Checking out the Chicken wire
We’re down in Westport with Noeline Haylett getting some advice on how to look after chickens. Noeline runs the Mayo Animal Welfare Centre and knows a thing about our egg laying friends.
“How long do chickens live?” I ask as we make our way past the barking dogs.
“They usually live up to eight years.” Noeline tells me. Noeline was brought up in the South African bush. She tells us one of her famous stories;
“When I was about four, my job was to hold the chicken while my father chopped the head off. One day my older brother whispered to me, ‘Do you know the chicken will still run around after the head is chopped off?’
‘Really,” It couldn’t be true, so, even though I had strict instructions to keep tight hold I couldn’t resist letting go to see what would happen. It was amazing. Off the chicken ran, blood spurting out of it’s neck like a pulsating fountain. My dad wasn’t too pleased though and neither was I when I had to clean up the blood while my brother smirked in the background.”
It’s a miracle
While we laugh at the image, Ronnie pipes up with one of his internet facts.
“There was a chicken called Miracle Mike who lived for eighteen months after getting his head chopped off, he toured the sideshows of America. The owner took a pickled chicken head to the shows, but that wasn’t Mike’s head, that was eaten by a cat.”
Ronnie and Noeline begin to talk about how Mike was fed through his neck with an eyedropper, while I go off and look at the chicken run.
I am hoping to start keeping chickens soon and want to see just how we can protect ours from the likes of foxes, mink and farmer Lloyd Olsen, (Mike’s owner and beheader).
Mesh
Noeline uses a one inch thick galvanised steel mesh, ten feet long by five feet wide that are so sturdy they stand upon their own. Noeline and the gang join me. “I find that the foxes can chew through chicken wire, so I use this.” Noeline pulls at the thick steel. “Nothing can get through that.” She says proudly. “It comes from Turkey and is expensive though at €50 a sheet, so it’s not very environmentally friendly.”
“I’ll take my chances with chicken wire.” I say. “Put them into the chicken house at night then.” Noeline advises.
Noeline also has a surprise for Michael. After surrepitiously checking it out with myself and Julie she offers Michael two baby Guinea Pigs brothers (Bubbles and Squeak). He is delighted having been hankering after one for years. I am feeling worried. I don’t have much luck with the lad’s pets. My last attempt at fish pet care ended up with a big Who Dunnit.
Ronnie has some more facts for us “ In some areas of Peru, Guinea Pigs run free around your kichen. They are pets until it’s dinner time.”….
He might be on to something there………..
GREENME
I have joined the GreenMe team.
The GreemMe site was originally set up set up by Jo Gallagher, Gina Geanan in 2006 as a farmers market but has grown and evolved into Ireland’s leading online directory and information resource for sustainable living. Architect, environmentalist and broadcaster Duncan Stewart joined the site as a non-executive director and is helping to make the site an ideal starting point for going green.
What is in the site?
GreenMe is a trusted source of information and advice for greener living. There are practical guides, blogs (I do the gardening one) and Ireland’s biggest green business directory. The site makes it easier for people to source green products and suppliers – and distinguish between businesses that have good green practices and those that don’t.
The GreenMe website focuses on businesses that clearly show their integrity, credibility and transparency in their practices and take a holistic approach to improving their ecological footprint, rather than companies who often cherry-pick their eco-friendly parts (often small) and yet ignore their larger environmental impacts.
Something for everyone
With the directory, the GreenMe blog and the tips and other advice you’ll get on the site, there’s a wealth of information and advice at your fingertips. The site already has over 8000 business listings, spanning the whole green industry, from renewable energy and solar systems to recycling services. There’s something for everyone, from the responsible DIY enthusiast to the eco fashionista. The listing is free too so if you are a local green business check out their website for more details. http://www.greenme.ie/
We’re down in Westport with Noeline Haylett getting some advice on how to look after chickens. Noeline runs the Mayo Animal Welfare Centre and knows a thing about our egg laying friends.
“How long do chickens live?” I ask as we make our way past the barking dogs.
“They usually live up to eight years.” Noeline tells me. Noeline was brought up in the South African bush. She tells us one of her famous stories;
“When I was about four, my job was to hold the chicken while my father chopped the head off. One day my older brother whispered to me, ‘Do you know the chicken will still run around after the head is chopped off?’
‘Really,” It couldn’t be true, so, even though I had strict instructions to keep tight hold I couldn’t resist letting go to see what would happen. It was amazing. Off the chicken ran, blood spurting out of it’s neck like a pulsating fountain. My dad wasn’t too pleased though and neither was I when I had to clean up the blood while my brother smirked in the background.”
It’s a miracle
While we laugh at the image, Ronnie pipes up with one of his internet facts.
“There was a chicken called Miracle Mike who lived for eighteen months after getting his head chopped off, he toured the sideshows of America. The owner took a pickled chicken head to the shows, but that wasn’t Mike’s head, that was eaten by a cat.”
Ronnie and Noeline begin to talk about how Mike was fed through his neck with an eyedropper, while I go off and look at the chicken run.
I am hoping to start keeping chickens soon and want to see just how we can protect ours from the likes of foxes, mink and farmer Lloyd Olsen, (Mike’s owner and beheader).
Mesh
Noeline uses a one inch thick galvanised steel mesh, ten feet long by five feet wide that are so sturdy they stand upon their own. Noeline and the gang join me. “I find that the foxes can chew through chicken wire, so I use this.” Noeline pulls at the thick steel. “Nothing can get through that.” She says proudly. “It comes from Turkey and is expensive though at €50 a sheet, so it’s not very environmentally friendly.”
“I’ll take my chances with chicken wire.” I say. “Put them into the chicken house at night then.” Noeline advises.
Noeline also has a surprise for Michael. After surrepitiously checking it out with myself and Julie she offers Michael two baby Guinea Pigs brothers (Bubbles and Squeak). He is delighted having been hankering after one for years. I am feeling worried. I don’t have much luck with the lad’s pets. My last attempt at fish pet care ended up with a big Who Dunnit.
Ronnie has some more facts for us “ In some areas of Peru, Guinea Pigs run free around your kichen. They are pets until it’s dinner time.”….
He might be on to something there………..
GREENME
I have joined the GreenMe team.
The GreemMe site was originally set up set up by Jo Gallagher, Gina Geanan in 2006 as a farmers market but has grown and evolved into Ireland’s leading online directory and information resource for sustainable living. Architect, environmentalist and broadcaster Duncan Stewart joined the site as a non-executive director and is helping to make the site an ideal starting point for going green.
What is in the site?
GreenMe is a trusted source of information and advice for greener living. There are practical guides, blogs (I do the gardening one) and Ireland’s biggest green business directory. The site makes it easier for people to source green products and suppliers – and distinguish between businesses that have good green practices and those that don’t.
The GreenMe website focuses on businesses that clearly show their integrity, credibility and transparency in their practices and take a holistic approach to improving their ecological footprint, rather than companies who often cherry-pick their eco-friendly parts (often small) and yet ignore their larger environmental impacts.
Something for everyone
With the directory, the GreenMe blog and the tips and other advice you’ll get on the site, there’s a wealth of information and advice at your fingertips. The site already has over 8000 business listings, spanning the whole green industry, from renewable energy and solar systems to recycling services. There’s something for everyone, from the responsible DIY enthusiast to the eco fashionista. The listing is free too so if you are a local green business check out their website for more details. http://www.greenme.ie/
GreenMe makes greener living simpler and realistic. The website is not just for the green “purists” but also for everyone who wants to be greener.
1 comment:
What a lovely blog you've created. Those are extremely cute Guinea Pigs. I hope your family enjoys them for many years to come. The GreenMe site is a very clever idea. I wonder if we have an equivalent here in the States. If not, we should. Well done!
Cheers!
Dawn
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