How We're Coping with Bird Flu in 2016-2017

DEFRA Set up Prevention Zone across UK

Avian Flu has again been discovered in Europe and the UK, and as a precaution, all keepers of poultry and birds have been instructed by DEFRA to prevent their birds mixing with the wild bird population. This applies to farmers, backyard poultry keepers, pigeon fanciers, the size and type of bird 'collection' is irrelevant. THIS IS LAW!!

The government’s chief vet, Nigel Gibbens, has declared a “prevention zone” for England that requires commercial and individual bird keepers to keep their birds inside for 30 days or take steps to separate them from wild birds.

The order, which was texted to poultry farmers on Tuesday, comes after a type of highly pathogenic avian flu, H5N8, was found in dead wild birds and some farm birds across Europe.

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“The risk that we are trying to prevent is to our British poultry flock … to make sure these birds are protected against disease,” Gibbens told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He added: “Everybody should do what they can. Pet bird keepers should do their best and take sensible measures to separate them from wild birds, while looking after their welfare. I don’t want people putting them in a box in the dark and keeping them there for weeks on end.”

Extract taken from The Guardian 07 Dec 2016, read the full article here

The Prevention Zone remains in place until 28th January 2017, at which point  the risk will be reviewed and either end, or be extended.

Avian Flu and Bio-security Measures

This may sound like something Border Security needs to worry about, but if you want to keep birds outside, than you really need to think about bio-security before you even decide what birds you want.

Chicken run before the roof is put on

Our trio of Orpington hens have a coop inside a permanent, fixed run. Under normal circumstances they would also have access to our garden, but for this period they need to be contained. Our permanent bio-security measures include:

• A fixed polycarbonate sheet roof over the entire run

Polycarbonate sheeting covers the entire chicken run roof

• Entire run enclosed in 25mm x 12.5mm Weld mesh
• Run door with two separate latches (prevents accidental opening).
• Run secured to hard standing, not grass or soil
• Feeders and drinkers always kept inside the run.
• Wearing disposable rubber gloves when entering the run, handling the birds or anything they've come into contact with.
• Anything we use to feed/water wild birds is kept exclusively for them and never used for our hens.

Other measures in place during an Avian Flu warning are:

• Disinfecting the coop, dustbath and perches in the run. Use Vircon S or Stalosan
• Disinfecting boots/footware before entering or after exiting the run. The best thing to use is a washing up bowl or tubtrug with a solution of Vircon S. Make sure you can get the entire sole (ideally more) of your footware in the bowl and covered with solution, and change the solution regularly.

DEFRA confirm that Avian Flu is not a risk to public health or the food chain. Keeping backyard flocked in bio-secure enclosures helps protect them from coming into contact with the wild bird population which could be carrying the virus.

Members of the public are encouraged to report dead wild waterfowl (swans, geese or ducks), or other dead wild birds such as gulls or birds of prey, to the Defra helpline on 03459 33 55 77. Defra will then collect some of these birds and test them to help us understand how the disease is distributed geographically and in different types of bird.

Preventing Boredom during bird flu confinement:

The Run

Our trio don't go outside the run very often, in fact in squally, wintery weather they'd rather be under cover in the run anyway.

The Activity Centre and Maggie's Six Coop in place

Young Hetty fits through the expanded
door easily

Our run measures 3m x3m, and includes; a Maggie's Six hen house from Flyte So Fancy, Dorset (we had to expand the door width a bit to accommodate our ladies large bottoms ;) ); a covered dustbath with perches (from Flyte So Fancy but not in their current catalogue, we call it 'the Activity Centre'); galvanised drinker and wall mounted feeder which is attached to our run wall and has it's own integral cover. 

Having a decent size run is important, stress and overcrowding can lead to nasty vices such as feather-pecking, bullying and egg eating. The smaller the bird, the more active it is. Our Orpingtons are very docile, and hardly ever bother to run for something...unless it's corn! They are very contented to spend most of their day on the perches of the Activity Centre, or luxuriating in the dust bath. We add diatomaceous earth to the play sand to help the hens combat any outbreaks of lice or red mites.

Smaller birds or a larger flock in the same run would probably not deal with confinement so well.

However, here's a little lesson I learnt when I worked at Forsham Cottage Arks (now Granddad Rob Designs). Hens will accept a run as the end of their world for as long as they are contained within it. If one day you open the run door, it will take them ages to use it, partly from fear of the unknown, but mostly because they don't recognise the door as a way to enter or leave the run. But, once they have discovered their new environment, you have effectively expanded the edge of their world, and they will always want to explore that boundary. If you have to enclose them again, like now, they will try to rush at their old boundary, they will get distressed that they can't get out to roam their world. This should only last a few days, but finding ways to entertain your flock will help calm them.

Essentially then, a hen that is always confined to a good size enclosure will be happy in that enclosure for ever. She won't feel confined, or be looking to get out. That is the edge of her world.

If you expand the edge of her world and then have to reduce it again, that is when trouble can start.

Jane the Orpington hen is normally an explorer

Feed and Foraging

I don't advocate feeding human food or kitchen scraps to chickens. The old adage "Put rubbish in, get rubbish out" is ingrained in me. We feed Smallholder Range Layers Pellets. Ideally I would prefer to feed Layers Mash, as it helps combat boredom by making the chickens eat longer to take in the same amount of food compared to eating pellets, but mash is not recommended with the feeder we use, and it is less easily obtainable locally.

Our hens do get a scatter feed of corn (1 teaspoonful each) just before bed if they are still up when we get home from work (not in the winter, they retire long before we get home from work!), but this doesn't keep them busy for long, maybe half an hour. They are expert at carefully pecking up the corn, avoiding all other ground cover, but do spend quite a long time scratching through the hardwood chippings to find any strays. We only ever feed the corn inside the run, it's our little way of encouraging them home if they've been free ranging (not at the moment obviously). When they hear the rattle of the corn tin, they know to head straight for their run.

The completed run with hard wood chippings down

At the moment I am also giving them a scatter feed of dried mealworms and Hentastic Foraging Treat, just a small handful of each between the three hens, and again this is only while they are up and about. Never leave quantities of scatter feed lying around as it will spoil and can attract vermin

My cheeky Hetty Wainthrop

A final attempt to occupy my hens' brains comes in the form of hanging treats. Pets at Home do a hanging corn block. I wouldn't use one normally, but the corn is pretty difficult to get off, so they can't eat too much, but it gives them hours of entertainment watching it swing back and forth...hypnotised by the pendulum action!

Hopefully the hens will be able to free range again once the weather warms up

The Guinea Pig Secret Santa Project

Philanthropy and Guinea Pigs

Out in the big wide world, there are amazing people who dedicate their lives to rescuing and helping abandoned, surrendered, sick guinea pigs. Some are registered charities, some are simply kind-hearted people working, fundraising and donating for guinea pigs..

Whilst the idea that every single day guinea pigs find themselves needing rescue baffles and saddens me, knowing that there are safe places for these beautiful, gentle creatures, where they can be rehabilitated, shown love and kindness, and hopefully found a new caring forever home makes the situation a little better.

I already support Sarnia Guinea Pig Rescue on the beautiful island of Guernsey. I save stamps, send donations, and you can also find items they really need on their Amazon Wishlist. I also follow many other rescues on Facebook, YouTube  and Twitter, sharing their stories, advice and videos on my own social media. Lots of people will offer support by volunteering at their local rescue or sanctuary, they will take in foster piggies at their own home, they will do fundraising events and donate the proceeds. All these are wonderful ways to get involved. Then a few months ago I stumbled upon The Guinea Pig Secret Santa Project.

The Guinea Pig Secret Santa Project - What is it?

This is a fantastic group of volunteers who coordinate a worldwide scheme to send gift parcels to specific guinea pigs living in rescue.

Rescues send in information about piggies, often long-term residents, who they would like to receive gifts for. They provide a wishlist, photos and details of the single, pair, trio etc of piggies to the team at TGPSSP. Meanwhile, potential Secret Santas register their interest in taking part, how many piggies they would like to send gifts to and where they live (roughly, I gave the country and county where I live in my initial contact DM). If you're under 18 your are going to want to do this with a parent or guardian.

The process of pairing the piggies with their Santas takes time and a lot of work, as the team look at a lot of information, including where you are located and if you were a Santa on a previous year, they will try and match you with a different rescue this time around.

What can you send?

You can send as much or as little as you like, TGPSSP suggest a shoebox sized parcel but that's is purely a guideline.

While you are waiting to receive your match and their wishlist, you can start shopping for some rescue essentials, such as:

• Rubber gloves
• Syringes
• Anti-bacterial surface wipes
• Lint-free cotton wool pads
• Choccies for the Rescue team (not the piggies - it's poisonous!)

Your Rescue's wishlist is likely to contain more specific items, like:

• Oxbow Critical Care feed
• Timothy hay
• Natural treats
• a particular brand of food that they use
• particular brands of skin care products
• tunnels and hidies

My parcel included a range of these items, plus a large water bottle, and some products from Gorgeous Guineas. Gorgeous Guineas do a lot of different, all-natural skin care products, designed and created specifically for Guinea Pigs, but try to think what a Rescue or Sanctuary might need the most when you place your order. I chose:

• Lice and Easy shampoo - because surrendered piggies are likely to bring little friends with them!
• CocoNeem Melt - has a coconut oil base, and is used as a treatment prior to shampooing to help relieve scurf and crusty areas of skin.
• Calendula Lotion - which is suitable for using on pregnant piggies and Skinny Pigs (hairless), and is great for soothing sore, itchy and dry skin. Rescues see lots of pregnant sows surrendered to them every year.

NB: Check how you are going to send/deliver your gift, as some carriers cannot take parcels containing liquid.

Also NB: Before you buy any fleece/fabric tunnels, hidies and accessories for your parcel, wait until you receive your wishlist, as many rescues don't have the facilities or time to wash and dry these items, and might prefer, wooden, plastic or cardboard items instead.

I was teamed up with April Lodge Guinea Pig Rescue, and my final 'surprise' gift to them was a pencil portrait of my two Secret Santa recipients, Gonzo and his wife Busy Bee. I wanted to include something very personal in the parcel, and the photo I received of them was so beautiful that I used it to hand draw them onto watercolour paper. I popped it in a board backed envelope and put it in the parcel with everything else.

Pencil Portrait of April Lodge Guinea Pig Rescue residents Gonzo and Busy Bee.
Drawn by Rebecca Reynolds BA (Hons)
aka Pumpkin Becki

Sadly Gonzo passed away just before Christmas, but Busy Bee received her gifts safely, and generously gave her portrait to the kind lady who had fostered her and Gonzo for a time.


If you would like to take part in upcoming Guinea Pig Secret Santas, then pop over to their Facebook page and give them a follow https://www.facebook.com/guineapigsecretsanta/
Sleep tight little Gonzo xx

Gorgeous Guineas Haul and Product Review

Gorgeous Guineas Haul

I've been merrily buying store brand guinea pig shampoos for as long as I've had piggies, but I've never been that happy with the results, and as we have taken on more rescue piggies with more skin issues I've begun hankering after the range made in the UK by Gorgeous Guineas. I first saw the products in a room tour video by  Laura at Piggiepigpigs and went over to the Gorgeous Guineas webshop, carefully reading all the product descriptions and making a mental shopping list.

My final 'push' to actually purchase came last month when I signed up to become a Guinea Pig Secret Santa via their Facebook page (I'll post more on this after Christmas ;) ), where you fill a parcel with essentials and treats for guinea pig/s at the rescue you've been paired with. It's an adorable concept!

Here's what I bought and my reasons:

The ordering process was simple on the website, payment went through without a hitch and the padded envelope full of products arrived in perfect condition within a couple of days. At the wheekend (see what I did there?) my first victims were lined up to be pampered at the spa of Pumpkin Becki.

Using the Gorgeous Guineas products

Molly - Rex coated - Aloe Melt

The first job with Molly was to prepare the Aloe Melt. You place the bottle in a cup of hot (not boiling) water and allow the coconut oil base to gently melt. I had to refill the hot water about three times, and hold the bottle down before it finally became liquid enough to apply.

Warm the Gorgeous Guineas Aloe Melt in hot water

Molly is a big girl. not fat though, she just has extra saddlebags (shown in blue below) from where she was used for breeding by Pets at Home's supplier. They've been checked over by a vet and are not anything to worry about.

You can clearly see Molly's saddlebags where she was used for breeding

The instructions say to use 5ml per piggie, or 10ml for a particularly large one. Molly definitely needed 10ml, not just because of her size, but also because her dry coat drank up the melt gratefully.

Apply the Gorgeous Guineas Aloe Melt all over the guinea pig, including the ears

The melt is worked into the coat from the top of the head, down the nose, inside and outside the ears, along the back and sides. Then under the tummy and over the legs.

Gorgeous Guineas Aloe Melt - Don't leave out the tummy!

Then you leave the piggie for 20 minutes to allow the melt to work its magic. I put her into the floor-time pen with lots of snuggly places to hide in.

Molly after the application of Gorgeous Guineas Aloe Melt. You can see her coat isn't so dry, and it certainly felt softer.

Emmeline and Lice and Easy

This was only Emmeline's 2nd bath ever, and she wasn't besotted by the idea at all.

We have a deep butlers sink in the kitchen, which I filled with approx 4cm of warm clean water. I put Emmeline straight in and began scooping water over her body, avoiding her head. Unimpressed she tried to jump out, so I supported her on my hand and arm to help make her feel a bit more secure. Then I put her on a dry towel beside the sink, squeezed a 10p sized blob of Gorgeous Guineas Lice and Easy into the palm of my hand, spread it between both hands and applied it to her back, legs, tummy and dewlap (under he chin). then I damped down her white blaze on her face with one finger and rubbed a little lather onto it, being careful not to allow it anywhere near her eyes.

I carefully rinsed her off and reapplied the shampoo. While working it in well, I could see bits of dead skin and a few lice gathering in the foam. It was working! She was wrapped in a towel with the shampoo still on, for 5 minutes as per the instructions, then rinsed thoroughly. MrPB then towel dried her while I shampoo'd Molly.

Poor Molly didn't appreciate the bathing process much either, but lots of dead skin and grease lifted out of her coat.

Look at Molly's face!

She was much happier once she'd been rinsed and given a huge Romaine lettuce leaf as a treat :)

Molly loves Romaine Lettuce

Little did she know the process would be repeated the following weekend!

What is the best pet for children?

Nothing! Full Stop! End Of!

(World's shortest blog post ever!!)

But seriously, you should never bring an animal into your life with the intention of it being solely your child's pet. If you are the adult of the household, then just like everything else in your life, the buck stops with you, the animal's welfare is your responsibility and yours alone.

"That's a bit harsh" I hear you say, but I'm afraid it's true. We all know the scenario where little Johnny begs for a puppy, promising faithfully to take it for walks, feed it, train it etc etc. Then after a few weeks or months, the shine has worn  off, it's raining outside, Johnny's friends want him to go and play at their house and any number of other 'valid' reasons why you end up looking after puppy instead of Johnny.

Now, let's ask the question in a slightly different way...

What makes a good family pet?

Ah, now we're on to something!

I'm a huge advocate for family pets, they bring immense joy, encourage socialisation, interaction and so many other benefits. They also teach us important life lessons about dependency, responsibility and death, see this recent post for more on this topic.

To my mind a good family pet is something that everyone in the family is confident to be with and handle, something you can afford to keep and look after, and something that you can give as much space and time to as possible. Whether you ultimately choose a dog, cat, pony, budgie or lizard will utterly depend on your circumstances.

Pets are not status symbols

In this world of breeding the biggest/smallest/cutest/fluffiest/most ferocious, think long and hard about why you want to bring a pet into your life. Don't believe the hype - a Micro Pig grows!! (and smells!!!), it needs to be able to use instinctual behaviours to be mentally happy and that basically means rooting things up with its nose. Persian cats have terrible breathing problems due to the highly inbred snub-nose characteristics. A tiny dog shouldn't live in a handbag. It needs to use its muscles, its nose, it needs to understand its place in the family pack or it will be anxious, snappy and uncontrollable.

Animals and birds are animals and birds, and we must dignify that, and help them to understand their natural instincts and place in life. Anything else is cruel, physically and mentally, and that is why so many 'problem' animals end up in rescues, or dumped at the side of the road every year! And don't get me started on Craigslist, Freecycle and Facebook etc, where people list animals like secondhand dvds!

This brings me on to the main point of this post...

Pets DO NOT make good presents!

I've seen some really disturbing adverts this Christmas, from big American pet shop chains, claiming that Guinea Pigs make great Christmas presents because they are low maintenance, have minimal space requirements, with prices "from as little as..."

NO NO NO!!!

This sends out such a dreadful message!

I have a vivid image of huge pet breeding 'farms' churning out baby guinea pigs, rabbits, hamsters, rats, gerbils, degus etc in their thousands, ready for the Christmas rush. Unsold ones being shunted into the 'reduced' (Adoption) section to make way for new batches of cuter, younger, more appealing babies. Ones that are bought, being sent to their new homes with undersized cages, improper care advice, sub-quality feed. And before Boxing Day arrives, the new pet has been sidelined for the latest computer game or must-have gadget, starved of attention and eventually looking for a new home.

Remember the adverts on TV proclaiming that 'A dog is for life, not just for Christmas'? Well that message applies to all pets, and apart from everything, Christmas is a terrible time to introduce any new pet into your life, they need routine, quiet, calm, time to get used to their new surroundings. Christmas is not that time! It's all wrapping paper, kids high on sugar, guests, strange food, noise, drama, or large chunks of time left totally on their own while you go off out.

Please don't even consider bringing a new pet into your life at Christmas.

#AdoptDontShop

If you're a fan of social media, you've probably seen this hashtag before. It's a really important little message.

If you adopt or rescue a pet, you're giving it a second chance at a happy fulfilled life. You are helping to prevent over-breeding by pet 'farms', and you are supporting a charity or rescue that can then help another animal in need. It's a win/win/win situation.

Don't think that these animals are only going to live for a short time, so there's no point. Here are the pets I've adopted over time, all living full and happy lives with us...

#AdoptDontShop
Minky the Russian Dwarf Hamster, put into the Adoption section because she had been in the pet shop too long.
Lived with us for 21 months until she was nearly 2 years old.

#AdoptDontShop
Pudding the Guinea Pig, given up by her owner because she was aggressive with her cage mate.
Lived with us, in a cage of her own near other piggies for 3 years, she was approximately 5.

#AdoptDontShop
Sophie the Syrian Hamster, put into Adoption section because she had a scratch on her nose that needed monitoring, and was considered too old to go back into the 'new' pet section.

#AdoptDontShop
Molly the ex-breeding Guinea Pig sow from Pets at Home's breeding farm. We don't know how old she was when she was deemed to old to breed from. She's been with us for one year and one month.

#AdoptDontShop
Emmeline was left on her own after her mother died. she's just over 2 years old

#AdoptDontShop
Emmeline and Molly have bonded for life

Doesn't this photo just sum it all up :)

So, to sum up:

• #AdoptDontShop
• Pet's are not good Christmas presents
• Pets are not a child's responsibility

Introducing my family - part 4

The Chickens aka The Lady Detectives, or The Blob Blobs

Preparing for chickens

MrPB and I have wanted to have hens since we first watched the 1998 Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall tv series Escape to River Cottage. We didn't have the right kind of garden way back then, but we began investigating.

Our honeymoon destination in May 2001 was chosen specifically because the Dorset cottage had it's own trio of hens which you could collect eggs from everyday. They were a bit sad looking, one had a very pecked, bald bottom, and the run, although large, was just mud and nettles. Oh my, they were so much fun to talk to and watch.

We bought a couple of books via Amazon; Keeping a Few Hens in Your Garden and Keeping a Few Ducks in Your Garden, both written by the doyenne of poultry Francine Raymond. The latter book put the idea of ducks out of our minds entirely! If you're thinking about them then do read this book, it's a wake up call! The former had us entranced though. The book itself was printed on incredibly tactile paper, reminiscent of a school exercise book, with a pen and ink illustration glued to the front. Inside, the words and drawings washed over me, cementing my resolve, and making the whole scheme seem totally achievable. Her loving descriptions of her own flock of Buff Orpingtons captivated me. She painted them as one of the most sedate, tolerant, gentle and enormous breeds available, likening them to 'the family Labrador'. I began investigating potential breeders in the back of Practical Poultry magazine

Time rolled on, and in 2007 we finally found our plot of land to self-build on; this was our opportunity at long last!

We enrolled on a Chicken Keeping course, actually run by Francine Raymond (I was star-struck) at the beautiful Assington Mill in Suffolk. Francine was so informative, no question was too silly, and she had an amazing life-size sculpture of an Orpington hen that someone had made her from chicken wire. Wow...that was a big sculpture!

I worked in sales at Forsham Cottage Arks, the wooden poultry housing specialists (before they were bought out by Omlet), and gained lots more practical experience with chickens, and started to devise how MrPB and I could keep a trio of hens safely in our new garden...which was still building site at this point!

We made contact with a well known Orpington breeder Priscilla Middleton, who lived about 40 minutes drive from us. We spoke a few times on the phone, then deciding that 2015 was THE year, we arranged to visit Priscilla in the Spring, once I was fully recovered from my hysterectomy operation in January.

Her yard is a chicken lovers heaven! Her flocks of bantams and normal size chickens wander around freely looking very idyllic, but her large fowl breeding birds are kept in pens out in a field.

A gorgeously fluffy, chocolate coloured Orpington hen was pecking around, and I drew MrPB's attention to her "That's an Orpington" I pointed out, and a look of relief appeared on MrPB 's face, she wasn't nearly as big as I'd been telling him... "Yes, she's a bantam Orpington...that one over there is a large fowl Orpington" His face fell, she was at least three times bigger than the pretty bantam! Teehee!

Finally in August we went back to Priscilla's, armed with a huge cardboard box. She had gathered together seven or eight pullets raised from different clutches that had hatched at approximately the same time.

I had already chosen names (*sorry*). I was hoping to get a Buff Orpington, a chocolate one and a Lemon Cuckoo one (I wanted to call her Miss Lemon after Hercule Poirot's secretary). Sadly Priscilla didn't have a Lemon Cuckoo available. D'oh!

Instead we chose a beautiful Buff, a stunning Silver-Laced and a sweet Lavender.

Clockwise from left to right: Silver-laced, Buff, Lavender
Photos by Pumpkin Becki

Introductions to the hens - Felicity

Felicity Lemon is stunning, her plumage has so many different textures, and in the sun she sparkles like spun gold. As she moves around she makes soft 'blob blob blob' noises, hence why one of the flock's collective names is the "Blob Blobs". She is probably the oldest of the three (by a matter of days), and came into lay on 30th November 2015.

Miss Felicity Lemon our Buff Orpington, approx 22 weeks old
Photos by Pumpkin Becki

Her eggs are enormous and torpedo-like, and the yolk is so yellow it looks unreal.

Felicity's first egg next to a 10p piece for scale
Photos by Pumpkin Becki

Introductions to the hens - Hetty

Hetty Wainthrop has the sweetest nature of the three, and her unusual dark eyes are very gentle. She's the trickiest to catch but enjoys a cuddle the most, settling down on your lap instead of standing. The breeder was experimenting with colours and also trying to introduce a 'Frizzle' characteristic to her 2015 offspring. I think Frizzles look daft personally, and as Hetty has grown and moulted she has developed a small patch of silly neck feathers that are Frizzle-esque, growing all twiddly and in the wrong directions. She has also developed random blobs of colour on some feathers, which means she is a Lavender-Splash rather than a pure Lavender. Probably also as a direct result of all this "breeding", her outer toes point sideways. This means they don't wear down own their own, so we have to help her by clipping them regularly.

Hetty takes everything in life slowly, she is always the last out of the coop in the morning and she was the last to come into lay, putting it off until Easter this year. Funnily though, although she wasn't ready yet, once the other two began laying, Hetty would always join them in the nest box, like a midwife offering encouragement. Her eggs are smaller and slightly more rounded than Felicity's. 

Mrs Hetty Wainthrop our Lavender Orpington with deep dark eyes, approx 22 weeks old
Photos by Pumpkin Becki

Introductions to the hens - Jane

Jane Marple, has a sharp, beady look about her. She's the noisiest...actually the sound she makes is like an angry goose, it's rather alarming! She is top of the pecking order and likes the others to know it, though they are so relaxed as a flock that there is never any actual harm done.

She is described as a Silver-Laced, and this refers to the pretty, dark outline around each and every feather. Only her 'fluff' is a plain brown/black. In fact when you look closely at Jane's lacing, you notice that it is not plain, but iridescent, like beetle wings or petrol.

Jane began laying in mid December 2015. Her eggs are small and viciously round! How she lays them I have no idea!!

Being a "breed" rather than hybrids, the ladies spend a lot of time "off-lay", but the eggs are just a welcome bonus really.

Miss Jane Marple (Silver-laced Orpington) and Miss Lemon (Buff) enjoy the delights of the garden, especially lavender
Photos by Pumpkin Becki

Chickens, was it worth the wait?

So, having waited seventeen years to get our ladies, was the wait worth it?

Absolutely!

They are everything I hoped they would be and more.

Beatrix Potter and The Amiable Guinea Pig

Beatrix Potter and her love of animals

Beatrix Potter was an English girl born in 1866. She was educated at home by a succession of governesses, and went on to become the author of some of the most enduring, best-loved children's stories ever published. 

She was an avid artist, becoming an accomplished botanical illustrator and created all her own story book illustrations. 

She wrote about her pets, farm animals and the wildlife that surrounded her home. Her first book was the self-published The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1901), and in 1903 she designed and produced a plush toy of Peter Rabbit which she patented, and this toy became the first ever licensed literary character. 

Most of her stories were darkly cautionary tales for young children, teaching important life lessons to Victorian and Edwardian children, but she also wrote poetry, and my favourite (you'll see why) comes from the collected works called Appley Dapply's Nursery Rhymes. It is entitled The Amiable Guinea Pig

Beatrix Potter's The Amiable Guinea Pig

There once was an amiable guinea pig, 

Who brushed back his hair like a periwig --

He wore a sweet tie, 

As blue as the sky --

And his whiskers and buttons

Were very big.

By Beatrix Potter

© Frederick Warne & Co.

www.peterrabbit.com

With kind permission from Penguin Random House UK

David Austen Roses Unpacking and Review - Geoff Hamilton

Geoff Hamilton: Man, Gardener, Legend

I have always loved the late, great Geoff Hamilton. His passion for Organic gardening, sustainability, environmental impact and biodiversity began way before these terms became trendy. He believed in them, he used them in his garden 'Barnsdale' and he taught us about them on BBC2's Gardener's World every Friday evening. He was an inspiration.

I remember my late mother would curl up in the armchair with her Gin and Tonic and absorb everything he said. She wasn't interested in growing fruit or vegetables, just ornamentals, but she watched avidly nonetheless, and I sat with her. When Geoff passed away on 4th August 1996 we cried. 
I still cry when I see clips of him on TV now. 

Geoff Hamilton: Shrub Rose

I've never been a fan of gardening with roses, they've always stabbed me no matter how careful I've been around them. Gardening shouldn't be a violent pastime, it should be gentle. 

How fitting then, that almost exactly 20 years after Geoff Hamilton died, I discovered that the world renown rose breeders David Austin Roses had developed a thornless* shrub rose named after the kind and gentle Geoff.

I placed my order online, direct with David Austin Roses, for a bare root plant to be dispatched to me during November. The process was incredibly easy and the website tempting, but I stuck to one Geoff Hamilton and one pack of mycorrhizal fungi, which is highly recommended for roses.

The David Austin packaging is very prestigious looking.
photo by Pumpkin Becki

Unpacking my rose

The parcel arrived on Wednesday 9th November, delivered by Royal Mail packed in this tall brown paper bag.

The bag was indestructible!

The string thing at the top of these bags always defeats me; I can never undo the chicken feed ones.

"I'll tear it open" I thought (struggle, wrestle, struggle) "...perhaps not!"

I resorted to my trusty gardening knife.

Inside the brown paper outer was my bare root rose plant wrapped in two plastic bags.

There an envelope containing a customer survey, there was my mycorrhizal fungi pack, a comprehensive, glossy, full-colour cultivation guide, and a wonderfully muddy packing list, which looked like it had been taken into the field to ensure the right rose was dug up.

Rose Cultivation Guide, customer survey, packing note and mycorrhizal fungi, photo by Pumpkin Becki

Soaking the root ball is vitally important,
photo by Pumpkin Becki

Planting my rose - preparation

I received a lovely healthy bare root three stemmed plant grafted onto a substantial root-stock.

Following the instructions in the cultivation guide, I soaked the roots of my rose in a bucket of water for several hours. I stood the bucket in the unheated greenhouse.

The next step was to choose the planting location.

Now, I had about three options available to me in the back garden, but one would be too windy and the other would give the plant too much competition from the roots of other plants.

I chose the raised bed in front of the greenhouse. dug up the spent sweet pea plants, and an elderly hollyhock which hadn't performed very well this summer.

I dug down probably about 30cm until I started to hit the drainage material in the bottom of the bed. The cultivation guide states 80cm, but knew I could increase the depth by topping up the soil level and mulching ...I'll never achieve 80cm though, unless I build the rose it's own soil mountain :)

Digging the hole, photo by Pumpkin Becki

I dug the hole as big and wide as I could, around 60cm diameter at the top, and kept trying the roots in the hole until they were able to fit with space to spare. Here you can see my hand trowel sticking up vertically from the bottom of the hole.

It is important to keep testing the root ball in the planting hole before back-filling; you want to give the plant the best possible chance of success, and a well spread out root system will help prevent wind rock.

The next step was to open the pack of mycorrhizal fungi. The  bag said that it was sufficient for three rose plants, so holding the root ball over the newly dug hole, I liberally sprinkled a third of the bag over the soaked roots and into the hole itself.

What is Mycorrhizal fungi?

Have you ever dug down into undisturbed soil and seen a web of white powery strands around the roots of plants and bulbs? That is mycorrhizal fungi. It forms a mutually beneficial relationship with the plant, bonding to the roots and effectively extending the host plants root system immeasurably.

The RHS say that mycorrhizal fungi are most beneficial to wild plants, as cultivation, fertilization, application of manure and herbicides will all damage the delicate natural balance between the fungi and the host. So don't apply mycorrhizal fungi to vegetable beds for instance, it would be a waste of money and effort.

Checking the planting depth with a cane, photo by Pumpkin Becki

Planting my rose - planting depth

Depth of planting hole is just as important a diameter, possibly more-so.

The 'union' or graft point should be around 5cm below the finished soil level. The graft is usually an obvious knobbly joint between the root stock and the plant. Different root stocks govern the vigour of the whole plant, and is a very common practice. Grafted fruit trees are always more productive than non-grafted, and the same variety of apple grafted on to different types of root will each produce different size mature trees, some suitable for small gardens, some suitable for orchards.

Here you can see the rose root stock is brown, and there is a knobbly part with the bright green plant stems joined to it. This is the graft.

I laid a garden cane across the top of the planting hole, and you can see that the hole needs to be a little deeper for the graft to sit 5cm below soil level (the bottom edge of the cane).

Once I was happy with the depth, I supported the plant upright in the hole, and began carefully backfilling, making sure there were no air pockets present. The backfill was enriched with some extra garden compost, and firmed in.

Watering in, photo by Pumpkin Becki

When the hole was 95% filled in, I carefully poured a bucketful of water over the root area to make sure that the soil was well settled around the plant. Once the puddle (which you can see here) had drained down into the soil, I put on the last of the soil/compost mix and leveled the surface to it's finished height.

I am so excited to see how Geoff does in my garden. I really hope he and I make a great partnership for many years to come.


* In the 2015 David Austin Roses catalogue, Geoff Hamilton is described as 'thornless (or mostly)'. In 2016 that has been omitted and it is no longer included in the search results for 'thornless'. I wait with trepidation to see how mine turns out!