Bottoms Up Girls!

This is quite a familiar sight it my back garden these days!  My partner says the garden is now a Bio-hazard.  He exaggerates and I am not about to start to do cartwheels or handstands on the lawn anyway!

I certainly take my hat off to anyone who can take a good 'live' chicken photograph because I have tried very hard.  They are very busy beings.  They do not stay still for very long at all.

In these pictures they are rather close to the back door and they crane their necks inquisitively to see what I am up to.  The house seems to fascinate them and they would be in like a shot if I would let them.  I suppose they did spend their first month or so in my living room though.

I really felt like I was invading space here, this is where they lay their eggs in the straw.  I am having lots of eggs now.  One day last week I had four eggs from three chickens, which really confused me.  I have been assured it can happen.  We check for eggs multiple times a day and as we had three eggs on each of the previous two days it is highly unlikely we missed an egg.  Good girls, four eggs in one day is amazing.

I have put coloured rings on their legs because I really could not tell them apart, since I have done that I feel like I know them much better and they have their own distinct personalities.  Purple is the friendliest and the most interested in what I am doing.  They are all friendly and inquisitive but Purple seeks me out the most, her name is Rose. She likes to chat to me and we can have a two way conversation.  She particularly likes to tell me if there is anything she is not too sure about.  She will make gentle 'brrrp' and 'cooing' noises and I am sure she has the intonation of  questioning at times.  

Green is Daisy and Red is Poppy.  They spend a lot of time closely together, they will separate of their own accord for short spaces of time but if I separate them for any reason they do not like that and protest loudly until they are reunited.     The other day Euan shouted 'Mom!  Green and Red are in the Greenhouse eating the tomatoes!'  He soon shooed them out, that child likes his tomatoes.

Poppy is looking very cross in this picture.  I felt like I was in imminent danger of a serious pecking.  Poppy is Top ranking in the pecking order, she is the largest and the most assertive.  I am glad to say I have never seen them squabble or be mean to each other, but Poppy seems to get her own way and has given me a couple of nasty scratches.  I don't bare any grudges though, yet!  Euan complains regularly that he has been bitten by a chicken and 'she meant it!'  Silly boy, he should stop poking his fingers in the coop then shouldn't he!   I was quite shocked to read this week that a chickens natural life span can easily be 8-10years.  I really should have checked that before I got them!

This is their favourite treat 'Corn on the Cob'.  They remind me of Foghorn Leghorn.  As you can tell I am very fond of my 'Girls' they will definitely not be going into a pie.  I am going to write a book '101 ways with eggs!'