The doctor has signed me off for another week with yet more antibiotics.  I've had so much time off work in the last 12 months.  It is quite scary being at home today.  The weather is very stormy and when the wind gusts, I can feel the house sway if I am upstairs.  Feeling a nice, solid, brick house swaying does not make one feel very safe!

With the warm winter we have had, the hens seem to be starting their spring laying early.  One of the old girls is laying again.  After the spring flush of eggs, I don't suppose they will lay more than the occasional egg again.  Both the chicks hatched at school last summer are now laying although I don't expect either will be very prolific.  One is a bantam and I have never found them to lay a lot of eggs.  The other is a buff Orpington and at their best they will lay 3 a week - but she is beautiful.  The middleaged set of hens are laying 3-4 eggs a day now from four of them, which is more than I expected.  The young ones that I got in the summer are laying usually 5 eggs a day with the occasional 3 or 4 and there are 7 of them so I expected better.  There have only been 4 days in total when they have laid 6 eggs and I haven't had a day with 7 yet.  Hopefully this means that they will keep laying a medium quantity of eggs for longer but only time will tell.

I must put my heavy coat on and go and give the hens some corn while the rain has stopped.