Hi!

With this awful weather I have to empty the dishwasher, else I'd feel guilty when she wakes up at 5 am to greet the chicks.

But I managed last night so all went well today though it was dreadful out there this morning.

I am also at the computer for most of the time, doing a 'relay circuit' course, in her interest. I find it terribly complicated but if I shall succeed by sheer perseverance and in the end she will benefit from it by not having to wake up anymore at an ungodly hour.

I think, in time, I will tell her the good news.

I have explained a lot of things to my chickens but last night, in the rain, I went out (I am a gentleman really) to see if they had all gone into the coop but they hadn't. Half of them were huddling together wondering what the heck had happened to the coop's entrance. Well, nothing. At all. They seem to lack a bit of common sense and/or intelligence so I can have a word with them tomorrow about the Avian Flu but I doubt any information will hit the right spot.

Counselling in the UK: may I recommend a few British people to put down their name for or is it just for (y)our feathered friends?

 

Shall I tell you where the name 'Sofa' comes from?

Ok then!

In 2008 there was this bank crisis, remember? I think they were out of money or something. Anyway, I visited the Dutch equivalent of 'Gumtree' and sent an email to everyone selling a leather sofa. The message was something like: 'If you can't sell your sofa please call us, we are looking for export sofas for the siesta/fiesta guys down south'. That way we got over 300, usually for around € 50, some free and mostly in good or excellent state. Trucked them down to Spain. Yes, cost a lot of €€€€€€ . Then bought some really good pigmented creams and polished them like crazy. Most were sold for € 299. By the time everybody in the village had a new sofa business went downhill and we closed the warehouse. I got stuck with a dozen 'not so good sofas'. Then we opened the naughty cinema and put the sofas in there. We called the business 'El Sofa'. Time to snuggle up guys!

 

Ha ha, this 'flag' will soon be more famous than the Fleurdelisé!

Unfortunately we closed last year April and may stay closed for another 6 months or more. The question 'What's for dinner?' is ever getting more urgent.

Poulet?

From Toronto
1-stop flights to 9 cities in Spain
from CAD 571

From Montreal
1-stop flights to 7 cities in Spain
· 9h 15m+
from CAD 545

From Calgary
2-stop flights to 11 cities in Spain
· 15h 45m+
from CAD 976

 

Spanish chicken?

That's called 'Pollo'. Many foreigners however ask for 'Polla' when dining out. Though that is more of an 'El Sofa' product.

 

@ Sofa or El Sofa,
Thanks for the the updates.
The chicken counselling is available to humans, however, they must dress in Chicken outfits, these can be purchased on the internet.
The only downside is, that Wallace & Gromit are in charge of the counselling.
Shaun's 25th Anniversary since Wallace & Gromit's A Close Shave - YouTube
Hope the weather improves for you, sunny Spain is suffering from snow.
Good luck........

 

Enough of so much nonsense. Regret the much time I spent until coming here.

 

@ bertus,
Apologies to the moderators. We have strayed a little off topic, but chickens have been the main topic.
Good luck to everyone.

 

 

In that box? Well, I can close the plastic lid but it hardly ever rains here and the box(es) are under a trailer. The worst that can happen is a little build up of humidity but then I could just leave the box open for a day. But again, rain is something we need but don't get and it never is humid really. But yeah, it's not build to last 20 years. Never mind, rental property, it works beautifully at the moment. (Life is temporarily anyway)

 

I had to check that, the power converter ........

Well, it's in a plastic box. With a lid. And that plastic box is in a cement wood box. And that is under the trailer. So my guess is that it should be alright. If we get a rainy week I will keep a close eye on it.

In many coops that contain electrical installations it's much more humid. Depending on the climate of course. But inside coops in general it is humid. Birds lose water, droppings accumulate, yuk. At least this box (or boxes) are exposed to air but not to water.

Had to fiddle a bit with the adjustment knob of the sensor unit but all 3 doors close when it is really dark and they open early enough. For sure I'll get some problems in the future but the more you own the more problems. Got nothing to do anyway. Still a curfew here, nearly all shops/bars/restaurants etc are still closed. The main problem is finding something to do ........

 

Thanks for the great photos of the completed system. Quite impressive indeed. And I have no clue as to why I mussed a whole bunch of posts on this thread. Like several months worth. Oh Well.
And be glad those are not domestic turkeys, which have been known to be so dumb that when it rained they would look up, and drown standing there as the rain ran ito their noses and they did not figure out to look back down. My farmer uncles lost half a flock that way a few years back.

 

Brilliant 10/10 *****
Thanks for the updates, chickens look good.
I like the look of the surrounding land. Have you thought about a few goats?
I'm looking forward to your next 'book'.
Good luck El Sofa.

 

Goats are fine but you'd need to spend a lot of money on food. Unless of course you got a real big plot of land. Problem here in the south-east is that it hardly rains and there is very little vegetation. (Because of the climate most retired foreigners live here)

I keep chickens for several reasons. Yes they're fun but they lay eggs too. More importantly, I completely disagree how we abuse animals in the meat industry. They enjoy zero respect and the only goal is to produce as much meat for as little money possible in very little time. I love meat but rarely eat it. (for that reason) So this week the fattest chicken is going to come to an end. I am not looking forward to it at all, having the intention is fine but now I have to do it! But I do know they've had a happy life, they ate good food (fresh too as I pick a bucket of weed every day from a plot of land nearby) and their coop gets cleaned every day.

 

In any case, thanks again for the help and the interest!