Here we go round the Mulberry bush – I hope not.

Well winter has arrived at North Wald Self Catering on Orkney

The Oyce from North Wald

 .......and it is certainly a cold and frosty morning out there!

I was more than a little worried about the hens last night as it was so cold. If I had thought that they were all tucked up safely in their new hen house then I wouldn’t have been so worried, but fat chance of that.

 After spending over a week in their new quarters we decided that it would be OK to let them out into the wide world again. Partly as I was worried about the lack of greenery and grit in the diet while locked up.  So Frankie duly created an opening for them and let them out. Would the little darlings go back in that night. No! He and Iain tempted and cajoled them but only a few were willing to go back. All the other hen houses had been blocked off so there was no where else, with the exception of the Peedie Hoose, to go. They weren’t in the Peedie Hoose. We can only assume they nested overnight in the bushes.  

The next morning quite a few were in the new house waiting for their breakfast so that was at least one step forward.  Night came and this time even less of the hens would go into the house. I was really worried about the three little chicks, the only three left of the fifteen. One of them was sitting huddled by the caravan on its own as the mother has now decided they are old enough to fend for themselves. I managed to get behind it and guide it towards the door and thankfully it jumped in. Frankie found the other two in the long grass by the drainage ditch. We did try to chase them out towards the house but they managed to get deeper in under the thickets of grass and simply disappeared. The next morning all three little ones were in the house waiting for breakfast.

When the snow arrived last night I was really worried I would find a row of hens frozen in a line, perched in the bushes this morning. I was also dreading having to round them all up and get them in for breakfast. Gratefully the majority of them including the three little ones were inside and waiting impatiently to be fed. Phewww. No ready frozen chickens in the garden. I did however find one sad little sparrow, frozen solid, on the gravel outside the tool shed. Poor little thing.