Sunday 26 February 2012
Saturday 25 February 2012
apologies, my brain must be addled
apologies if it all appears a
little simplistic but I've been boring everyone for so long that my
brain is a touch addled. Definitions of 'Addled' range from
1. addled - (of eggs) no longer edible addled - (of eggs) no longer edible; "an addled egg"
stale - lacking freshness, palatability, or showing deterioration from age; "stale bread"; "the beer was stale"
and
2. addled - confused and vagueaddled - confused and vague; used especially of thinking; "muddleheaded ideas"; "your addled little brain"; "woolly thinking"; "woolly-headed ideas"
1. addled - (of eggs) no longer edible addled - (of eggs) no longer edible; "an addled egg"
stale - lacking freshness, palatability, or showing deterioration from age; "stale bread"; "the beer was stale"
and
2. addled - confused and vagueaddled - confused and vague; used especially of thinking; "muddleheaded ideas"; "your addled little brain"; "woolly thinking"; "woolly-headed ideas"
why is Greenwich a good place for hens?
Why have chickens in Greenwich? (or why is Greenwich a good place for hens?)
Approx 100,000 dozen eggs are consumed each week
by the 200,000 population of Greenwich.
This
is the produce from 200,000 laying hens.
Roughly
half of these will now be free range.
The rest from cages or barn style producers.
(cages are still permitted, only they must be slightly bigger and have a little section to allow hens to scratch... at a piece of metal floor!).
Almost
all of these will travel a minimum of 80 miles to get into the stores
and outlets within the borough.
Only
approximately 0.5% of these eggs would be from hens within the borough.
Approximately a total of 1000 hens kept in backyards, city farms etc.
Even in an urban environment like greenwich there is scope for more in the right way. Large static houses are not welcome as land is in demand for housing or industry.
However small, mobile houses are better for the hens anyway. They have better access to a varied foraging landscape and this is directly reflected in the quality of the eggs.
(large, static houses are an intensive solution. At the very best only half of the hens would ever make any use of the land provided to them and that must be managed to avoid fowl-sick land. It is usually grassland that is there to gain the free-range status).
Plenty
of scope to keep more, Greenwich has plenty of open space and by piloting a
technically advanced yet traditionally based system our project may lead to an
appropriate and rewarding way to integrate more into the community.
Thursday 23 February 2012
Just to update anyone who may wonder where we are....
Bostall Woods site is a disused playing field right under Bostall Woods, a great expanse of mixed woods and heath on the hills above Plumstead in South East London.
(My mum and dad lived there for many years and both my brothers were born near the heath. My grandmother is buried a few doors down from the site)
We hope to soon have the lease and start work shortly. This involves planting an orchard, a fruiting hedge and a few raised planters.
Hens should follow soon after we have planning. Full of uncertainty. They will be half re-housed year old hens from a biodynamic orchard near Forest Row in Sussex and the other half new, 18 week old pullets probably from my old boss down in South Gorley.
Bees should be added within the first summer.
Steve ('chicken' steve)is busy sorting a small plot in Hampshire for rearing chicks. He is fab at it.
As for the eggs, I would hope we'd be selling within a couple of months.
Membership forms for the co-op should be available soon and I would urge anyone who may be interested to sign-up.
Bostall Woods site is a disused playing field right under Bostall Woods, a great expanse of mixed woods and heath on the hills above Plumstead in South East London.
(My mum and dad lived there for many years and both my brothers were born near the heath. My grandmother is buried a few doors down from the site)
We hope to soon have the lease and start work shortly. This involves planting an orchard, a fruiting hedge and a few raised planters.
Hens should follow soon after we have planning. Full of uncertainty. They will be half re-housed year old hens from a biodynamic orchard near Forest Row in Sussex and the other half new, 18 week old pullets probably from my old boss down in South Gorley.
Bees should be added within the first summer.
Steve ('chicken' steve)is busy sorting a small plot in Hampshire for rearing chicks. He is fab at it.
As for the eggs, I would hope we'd be selling within a couple of months.
Membership forms for the co-op should be available soon and I would urge anyone who may be interested to sign-up.
hello to the world
Welcome to the blogging page for the hens.
It may seem a touch sparse but look out for things to come.
lou
It may seem a touch sparse but look out for things to come.
lou
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