Happily Ever After...

So, they are finally here, moved in and seemingly hearty through the cold weather. I am told that Chickens need 14 hours of daylight to begin to lay eggs in larger quantities, and this being England I'm not sure that's ever going to happen! Just kidding, while the days are cold and the nights at or below freezing we've had a few lovely sunny days. Everything is crisp and bright, the air is fresh and while my cheeks sting with cold, i'm certainly pleased to be out in the chill.

The girls have moved in and we've made modifications to the inside of the coop to provide a shelter they can huddle in together and stay warm. They seem to be doing just fine. These are retired hens from a factory area, what this means is way too many chickens per pen, they would get so hot their feathers would fall out and after two or so years of their lives they would stop laying as many eggs as they once had. These chickens were bound for the butcher shop. Saved by Cherry Tree Farm they are sold back to the public, mostly as pets. And seeing as we have five of them (I know, damn it...i wanted six) they are pets for the most parts. We've had them a week and though its off season for laying eggs and though they are rescue chickens we still have nearly a dozen eggs.

Our close neighbor also has chicken and three roosters. One of my girls has taken a fancy to her "cockerel" and they call to each other throughout the morning. I was letting the chickens free range over the yard, but rather than using the nesting boxes, they were laying eggs in bushes, under the holly tree and in a pile of scrap wood. While i love the jolly easter egg hunts in the spring, its not a game i'd like to play every day. So, i let them out for a bit in the morning after i've collected the morning eggs and put them back in the coop just before their second and final meal of the day. Pigs, that's what they are PIGS! I've never seen an animal eat so much!

The eggs are brown and quite large, i'm not complaining. They have learned to come running to my ridiculous "chicken call" and seem less offended when i pick up a slow poke or two to get them cooped up for the night. They don't peck at me and I do believe they have come to affectionately regard me as "human with food".

Trying to get the boys involved but they seem more interested in television and Playstation. *sigh* kids will be kids and mom's will just have to be more insistant.