where the maximum number of people could see her, and pose.

She got old very quickly. Up until last autumn, although she wasn't up to long walks, she would still have quick bursts of speed in the back garden, but that stopped with the cold weather, and on Tuesday night she died.

She was the loveliest, gentlest dog I have ever known.

Mother Hen or Mother Goose?

2007-06-14T22:32:00.003+01:00

Now here's a twist.

Back in April I said I'd be putting more goose eggs in the incubator after the second batch hatched out. True to my word, I put 5 eggs (all that were available as the breeders were slowing down on their laying) in the incubator.

After a couple of weeks, I candled them ( ie I held a bright light to the egg to see what was happening inside), from which it was clear that only one was fertile.

Which presented it's own problems. When we hatched out a single duckling, we put it in with the 9 goslings that hatched out 3 days earlier, and he/she is happy as Larry.

However, this last gosling was the only hatching expected at the beginning of June. We really didn't want to leave him on his own. However, by good fortune, one of our Black Rock chickens went broody at precisely the right time.

You need to be careful getting hens to hatch goose eggs, as hatching eggs need to be turned regularly during incubation, and goose eggs are a bit large for a hen to turn.

But, in the last 4 days of incubation, turning is no longer necessary. So, we moved the broody to a house away from the other chickens, with 4 plastic eggs under her to keep her keen.

Then, after 24 days (incubation for goose eggs is 28 days), I slipped the fertile egg in under the broody.

Sure enough, 4 days later, we found a neatly broken goose egg shell thrown out of the nest, and next day, our broody was a fiercely protective mother of our 13th gosling of the Spring! After some initial confusion (goslings are not designed to scratch for their food!), the two have settled into a happy routine.

The next two weeks should be interesting, though. Goslings grow at an alarming pace, and by the time this little fella is 4 weeks old (at the beginning of July), he should be about the same size as his foster Mum!

The plan is to let him out in the paddock to mix with the other goslings then, but much will depend on the weather, as if it's wet, I'm reluctant to risk him catching a chill, given that he will still be covered 50% with down.

Complicated game this!

The duck is growing

2007-05-30T22:42:00.002+01:00

Look at this picture. And then look at the first picture I posted of Curly back on 6th May. That's only a little over 3 weeks ago. I'm getting used to the speed at which geese grow, but there's quite a few of them, and it gets to feel common-place (but no less miraculous for that), but Curly is a one-off.

I said a week or so ago that Curly thought he was a Goose, because he was being raised with goslings. That might have been right at first, but now Curly has no identity problems.

At this stage I should say I don't know whether Curly is male or female. For the sake of prose, I shall refer to ...him as male. The reason is that Curly is a male sounding name, and we chose the name because of the peculiar circumstances of his hatching. Because he is in all likelihood a Muscovy/Khaki Campbell cross, he is almost certainly a mule, so he/she is in any event relatively meaningless.

Anyways, as the photos show, Curly is thriving. He's even been swimming in the feed bucket I keep in the goslings' enclosure with water in so they can dip their heads. I am SO sick I missed that photo!

Different kind of Animals

2007-05-13T21:08:00.002+01:00

Anyone who knows East Prawle will know the pub on the green, The Pig's Nose Inn, and most will be familiar with it's music nights. The landlord, Peter, has a history in the music industry, and his continued contacts enable him to bring some famous names to this tiny remote Devon village.

Past acts include Wishbone Ash, The Yardbirds (both regulars at the ' Nose), Paul Young and Dr Feelgood. Last night featured the second appearance there of The Animals (nowadays known as Animals and Friends), featuring their original drummer, John Steel, together with Peter Barton (bass & vocals), Johnny 'Guitar' Williamson (lead guitar & vocals) and Mickey Gallagher (keyboards).

I never saw the original Animals, having spent my childhood in New Zealand, but like most music lovers of my (and other) generations, their music is part of my psyche. From the opening "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood", through to the encore, inevitably "House Of The Rising Sun", there was no doubt, this was the The Animals live. OK, no Eric Burdon in the lineup, but Peter Barton (Mindbenders, The Move) has all the power and raw rhythm and blues energy needed and more. Williamson belted out guitar solos, and Gallagher, who replaced Alan Price in The Animals in 1965, completed the authentic sound. But it was John Steel, who started out with Eric Burdon in 1957 with The Pagan Jazzmen who amazed me. Now 66 years old, and after 50 years in rock'n'roll, he clearly still enjoys every second on stage.

And that's the thing about gig's (or as they are called in Prawle, music nights) at the Pig's Nose. All generations are represented, both on stage (The Animals were supported last night by local teenage band, Cosmo), and in the audience. And whether they were teenagers, partying down in front of the stage, or pensioners, nodding their heads and shifting their feet to music they had partied to as teenagers, for all of them, this was live music as was supposed to be - totally real.

The Continuing Adventures of Wee Curly

2007-05-08T21:48:00.004+01:00

Wee Curly, our day old Muscovy Duck, was not happy. Having hatched a week early, due to dubious parentage, he was all alone. He protested about this long and loud, making our hearts ache for him. So with some trepidation, we introduced him to the goslings who hatched a few days earlier.

Although a little suspicious at first, the goslings soon accepted him as one of their own, and Curly now thinks he's a goose!

New Life - again

2007-05-03T21:44:00.001+01:00

As expected, 9 goslings hatched over the course of Wednesday and Thursday. Eight are fit and active, but one has a defective foot, and needed assistance getting out of the egg. It seems to be gaining strength, though, and the others accept it as one of the gang.

I had my mobile by the incubator whilst one of the goslings was going through the final stages of hatching (the whole process, from the first crack in the eggshell, can take up to 2 days), and took a series of videos of it actually struggling free of the shell. I've edited these into one film which can be seen to the left.

Sorry about the quality - it's a very cheap phone!

New Life

2007-04-29T18:57:00.000+01:00

One of the criteria when we were looking to move to Devon, was finding somewhere with enough land to "play with". Welle House has 1½ acres, and the back part had previously been separated off into a paddock. We ploughed a section of this up for vegetables, but this still left a large area
unused. We put a few chickens on this (more on these in a later post), but these didn't keep the grass down, and cutting the lawns proper was taking enough time, without having to do the paddock as well.

After much thought and debate, we settled on geese, and last spring bought 12 goslings from a breeder near Exeter. Over the course of the year, we lost one, but this was replaced by a gander owned by a friend in the village. Come Christmas, 7 of the original 12 became Christmas dinners for ourselves and others, and we were left with 2 ganders and 3 geese.

The day after Valentines day, the geese started producing eggs, and 7 of these were placed in an incubator. 28 days later and the 3 citizens shown in the photograph duly appeared. At the time of the photo (early April) they were less than a week old. They are now on grass, still looking cute, but not nearly as cute as this

And the real thrill (or frightening part) is that, after these 3 hatched, I put another 13 eggs in the incubator, and having checked last night, on Tuesday or Wednesday, we should have another 9 goslings to join these 3. AND I'm putting more eggs aside to incubate after they hatch.

The question is, when will I find time for the Bed & Breakfast!

The beginning - second try

2007-04-23T05:32:00.002+01:00

Ok. The first two attempts sucked. Trouble was, I hadn't really decided what I wanted to do. I now have.

This blog will be what I think a blog should be - a journal of my thoughts of the life I lead. And the first rule should be that it is for my benefit - something I can look back on in future years - and if others find it of interest, so much the better.

To start, however, I should probably put down some background.

I gave up office life in London about 3½ years ago, the plan being to sell up there, and buy a place in the South Hams of Devon - somewhere we could make a living income from, and somewhere we could enjoy a real quality of life. We found this house - 10 bedrooms, 3 (plus a bathroom) for the family, 4 (all en suite) for bed & breakfast, and 3 (plus 2 bathrooms and a 30 foot through kitchen lounge) self catering holiday accommodation. In addition, Welle House (this place) had 1½ acres of land - more than enough for ignorant city exiles to play with.

What we hadn't budgeted for was where the house was - East Prawle. East Prawle is a small village of about 200 souls (not including the holiday home owners) in the southernmost point of Devon. That's what the guide books will tell you. What you cannot appreciate until you live here is the depth of the community spirit, and how warmly we were absorbed (and that is the best word for it) into that spirit. Within 1 month of moving in, we knew we were home.

And it has only got better.

My plan is to use this to mix in our history here since we moved in with observations demonstrating why we have really found the "good life".

Autumn is definitely here!

2006-10-11T07:54:00.002+01:00

An interesting start to the week. Beautiful weather over the weekend has given way to a more Autumnal feel. Even if the temperatures are above the norm, the morning mists when I let the chickens and geese out remind me that Summer is over.

The hedgerows remain weighed down with fruit. Several gallons of blackberry and sloe wine have already been started, and it will soon be time to gather the rosehips, which make a superb rosé. Our friends Rod & Poppy have let us into their orchard, and as a result we have about 2 cwt of apples, which should make enough apple wine and cider to see us through the winter. Local lore says that the abundant berries mean a hard winter!

Our holiday cottage is now let through Christmas and New Year, so Welle House should be jumping this December!

The beginning

2006-10-08T03:58:00.002+01:00

This is very much an experiment, to compliment my existing site for my B&B in East Prawle. I hope to post photos through the year of the changes around the house and East Prawle, comments on the gigs at the Pigs Nose, and any other blurb I can think of.

If it doesn't work, no harm, but I think it may work.

Time will tell.