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In Which Our Heroine Goes To Market...
Dec. 4th, 2007 02:16 pmEschewing the other popular choices of
a. Staying at home
b. Eating roast beef
c. Eating none
d. Going "weeweewee" all the way home,
I went to Melton Mowbray Cattle Market today, under the tutelage of Sarah-Zak's-Mum, who equals me in terms of odd self-sufficient behaviour (she, too, is often to be seen pushing vast amounts of compost up the High Street in a wheelbarrow, or giving marrows away to all and sundry...)
We went, ostensibly, to buy her some chicken feed as it is ridiculously cheap from the livestock market, and to show me how to buy at a livestock auction - it's way cheaper to buy from a livestock market than any other way. The idea was for me to stand at the back of the crowd and watch how it was done.
It isn't *my* fault that Sarah gave me her bidding card. It isn't my fault that my hand twitched. And it REALLY isn't my fault that I ended up buying 4 Light Sussex Hens at Point of Lay for £17 :-) They are *gorgeous*!!!! And dual-purpose layers/table birds, so we can eat them or wait for eggs. Or a mix of the two. Or buy a rooster and breed... WHEEEEEE!!!!!!
They were by no means the cheapest chickens there - some were going for £4/£5 for a pair, but they were of dubious breed, and I wanted to start with a pedigree bird so that I knew what I needed to do, and what I should expect from the chickens themselves.
The market itself was *incredible*!!! There were hundreds of chickens, ducks (Sarah was so tempted by the ducks!), geese, quails, pheasants and partridge there, not to mention the rabbits, guinea pigs and ferrets... I absolutely refuse to buy a rabbit for £10 from a pet shop again when wonderful pedigree animals could be had for £1 a piece. We had a brief look in the sheep pens, but had to leave when I got a little overexcited and hyperventilated. Sarah pointed out that fitting 12 sheep *and* the chickens into my Vauxhall Corsa might be problematical... We should probably not be allowed out in each other's company again as we both have mad plans involving goats... We're already making plans about time-sharing a rooster!
I was also intrigued to notice that there was a wonderful game and dressed bird auction (no, that doesn't mean the turkeys were wearing clothes, Phil) - I can't remember who was bemoaning the fact that it is difficult to buy game in a normal town butchers... But whoever it was - let me know what you want and when I next go to market, I'll pick you some up!
Outside the animal pens, there was also a very cheap "sundries" market, selling everything from tools to christmas teatowels.
I've had a wonderful day, and now I need to go and look at my girls, pecking around the grass in their new pen, and looking (to my anthropomorphological eye) much happier than when they were stuck into their tiny galvanised steel pen. Spartacus, Spartacus, Spartacus and Spartacus all look very content! (We decided to name them all Spartacus to avoid heartache when one finally made it's way to our table...)
BOOOOORRRRRKKKK!!!!!!!
a. Staying at home
b. Eating roast beef
c. Eating none
d. Going "weeweewee" all the way home,
I went to Melton Mowbray Cattle Market today, under the tutelage of Sarah-Zak's-Mum, who equals me in terms of odd self-sufficient behaviour (she, too, is often to be seen pushing vast amounts of compost up the High Street in a wheelbarrow, or giving marrows away to all and sundry...)
We went, ostensibly, to buy her some chicken feed as it is ridiculously cheap from the livestock market, and to show me how to buy at a livestock auction - it's way cheaper to buy from a livestock market than any other way. The idea was for me to stand at the back of the crowd and watch how it was done.
It isn't *my* fault that Sarah gave me her bidding card. It isn't my fault that my hand twitched. And it REALLY isn't my fault that I ended up buying 4 Light Sussex Hens at Point of Lay for £17 :-) They are *gorgeous*!!!! And dual-purpose layers/table birds, so we can eat them or wait for eggs. Or a mix of the two. Or buy a rooster and breed... WHEEEEEE!!!!!!
They were by no means the cheapest chickens there - some were going for £4/£5 for a pair, but they were of dubious breed, and I wanted to start with a pedigree bird so that I knew what I needed to do, and what I should expect from the chickens themselves.
The market itself was *incredible*!!! There were hundreds of chickens, ducks (Sarah was so tempted by the ducks!), geese, quails, pheasants and partridge there, not to mention the rabbits, guinea pigs and ferrets... I absolutely refuse to buy a rabbit for £10 from a pet shop again when wonderful pedigree animals could be had for £1 a piece. We had a brief look in the sheep pens, but had to leave when I got a little overexcited and hyperventilated. Sarah pointed out that fitting 12 sheep *and* the chickens into my Vauxhall Corsa might be problematical... We should probably not be allowed out in each other's company again as we both have mad plans involving goats... We're already making plans about time-sharing a rooster!
I was also intrigued to notice that there was a wonderful game and dressed bird auction (no, that doesn't mean the turkeys were wearing clothes, Phil) - I can't remember who was bemoaning the fact that it is difficult to buy game in a normal town butchers... But whoever it was - let me know what you want and when I next go to market, I'll pick you some up!
Outside the animal pens, there was also a very cheap "sundries" market, selling everything from tools to christmas teatowels.
I've had a wonderful day, and now I need to go and look at my girls, pecking around the grass in their new pen, and looking (to my anthropomorphological eye) much happier than when they were stuck into their tiny galvanised steel pen. Spartacus, Spartacus, Spartacus and Spartacus all look very content! (We decided to name them all Spartacus to avoid heartache when one finally made it's way to our table...)
BOOOOORRRRRKKKK!!!!!!!
