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

Chicken Unrest - Lavender Update

All Girlies slept together.  It is very rare for chickens to fight in the dark.  Lavender went first, she was a very tired girl.  Then I put the other three in the coop and they crept so tentatively to bed I had to chuckle.  I sat there waiting in the dark but there was no ruckus.  I googled what time was sunrise and set my alarm for 5.30am!  Out I crept and there was Lavender and two tired girls out in the coop.  They looked too tired to fight.  I wanted the others to have the opportunity to lay so I penned Lavender separately for an hour.  She is such a baby and everything is new to her.  She is 20 weeks old but has been in a barn.  She thinks grass is fantastic, she thinks bugs are fantastic and she is hyper vigilant to noises and the wild birds.  After an hour I went to check and there were three eggs!  One was very weak and broken.  I let the girls out and attempted to get lavender from the pen with a child's fishing net!  She escaped and gave me a brief run around.  I caught her and put her in the coop on her own where she is quite happy eating and drinking loads.
            I go back to work on Monday, so I really need to encourage harmony asap.  Armed with Euan's Pump Action Water Blaster:

I decided Lavender needed a 'Play Date' at about 6pm.  I assumed the role of either Mother Hen or a Cockerel I am not sure which. . .
                 Out she strutted.  She couldn't believe her luck.  She was fascinated and very nervous.  She scratched around and sampled a vast array of leaves. . . her eyes goggled trying to focus on tiny flying bugs and bless her she has a habit of crossing her legs like a baby Giraffe!  She gets her feet and legs into a tangle!  I would love to photograph that.  I couldn't take photographs as I had a heavily loaded water blaster and a child's fishing net!  She particularly loved Raspberry leaves and bramble leaves.  Then she spotted the others and they spotted her.  The pecking order has completely shifted.  Instead of Rose (bottom of the pecking order and the 'Winnie The Pooh brained Chicken) getting left out she is now firmly in the gang.

Those three are sticking together like. . . sisters!  Lavender ran straight to them. . . they tried to run to me. . . begging me to do something.  She gave Poppy, top of the pecking order, a nasty peck and puffed up ready to fight, so I blasted her!  They all scattered squawking!  They recovered and all started warily going about their business. . . their is definitely a mutual fascination going on.  Rose is the bravest and seems to be the one that is most eager to make friends but her behaviour is still very passive, she bows her head or stands as still as a statue when Lavender is right next to her.  Poppy and Daisy watched this and seemed to realise that Rose is avoiding a beating!  So they quickly started to do the same.  It is not working so well for Poppy but I was there and blasting before anything got too bad!  Poor Poppy still has her injury from yesterday.  It is a small nick, that has scabbed cleanly as she let me apply disinfectant straight away.  I was playing 'Cockerel' or 'Mother Hen' for about two hours.  It all went well considering the circumstances.  Rosie has been a loner but now the other two are following her everywhere as she seems to know what to do.  There were a few harmonious moments where there was a group of four chickens that looked like they might be able to get along.  It all ended when Lavender took a leap and perched on a bramble, higher than my head, ready to jump over the neighbours!  I swiped her with the fishing net and caught her and put her to bed!  I am having a steep learning curve in 'Poultry Care'.  I thought I was up for the challenge and I hope I am!  My Partner has not noticed today!  He and Lavender have not met.  He is not going to be at all happy with a fence jumping chicken, neither are the neighbours!  I hope she grows out of that.  The others escaped once through a hole in the fence and dug up the neighbours parsnips!  They like to help me do that!  In fact each morning I am gathering potatoes that they dig up for me, I haven't had to dig for any!
            I think I am already quite attached to Lavender, she has a sweet little song, she is only a baby and the world is all very big and is as exciting as it is daunting.  She listens to me and likes to follow me which I am quite glad about.   I have four chickens that at least think I am the boss!  That Water Blaster has earned me some healthy respect.
              I might be able to put the Water Blaster down tomorrow and take some photographs.  I am exhausted and will set my alarm for before sunrise again tomorrow. . . being a chicken Mom is hard work at the moment!  

Oh Good Morning!

It was a busy Monday morning, Henry has his final school exams going on at the moment, he is coping very well so far.  He has always been pretty laid back if I leave him be.  He isn't exactly a ray of sunshine in the morning but he takes after his mother!  Euan has been cough, cough, coughing pretty much non stop, so he was bleary eyed.  The dog is a sweetheart and 'asks' me for food when she wants it, she likes breakfast and dinner.  The chickens also need breakfast and letting out.  If I don't get out there early the chickens make their feelings known and you can hear them loudly clucking!  For the sake of the neighbours I try to get out there asap.  I live in a very noisy street though, so I am not to troubled by the noise the Chooks make, it is my payback for other peoples late nights, dogs barking, kids yelling, teenagers coming and going at all hours, cars revving etc etc.  If you can't beat them, join them.  Any noise me and mine make justs add to the hub bub.  As long as we are not the noisiest I figure that is ok.  This morning look what greeted me in the garden.  Wow, the first Poppy of the year.  Isn't she a beauty.  It looks like there will be plenty more where that came from too:

I thought I just discovered a stray egg in the picture, but I remember now, I chucked egg shells around the base of my Camellia.

              Today it has finally felt like May, the Sun has had his hat on.  It was lovely to get home from work and have some warm sunshine.  It motivated me to get out in the garden at last.  I found the very last of last years harvest.

  What a whopper!  I think this leek may be as tough as old boots!

Here is 'Chicken Proofed' Alcatraz.  I have to remove the fences to do any gardening.  Last week Euan and I weeded the raised beds and the chickens gobbled worms as fast as they could, they slurp them like spaghetti and ate loads of them.  I put them in their coop as they are just too helpful in the garden.  I was out for about and hour and a half and the poor things did not stop whinging and complaining the whole time they were cooped.

The poor things.  It was only because I was in earshot and they really think they should be out if I am.  I was determined to sow some seeds though and get the bean poles ready.  I planted two types of beetroot, some dwarf  peas, swede, turnips and kale in the raised beds.  I planted some oca in a large container.  Oca is a new one on me.  It is like a small potato.  I will let you know how I get on.  I should have photographed it for you as it is a bit weird.  Check out this link for Oca to read more about it.  If you have grown it, tried it, cooked it, eaten it, do let me know what you think....

   I planted the potatoes about a month ago and the spinach is left over from last year.  My next job will be weeding this bed.  The spinach is soon destined for soup or curry.

Meet my Fartychokes.  Jerusalem Artichokes.  They are delicious and come back every year.  Sadly now we just enjoy them for their tall yellow 'sunflowers' as when consumed they have some most unfortunate side effects which have earned them their pet name.  In the name of good manners I shall just leave it there, nuff said!

This used to be the chicken pen...how naive!  It is a large pen and more than adequate for a chicken run, but it simply isn't good enough for my girls!  They need half of the garden.  The biggest half no less.  Rhubarb is supposed to be poisonous to chickens so they leave it alone.  My chickens did not read that page of the book and ransack the rhubarb, hence the rhubarb is now penned in the chicken pen.  It seems to be their favourite and they would scratch it to oblivion.

The soft fruit is looking promising.  This old blackcurrant bush is heavily laden again.  The raspberries are also coming along ok.  They are not fenced off yet...  I don't know what to do about them.  I am sure as the fruit ripens it will take a greedy chicken ten minutes to strip the whole bush.  The rhubarb may be set free and the chickens penned again.  It is funny watching them jump for the fruit though.  Chickens can do quite high standing jumps and 'boing' like they are on springs for ripe juicy berries.  

          When my gardening was done and I had watered thoroughly and replaced the fences, I went to the coop to find three noisy, disgruntled girls.  They were elated to see me.  I opened the door to the coop and they shot out like 'grease lightening'.  

I love this photograph!  I know it is not the most aesthetic part of my garden.  I like it up there though.  As soon as the door is opened these girls move like a trio of 'Road Runners'.  Beep beep!  Just look at the speed and gusto in their sprint for freedom!  After the impertinence of their incarceration here they are doing what chickens love to do best;

Scratching and pecking.

Here's to hoping this is the first sunny day of many.  xxx

What is Orange and Rhymes with Parrot?

Emily at Ba-gawks.blogspot.com  has kindly agreed to let me share some of her photographs with you.  'Ba-gawks' is my type of place, loads of photographs of chickens and goats.  I am very excited and pleased about this as I think the photographs are wonderfully creative and they make me very happy to look at.  I really hope they make you smile as much as they make me smile.

Little Chicken on the prairie

Chick Peas

Chicken in a Little Mushroom Hat

Chicken and Tomato

Chicken Hood

Ahoy Jim Lad!

Chicken Flower Fashion

Helping the ill

Chicken and Sweetcorn

Warrior Chicken

Suits you Sir!

Pretty as a Picture

Wingardium Leviosa

May the Force be with You!

If you would like to see more photographs pop over and say 'Hiya' to Emily.  I am off to get me some felt!

The Jolly Green Giant Comes To The Rescue

I spend a ridiculous amount of money on 'Corn on the Cob'.  I do love it, but not as much as these ladies do...

Here they are looking bedraggled they have been in the rain again!  They would rather have their freedom than be warm and dry.  Every day they are still a great source of joy and amusement to me.  I am so proud of them as they are still laying an egg each, every morning despite the frost and the reduced daylight hours.  (Uncle John, whom I mentioned in the 'Feeling Sad' blog post, loved their eggs, he couldn't eat many foods in his last few weeks but he really enjoyed his eggs.  It makes me happy to think he had some quality nutrition from my ladies, there really is nothing to better than a fresh egg.)   These girls eat well, they enjoy kitchen scraps and leftovers.  I feed them 'Layers Pellets' in the morning and 'Mixed Corn' before bedtime.  They loved picking their own fruit in the summer and guzzled blackcurrants, raspberries and blackberries like they were going out of fashion.  They also liked windfall apples.  Their favourite however is Corn on The Cob.  That is good in the Summer when they are in abundance and selling very cheaply, but at this time of year they are imported from as far away as Kenya and they are expensive, I sometimes have a lucky find and they are 'Reduced for a Quick Sale'.  They are a very welcome treat.  So I wondered if this would do....

The verdict from three happy, clucky girls is that it makes a very fine Winter Substitute for the real thing.  They would follow me to the end of the earth for a can I am sure.