The 'Fantastic Four'

I thought I would be waiting a very long time for a photograph with four chickens in one shot!  Three are tricky enough.  Look!  My four girls!

Look!

My two hours of 'Chicken Whispering' yesterday paid of.  My superior 'chicken' bonding skills (and a Water Blaster) have worked miracles.  The 'Beverley  Sisters' came out to play at 7am, while Lavender endured isolation in the coop until 2pm.  I had run some errands and been shopping.  I got some delicious looking corn on the cobs.  I let Lavender out for her first of two planned 'Play Dates' today and chucked four corn on the cobs around the garden.  Lavender so wants to be part of this gang today.  She brazenly shared corn and the others dared not object.  They are very good girls and have not shown any aggression what so ever just fear, caution and disdain.  Today they have tolerated her.  She has not been so nasty and I have not seen or heard any fights.  The 'Play Date' was extended, she even flopped by them sprawled out in the sunshine, sleeping.  I was full of pride!  Everyone knows 'Pride comes before a fall'!
                My son and his friend came back at about 7.30pm, they were hungry, all was well in the garden and I thought Lavender would follow the others at bedtime (dusk) so I cooked a new recipe, 'Oriental Prawns and Noodles' (very Weight Watchers).

It is low fat and full of vegetables, I have never used Pak Choi or Oyster mushrooms before.  To my delight 'The Teenagers' loved it!  I realised it had got dark quickly and went to check the chickens.  All were present except for Lavender!  "Lads!"  I yelled " I need some help to find the chicken"!  They came a running!  Have you ever tried looking for a dark grey chicken in the dark!  Nope nor have I!  I was relieved when I could hear her pitiful 'Baby Peeping'.  I could not find her at all.  The Garden is overgrown and has dense undergrowth that the chickens love to hide in when there is a heavy rain storm.  It is mostly brambles.  I have spent much of today seriously pruning the large shrubs and stripping the branches to use as fence extenders and to reinforce places where I think Lavender could escape as she jumped higher than my head yesterday.  I did not clip her wing feathers today because she was fine and behaving just like the other three.  We had a wind up torch and sticks, we were looking everywhere.  We were getting scratched by brambles and to be honest I was getting panic stricken.  She had even stopped 'peeping' so we couldn't hear her or see her.  I was pulling up shrubs frantically. . . I will check the aftermath in the morning.  We were a good half an hour with the boys climbing the fences and looking over.  I was getting quite distressed and anxious thinking she would be all alone at night who knows where, she would end up as Mr Fox's supper. . .when my son's friend shouted 'Luce, I have found the chicken'!  I ran over 'where is she'?  He was laughing.  'Here it is right in front of me, up in the tree!'  I have not been so relieved in a long time.  I could see her little silhouette, huddled, roosting in the Wild Cherry tree.  I had been looking at ground level, I did not think to look six foot in the air!  I grabbed her and she 'peeeeeped'.  I carried her up to the coop and popped her in to bed with her 'sisters'.  Tomorrow I will not get distracted at dusk and will make sure Lavender is first to bed!  I am sore with bramble scratches.   Oh by the way, my partner found out about her today. . .when Euan told him.  Let's just say he wasn't thrilled about the idea.  Little does he know we have a right one here!  She is a perfect addition to my wonky world!
xxx

I have really gone and done it now!

This is not the only 'butting of heads' I have witnessed today!  We went for our long awaited trip to 'Chicken World'.  Me and Euan call it that, it is really called 'The Domestic Fowl and Rare Breeds Trust' at Honeybourne.  It has changed hands since our last visit and was a very different but really enjoyable day out.
While these two Pygmy goats were butting heads, this one was calmly soaking up the love.

It was incredibly sweet natured and really soft.  When I win the Lottery I will definitely have some of these!

This piggy wig was adorable too and wagged his little tail when you chatted to him.  I will have some of these too!

I actually don't fancy one of these.  Llama's are big and can give you a nasty look!

Euan would like one of these if we win the Lottery and a track!  I think we would need one each.  They were great fun.  It was very quiet so I sneaked the opportunity to pedal around the track a few times 'Like a bat out of hell' racing my son!
          Talking of hell, I saw some 'La Fleche' chickens, otherwise known as 'Devils Head Chickens'. . . look at these:

Complete with horns.

We had a go at 'Den Building'.  Euan really thought carefully about this, selecting sticks for their 'best fit' qualities.

I think we could do more of this in our local woods, the dog could come and have fun too.

We Ooooed and aaaahhhed over the babies.  I think these are Quails.

Ducklings are adorable.  I worked up quite a thirst and an appetite so we stopped for lunch.

I love mismatched crockery.  Over lunch something weird happened.  I got nagged and had a moment of weakness.  One of our hens at home has stopped laying so I get two eggs a day from three hens.  It seemed logical to increase our numbers!  Euan begged and pleaded and promised to be the most committed chicken keeper the world has ever seen, so we chose our new addition.  You only live once eh?  I believe a bit of 'Crazy' is good for the soul.   I have read obsessively about chickens and know introducing a new one is not easy.  The new one is prone to bullying as chickens are flock animal with a fairly rigid pecking order.  My three have a very clear, yet harmonious pecking order.  I worried the new girl would be picked on.  Euan sang to her in the back of the car and told her what a lovely life she would have, for the journey home and by the time we got home he had decided her name was 'Lavender'.

Here is 'The Lovely Lavender'. . . or possibly the 'Not so Lovely lavender'!  She is a 'Speckledy Hybrid'.
 The man at the shop recommended I spray all the chickens with a solution of vinegar so they all smell the same and shut them in the coop and let them 'get on with it'.  My three girls 'Free range' from dawn until dusk.  Ok ok . . . vinegar sprayed. . . all over four hens.   My old girls don't bat an eyelid and even let me 'bath and blow dry' them.  I have had them since they were eggs!  They trust me implicitly and think I am 'Mom'.  Well how I have rocked their world!

Out came Lavender!  All hell let loose!  My three quickly forgot their pecking order and all got terrified.  Lavender is 20 weeks old.  She immediately kept the highest point in the coop and puffed herself up to twice her normal size and began pecking the other three in a really savage fashion.  They submitted, they bowed their heads low, she pecked um!  They lay down, she pecked um!  They tried fighting back she pecked and drew blood on the 'Top Ranking Chicken' Poppy.  My three begged me to be let out of the carnage!  I let them out.  I had four chickens 'honking' loudly for about 30 minutes!
             I have had to race to the 'Cornstores' for Violet anti-bacterial spray for Poppies wound.  She sat and let me clean her up with disinfectant.  Blood is a magnet for all chickens and they will continue to peck wounds, so you spray them violet.  I also bought 'Anti Pecking Spray' and have had to spray all four chickens again.  I sprayed myself liberally too by accident and had to go and shower and literally scrub the revolting stuff off.  The man in the Cornstores thought it was most unusual for the new one to take top of the pecking order. . .typical of me. . .  he even asked me if I had mistakenly got a cockerel.  Normally the new one is bullied and submissive.  All is calm at the moment.  Lavender has the coop and run all to herself, while the others have the garden.  Lord knows what is going to happen at bedtime!  I am going to set my alarm for sunrise and get out there early in the morning to sort the trouble.  Euan thinks it is all fantastically dramatic and entertaining.  He has filled his water gun and put it on top of the coop for me to spray Lavender if she is nasty and I will!  I am not sure how long she will be staying. . .

Edit:  My OH does not read my Blog. . .I hope. . .I wonder how long I can keep a 'Savage Chicken' a secret?