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The older girls tend to hang around in a trio (or perhaps triad would be a better description). They are, at best, dismissive of the two newbies, (at worst, in Gloria case, she actively goes out of her way to pull a “mean girl” routine on them). So what do little Sweetpea and Queenie do?Continue reading “The company you keep…”

Part of the new run that we built for the girls is the “hen-walk” a walkway between two mirrors for the girls to strut their stuff (and I can give the littlest ones some treats separately to the older girls). An unexpected consequence is Sweetpea’s reaction to the mirrors. She is generally a very goodContinue reading “Who’s your best friend?”

A worrying time recently at Cluckingham Palace, little Gloria appeared a bit under the weather again, which I initially put down to another stuck egg, so the usual spa morning ensued. Once she’d had her bath and blow dry she was back in with the others and seemed okay. However, when I went to collectContinue reading “A problem shared”

So the girls are getting used to their new deluxe accommodation, I have tried to add interest for them in the new run with tree stumps, branches, ladders, even mirrors and a “henwalk”, (as you might imagine this is a catwalk, but for hens). It’s fascinating watching their reaction to new things, the older girlsContinue reading “Fortune favours the Brave”

Our neighbours also have hens, 7 really beautiful girls, all raised together from eggs and bought at point of lay. They live in a huge stable and free range from dawn until dusk on 5 acres of the most verdant grass I have ever seen. They’re also a very neighbourly flock who tend to visitContinue reading “The Grass isn’t always Greener.”

So, the day finally dawned, and the girls moved into their new coop and run. It’s 4 times the size of the old one, has no red mites and is full of interesting things to explore. They were in the new coop overnight, so I raced out at dawn this morning to see how theyContinue reading “Change can be tough….”

Oh, it’s cold this morning, I wish I had an inbuilt feather duvet / coat on days like this! So all the girls have a similar diet, mainly chicken feed, plus daily treats with additional calcium to aid shell production. All the girls spend a similar length of time out of the run, free rangingContinue reading “Good enough is good enough”

At the moment the girls are all laying an egg a day, they each take turns to have some time in the nest boxes, mostly individually but sometimes in pairs. The most distinctive “tell” that an egg is being laid is the egg song. Each girl chirrups away as an egg is being laid. SweetpeaContinue reading “Be a Cheerleader!”

Commercial hens don’t have the best start in life. Hatched in industrial sized incubators they are quickly carried by conveyor belt to a sexing room. The female chicks have a beak trim then off to a rearing facility for 16 weeks until they mature sufficiently to lay. Commercial hens can be kept in a varietyContinue reading “Don’t let a bad start hold you back”

Today we are clearing space in the woods for a much bigger chicken run. Removing shrubs and felling some of the smaller trees. The girls love it when we’re working out here, lots of extra space to dig around and piles of branches to explore. But it does have some challenges. It’s tricky for theContinue reading “Learn from the experience of others.”