Now that there have been sixty partridge eggs laid, the process of incubating is taking on the air of a production line. Three broodies are sitting (not including the clutch that went to the keeper next door), and the morning routine of letting them out for a drink and some food has become a real Continue reading

Now that the partridges are laying with some gusto, I’m having some trouble keeping on top of them. In theory, I am supposed to let the hens lay a clutch of eggs before removing them all and putting them under a broodie hen. In the absence of her first clutch, the hen will then lay Continue reading

Despite miserable wind and rain over the past few days, spring has formally arrived. I saw four swallows on Monday for the first time, and have seen others every day since. The partridges are getting into a rhythm of laying, although one pair still hasn’t started yet. We’re up to ten eggs so far, and Continue reading

It was with no small amount of delight and triumph that I found my first grey partridge egg of the year this morning. Although it looked a little small, research online has shown that it is within the average expectations for a partridge egg, weighing around 14g (the average is 14.1g). I must admit that Continue reading

Just worth including this picture of one of my captive partridge hens enjoying a dust bath. I posted last week about released partridges using molehills for dustbathing purposes, and it made me look into partridge dust baths just out of interest. My birds have had access to sharp sand since I first got them in Continue reading

I was very pleased to see that my first pair of released grey partridges are still hanging around the remains of the game cover. I was worried about them after five and six foot high snow drifts buried their feed hopper, but was planting blackthorn trees in the new hedge this morning and heard a Continue reading

A pair of partridges remains stolidly resident in the remnants of my game cover crop. I’m delighted that these birds have stayed around as long as they have, although extended absences have sometimes made me suspect that I’m dealing with wild birds (of which there are one or two still going about on the hill). Continue reading

I test the patience of my generous readership when I post about poultry. Suffice it to say that I went to the poultry auction in Carlisle this morning and had something of a spree. Having posted the other day about needing to expand my partridge brooding capacity, I struck gold in the auction ring, coming Continue reading

Every day seems to make my partridges more aggressive. I have five hens and four cocks, and after dividing up three pairs, I left the two remaining hens in with the last cock overnight on Saturday while I set up some alternative accomodation for the last pair. They were all in the same pen which Continue reading