Feathered friends

The last corner of the garden, behind the garden shed, houses our four new friends. They arrived only yesterday. I was told that they would be ex-battery hens but instead they are free range hens. They were going to be turned into pet food as they were apparently past their prime! They were part of  the lucky 1700, unfortunately another 6000 won't make it...

 My friendly neighbour and chicken expert, Nicky and I, went to the farm; the removal boxes made great chicken carriers, although they did need recycling by the time we got back!

This henwas the most curious and confident and I later discovered she was also an escape artist.

We had some very quick enforcements to make as she flew up onto the gate. I hope that it will now be high enough to keep her from doing that. She gets a funny look and stretches up her neck before attempting to fly through the chicken wire. I think she is curious about the rest of the garden. I've learnt alot about handling chickens from her already!

This (yes, very similar looking) hen has a completely different personality, preferring to be shy and retiring. She has been named Nugget by Sophie as she is the smallest.



These hens have no names yet either, I'm waiting for inspiration and contributions from my friends on Facebook!

 Last night, only one of the hens decided to roost in the house, the others preferred behind the compost bin! Fortunately, I managed to lift them all into the coop as they were sleepy.

It was an adventurous day for all of us.












In the morning, it was all worth it, with the first egg!