We take delivery of a new addition to the homestead. Episode 24 

🤣🤣 with my help, of course! 😉

It’s a little known fact that us men can’t actually do most things without instructions. We’re just better at remembering how similar tasks were done in the past, rendering future jobs less dependent on the supplied instructions. That said, I always throw an eye over the instructions, in case something has been upgraded, or a sneaky design difference has escaped my eye. I get a lot of teasing over it, but I do have a reputation for doing it right first time, so tease away! Another well concealed fact is, men CAN multitask! I do it all the time. Most just don’t want to, because the workload increases in direct proportion to the amount you’re able to do. So, if you’re able to load the dishwasher, you’ll be expected to do it. If you’re able to load it, run it, feed and change the baby, cook the dinner, sort the laundry and load the washing machine, unload the dishwasher and serve the meal, guess what? You’ll be expected to do that! Who’d be a woman, right? Well, it turns out I’m actually better at the multitasking thing, so I tend to do that and, for us it makes sense.

OH! so that's what that little booklet is for. I thought it was part of the packing.😉@@duncancremin1708

Get outta here. Sam would never admit to letting the guy race down…🤣

@@duncancremin1708looks very sternly at Duncan

Thanks that's really interesting to read, seems most people are against a cockerel so good to read it from the other angle. The kids are so excited to find that first egg! ❤️

Check the legs. Should be smooth and thin for 16wk old poulits.

I was thinking the same thing as I remembered the trampoline blowing across the field.

Don't worry it is well weighted down in its new location. We will show everyone next week. 👍

Well done again v. Enjoyable 😊😊

Word's of wisdom

100% true. It's stressful for the hens.

I totally agree and add that roosters can be very aggressive towards people and pets. As a child I lived in fear of my Auntie Mary's rooster. I swear that son of Saten was 3 feet tall.

😅

Love how you phrased this message, very interesting to read. Thank you. I had heard the ladies often have a hard time with a cockerel around, so it's definitely something to consider. 👍❤️

They are totally fearless! Always good fun when they are around. I love my cat cuddles every morning. ♥️

It definitely feels that way, like we are starting to make some progress at last. Thank you. 👍

You are so kind thank you

A few free fresh grass fed eggs will smooth things out.

The neighbours had a cockerel in their previous home, so all good from their point of view, luckily. 👍

In our experience the neighbours loved the return of the Cockerell.

Don't worry it is well weighted down in its new location. We will show everyone next week. 👍

Fingers crossed that will be a video title in the near future. 🍀🤞

Thanks so much Sharon. We are ok and surviving all these bad wind storms. Hope they disappear soon. 🤞😫

Yes I think it's a gamble for sure. Lots of thinking to do. Thanks for giving us your experience. 👍❤️

Thanks Joe, lovely to look at it like that, and hopefully, we will have fresh eggs every day. Sam will definitely need to keep his energy levels up.

Thank you so much for the support. We are so glad you're enjoying the journey unfold all the way from Canada.

Thanks, David. Sooo looking forward to Spring! ❤️

We have planted an orchid, about 16 trees and over 400 whips of bushes

@@theirishhomestead I am only on episode 24 at the moment and still think you guys are in present time. My bad.

Thank you so much for the support & advice, really kind of you. ❤️👍

Yay chickens! A rooster is a must, plus if you are lucky you will get a broody hen and baby chicks.

Thank you! 😃

Aww thank you, so nice of you to say that. Hopefully we can do the place justice. 🤞

100% and the frost line in Ireland is 29 inches or 750mm !!! Here In Pennsylvania U.S. it is 44 inches ! Or maybe cover it with straw to insulate the pipe if you cant dig a ditch for it ! Or let the water drip into the sink as long as there is movement it shouldnt freeze !

Easier said than done on 100s of metres of pipe in land that isn't ours lol. We will hopefully be connected to the mains supply soon which will be buried. I think we will just have to accept it for now.

@@theirishhomestead , tnolan's last statement is correct, a little dripping tap will perevent freezing pipes all through winter, they use it in the Alps. Ref Martyn Doolard on you tube.

Thanks, so good to hear. I did read really good reviews on the Facebook chicken keeping pages.

He is a great guardian

Ha ha golf balls! Brilliant idea! Thank you for the info, much appreciated.

Thank you! Cheers!

Good luck, it will be the best thing you have ever done.

Yes you really don't! 🤣

It's weird though as it only happens on that bit of pipe and it's continuing after the frosts have gone. I think it was a dodgy piece of pipe.

We have just searched him out and watching him now, thanks! 👍

Eoin is brilliant to watch. The way his channel grew is phenomenal.

Exactly he can come at a later date 😀

Sound advice, thanks. 👍

We have planted over 400 hedgerow whips and 30 trees so far.

We have it well battened down with a mesh skirt etc. Going to be a battle keeping the predators away.

@@theirishhomestead U had storm Isha then came Jocelyn we got battered more with her than they said we would 😬 but hey we are still alive ...we had about a week of really hard ground my horses hated it so did I now we are back to swamp again ...when will we get some decent weather ? Keep safe 😊

@jacksg1809 thanks, it was an intense few weeks, freezing temps then 2 storms back to back. Think we all need a break from mother nature don't we. 😫

Thanks Abigail, tidy land tidy mind! That's how if feels anyway. It is nice to see it gone. We are all so excited for the hens to come, the kids cannot wait to collect eggs 🤞 The winds are a worry but we have moved to coop and you will see next week it's secured down well. I'll not be sleeping when we have bad winds now for fear of the chicken coop taking off! Just hope we have done enough to stop that from happening. ❤️

We will definitely stick to just the girls for a while. How funny for you to hear us say Cockerel when it's your surname.The coop is now in a new position and hopefully very secured down! Trust me after moving it twice that thing is heavy! Thanks for the tips. 👍

Yes perhaps it just freezes harder there than anywhere else. Hopefully we will be connected to the mains soon and that of course will be buried. Thanks 👍

Yep, I was going to say almost the same thing. I am still getting caught up on your videos after discovering them a couple of weeks ago. So we are in Texas near the Gulf so we don't get many hard freezes nor do they last long. But if you haven't already corrected the hose problem then when you know there is going to be a freeze you can shut the water off and empty the hose. We just built an 800 sq ft cabin that is up off the ground so we designed the water pipes running underneath to be able to blow the water out of them before a freeze occurs. The leaving water dripping doesn't work for hard freezes.

Aww thank you. ❤️.

Glad you enjoyed it! They are utterly bonkers! Typing! Never thought of that 🤣

Hi,, I did spend a few days back in the autumn cutting the ivy at the base of all the trees. I think it takes a while to die and fall off sadly. 😒

Very true Lisa! 🥵

Yay! Thank you! Us too.

Thank you that's very kind of you. ♥️

My neighbours got a cockerel and I love hearing it, but their dog barking makes me mad!

Oh a barking dog can be so infuriating. My next door neighbour has 2 and they drive us bonkers. The joys of living on a small Island were we are practically living on top of each other, lol.@@lisejacquelinerigault2575

Thanks so much for the advice, so kind of you to take the time to do that. Don't worry the Omlet is well weighted down in its new location and has a mesh skirt for making life harder for predators. We will show everyone next week. Thanks for the info on the cockerel - a lot to think about there. ❤️👍

Good idea, thanks.

So nice of you, glad you're enjoying the videos. Thanks.

Thank you, that's so lovely to hear. Yes it's a real pain is the a** at times when it feels all we do is clear up after another problem thrown at us by mother nature! We keep on going though regardless as we have our dream in sight and we couldn't give up on it now. Thanks for the advice re the cockerel too. 👍

It so will! Thanks Neil. 👍

Thanks Barb(era)? Really lovely that you have found us and are enjoying watching. It means so much to us all the support we get. ♥️

@@theirishhomestead Barbara lol xx

Wasnt sure if Barb was too informal 🤣

Thank you, we know of someone who will give us one if and when we are ready. 👍

@@theirishhomestead this one is in Donegal if it needs a buddy its all yours 👍

Rooster freeto good home

Thank you, we are so excited to have chickens. Toby is still coming but not as quickly as we had hoped. Lots more to plan for him, including permits.

Thanks so much Ann & David. We will try to stay strong & positive. ❤️🤞 I suspect many more wobbles will come along over the course of this renovation but I have faith in Sam x

Thanks for thinking of us, it was really bad wasn't it! Bet you got it worse over there. 🫣

Don't worry it is well weighted down in its new location. We will show everyone next week. 👍

They are good.

Thanks so much. ❤️

Thanks, that's really interesting! Good job it wasn't buried isn't it? We agree that it is faulty as nowhere else is this happening, and it was an extra section we added at a later date.

Ahh, my daughter is desperate for Silkies! We will get some one day.

Oh 100% they will be free ranging but it's just somewhere safe they can go at night or if we are away from the homestead for longer periods.

Thanks for the advice. We are keeping as much of the good tin as possible for sure. I think personally the frost must get it hard in that spot and maybe thatt's why. The Omlet coop is brilliant and thick wire, it goes down into a skirt which is pegged down bu heavy boulders. We will show everyone next week. I think we will keep the ladies single for a while. 👍

Ahh if only it was Toby coming, hopefully soon. Interesting to read all about people's experiences with keeping hens & cockerels. So much to think about. Thanks for taking the time to comment, we really appreciate it. ❤️

Good job you said that as we did get a rooster! 🤣

Thanks, so many people for & against. I feel more confused now than before 🤣❤️

Thank you! I'm so excited but a bit nervous about Toby, it will certainly be an adventure. 🤣

We have put some of the branches in the ground. I'm hoping they do take as it's my first go at this. We have some new trees coming soon bit will watch the existing ones this summer, mark the ones dead/dying for removing next winter. Thank you ❤️👍

@@theirishhomestead the only way they normally would not take, would be if the ground is to dry, but I don't think that has been a problem . 😀 Fingers crossed, but they should be fine I think.

🤣

Ha ha not sure we have enough space sadly. If only I'd definitely have goats & alpacas! Would love to have more land!

Don't worry it is well weighted down with a mesh skirt in its new location. We will show everyone next week. 👍

They have! It feels relentless at the moment. We are doing ok though, thanks for asking. ❤️

Yes it's been a funny old year weather wise. Don't worry re the coop ,it is well weighted down in its new location. We will show everyone next week. I did spend a few days back in the autumn cutting the ivy at the base of all the trees. I think it takes a while to die and fall off sadly. 😒

Thank you. We do love a wake up call that isn't the standard mobile phone alarm sound don't we? ❤️❤️

It's definitely on its way. 🤣

Thanks, we have heard they are good guardians. 👍

Thank you! 😊 Glad you enjoyed it.

There is a mesh skirt which Sam has put big rocks on top of all the way round. It's next to our caravan and we have night cameras. They will be in the coop nice and safe at night not in the run.

Thanks so much. Don't worry it is well weighted down with large stones on top of the wire skirting. Hopefully its enough to keep the foxes & pine martins at bay. 🤞 will show everyone next week. 👍

I think so too! 🤞👍

Thanks, I did spend a few days back in the autumn cutting the ivy at the base of all the trees. I think it takes a while to die and fall off sadly. 😒

There is always that silver lining I suppose. 👍

Thanks Deirdre, fingers crossed it is all starting to take shape. ♥️🍀🤞

You will love it here. We fund the rain comparable so far with our old home near Manchester.

Hi, yes, I spent days cutting it a at the base last autumn. Apparently it can take a long time to die off and sadly not fast enough to stop the loss of some of the trees. We definitely need the chicken fertiliser! Looking forward to a few no dig veggie beds this year.

Ha we love them too much. To be fair they have brought us a few presents so fingers crossed they are still working keeping my sofas safe in the barn.

Thank you, really, appreciate the advice especially from a fellow joiner. 👍

My best friend in Ireland said that good Joiners are like hens teeth in Ireland, and they cost a lot to hire by hr?

@Carrick8986 maybe, Sam has done a bit of work but looking for an alternative job role for now. Too much doing it all day for someone else, then having to come home and do it on your own place. 🤣

It has a wire skirt all around which we have pegged down and put heavy stones all around it. Hopefully that will delay them at least.

Yes we think it's a faulty piece of pipe. Ot does the happen anywhere else on the line of pipe which stretches hundreds of metres all above ground. No teeth marks to see either.

Love those names! We have indeed thought of taking in commercial hens but can't seem to find any local to us.

Thanks Patricia, luckily the Omlet has wire skirting all around, hopefully that will be enough. We have also weighed the skirt down with big rocks all the way around. Fingers crossed we keep them safe. X

Thanks Colette, yes sadly I think the tree clearing will continue for a few years to come. Thank goodness for the children being around, they are an invaluable help to us. Hope you are OK? ❤️

It is thank you. 👍

Thanks so much. I'll look into those. 👍

Hmm now geese are an interesting suggestion! I'm always keen to hear about any new animals I could have! Wonder if they will have them at the fair 🤔 Sam will kill me! 🤣

Thanks Ian. Luckily the neighbours had hens & a cockerel in their old house so are quite up for us having one. It's us that's undecided.

We were in a housing estate which definately didn't help, but the neighbours were really nice, never complained, we just thought they were noisy. Enjoy your lovely new hens, and of course the eggs! 🙂@@theirishhomestead

Thank you, that's really good to hear. ♥️