Epic Summer 2012

Not gonna lie, I've had a pretty epic 4 months off!
Finished Uni on the 28th May and am going back this week.

I worked with camels for a week of the jubilee, went to Radio 1 Hackney Big Weekend, Stage Managed 2 shows for Brit Youth Theatre, volunteered and camped for a week at Latitude Festival and went to London to watch the Olympics.
Fell off a platform slightly drunk and ended up in A&E with a snapped foot, then got on a plane 8 hours later (in a wheelchair lift!) and went on a cruise around Corfu, Greece and Turkey.

Volunteered and more camping at Reading Festival, even more camping and BBQ with chicken friends. Got chased around the Safari Park by a deer and Camels (twice) and LOADS more than I can't even remember!

In between that I've worked with chickens, written articles for 2 poultry magazines and probably should have started my dissertation.

Not had many lazy days sitting at home, spent it all with friends and family.

I'm broke, overdrawn and tanned but loved every minute of it.
May be the last big Summer before I graduate (hopefully!), have to grow up and enter the real world.

'The Newcomer' in Fancy Fowl

Grant Brereton, editor of Fancy Fowl asked me to write an article as 'The Newcomer' about Poultry Showing for Beginners and I was in Septembers issue!

My Chicken Run

Have extended the WIR, still needs the roof finishing!

CAMEL WANT BREADSTICK

We were at the Safari Park on Thursday and got this video of Nikki and a camel...
 

Sherlock + Watson

Just an update about Sherlock + Watson... They still hate each other!

Sherlock was castrated last year so is really laid back but Watson was too young so is still entire so he's aggressive and they don't get on.

They're only slightly friends when they're separated by 2 run panels - we tried 1 and Watson bit Sherlocks ear through it!

Sherlock lives inside and is a proper house rabbit but Watson lives outside in an eglu.

but does come inside too

Ex Battery hens; Then and Now

Took a couple photos of the Ex Batt girls earlier and realised how much they've changed since I got them from the BHWT.
They were from the last batch of hens rescued from the old-style battery cages in December '11.

First there is Tracy Beaker with her twisted beak. She took a few weeks to start eating properly but copes ok now and has feathered up really well!

Then there is Justine, the friendliest and cheekiest one of them all! She's the only one to escape their Free Range area to come to our bit of the garden and see what's going on. She's feathered up really well compared to what she was but still hasn't moulted her wing feathers so they're still bare quills.

With the rest of the flock...