Happy hens

We finally officially opened The Forge on March 30th and welcomed 17 lovely ladies from East Yorkshire for an all-adventure hen do in North Wales. Not only did this intrepid lot brave the River Dee by canoeing and white-water rafting with our buddies at SAS Outdoors in Llangollen, they also survived glamping in torrential rain and sub-zero degree temperatures. But not even the weather could dampen their laughter and enthusiasm as they got stuck into the marshmallows and the wine around the campfire. They were a pleasure to host and a fantastic way to start the season. And we’re delighted that some have already booked to come again later this summer – I guess it can’t have been that bad 😊.

Our own feathered hens are also enjoying the glimpses of spring that April is teasing us with so far. The longer days and fresh shoots of grass are translating into a A LOT of eggs*. Fantastic news for our guests who can buy them from our honesty box stand or even pop down to the hen house and collect the warm eggs themselves for breakfast.

More exciting news is that we have discovered our geese are sitting on a nest of eggs too. In a lovely nod to avian gender equality Charlie and Lola seem to be taking it in turns to keep the eggs warm. We’ve got everything crossed that we’ll wake up to some baby goslings in the not too distant future.

And in the fields all around us we’ve been treated to the sounds of lapwings and curlews performing their elaborate mating dancing and calling rituals. Increasingly rare in other parts of the country due to the increase in industrial agriculture, here in our little corner of North Wales we are lucky enough to see and hear these beautiful birds at close quarters. There really is no better start to the day!

PS. The blue ones are laid by our cheeky Cotswold Legbar hen, affectionately known as 'Houdini'... (the clue is in the name...)