an exmoor b&b owned and managed by sue & andy north
guest house and b&b, lynton, north devon
34 lee road, lynton EX35 6BS tel: 01598 753328
After the chickens ate our last attempt at making a dustbath for them we tried again yesterday. This time we mixed sterilised topsoil with a bit of the sand and they used it for it's correct purpose. Apparently having a dustbath is as important to chickens as it is to all birds for feather maintenance, so for our birds it must have been about time. It is a strange sight to see, especially if you have not seen it before, the chickens burrow into the earth and wiggle around. As soon as they started using it we realised the crate was not big enough, so we will get something bigger so they can all dustbath together rather than taking turns!
Thanks to our guests Dave and Jean for bringing us this Lynton and Lynmouth brochure from the early seventies. At first glance it is hard to date these old brochures, they just look generally old-fashioned. We have one from the eighties and it looks very similar. The adverts for hotels and b&bs look terribly dated, but when you look at the pictures of the area nothing has really changed, it's just the photography and reproduction techniques that make it look old-fashioned. Brochure price 15p! This and our other old brochures are in the bookcase in the lounge for everyone to browse.
Today we did the walk over Southcliffe to Lee Abbey Tea Cottage for the first time this year. It really is a great walk. Starting along the woody path that runs parallel to the Valley of Rocks the path soon opens out to give lovely views back over Lynton and the Valley of Rocks. The route leads down through more woodland to the Lee Abbey Tea Cottage which serves excellent home made lunches and snacks. Back along the toll road through the Valley of Rocks. Three hours.
The chickens are doing well. They have had just over a week in their new home and they are looking much healthier. They eat everything you give them now so they have their mash and grit plus a few treats in the afternoon. We gave them a bowl of sand for a dustbath but they eat it, so we will have to mix it with earth and show them what they are supposed to do! Yesterday they had a box of turf and they scratched and pecked it to bits in hours, which shows you what they would do to your lawn! We thought it would be difficult getting them into their house at night but as soon as it gets dark they just put themselves to bed.
Dunster Castle is an interesting place to visit, particularly when the weather isn't that nice. Although the castle is often closed on Thursdays the gardens, shop and mill are always open. Recently we heard that on Thursdays during June, July and August there are tours of the attic and basement which are parts of the castle not usually included in the regular tours. Could be a good idea for a rainy Thursday!
Exmoor is featured on Country Tracks this Sunday. The programme features Dulverton, Exmoor Ponies, Johnny Kingdom, the 1952 flood and Dunkery Hill. BBC1, 11.00 am Sunday.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0122tx3
We had trouble getting the chickens to come out of their house this morning. We left it until lunchtime before coaxing them out into their run. The outdoors must seem strange to them and they didn't seem to know the difference between what is food and what isn't. At first we were a bit worried about one who seemed slower to perk up, but by the evening they were all strolling around, pecking everything and eating their food and some treats. Three of them have laid eggs (two of them actually went back to the nesting boxes as they are supposed to). They were still happily exploring their new surroundings when it was starting to get dark so we encouraged them into their house to try and start a routine.
The chickens have arrived. They seem a bit disorientated, which is no surprise as they have been through quite a lot today. They were picked up from a battery farm and distributed to their new carers from another place. Then they had another drive in the car to get here. They are very unsteady on their feet. Two of them went straight into the house, but the other two stayed in the run and tried to eat a bit. They are bald in places and their combs are pale and floppy. We have taken their perches out of the coop for now thinking they will be happier on the floor until they get enough strength to perch properly.
Chicken news: The run is up and attached to the hen house. Eventually the run will have a roof, but until then we are making a covered area inside the run for a bit of shelter (something you might not have expected to need in June!). We have all the food, bedding, cleaning products etc. All we need now is some hens.
The weather has been so umpredictable lately many of our guests have been choosing to drive to some of the local places of interest like Clovelly and Rosemoor, which although better seen on a sunny day are still nice if there is a shower (or two). Both places are just over an hour from Lynton. If visiting Clovelly it is also worth visiting Hartland which has the rugged Hartland Point, Quay, Abbey and Docton Mill. Rosemoor is close to the historic town of Great Torrington, which is also worth a visit.
Over the weekend we removed an area of grass and laid a paved area (with the help of our gardener Gary) which will be the base of the chicken run. We have read that although chickens like grass they peck it away in a couple of days so unless you have the space to rotate them to a new area of grass while the old one grows again the best option is paving covered with bedding. Their run arrives tomorrow.
We put the henhouse together today. It was surprisingly big. This house will sit outside the run but attached to it to make it fox-proof. There are three nesting boxes, and perches along the base. This hen house is supposed to be big enough for five or six hens (apparently they take turns in the nesting boxes).
One of our plans when we first came to Southcliffe was to keep chickens in the back garden. The chickens would be just as pets (ex-battery hens) as rules do not permit us to serve the eggs at breakfast. It has taken us nine years, but plans are in progress. We have no experience in keeping chickens so it will be a steep learning curve especially as we have four hens arriving on the 12th June! We have an unused area of lawn in the back garden where we plan to keep them.
It was really interesting to see the Police rescue helicopter landing at close range the other day. It was one of several demonstrations by the emergency services as part of the local community day at Holman Park (just down the road from us) in Lynton. We needed a spectacular distraction to get us away from the cake table!
The picture of the goats below was taken at 8.30 yesterday evening on North Walk. Now we have such long days North Walk makes a great stroll in the evening, and it seems to be a time when the goats prefer the coastal path.
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