Well, we got up this morning to a suspiciously quiet hen house - and that was after we all slept in! It was close to 9.15 and even Peck was quiet! What was wrong?? PANIC!! What was I going to find? Blood and feathers everywhere? Had a pine martin got in (despite the house being just-about airtight!!)? Had Peck had his revenge for having to share? Even with the girls? Why were they still so quiet?? Were they alseep?
I didn't even bother to get breakfast first - nope - chooks came first today!
I threw my clothes on and headed off to the 'greenhouse' to get wellies and chook food. I put greenhouse in inverted commas because it really isn't! There is staging in there, and a small part of a bag of compost, and a few old plant pots, but there's also an almost-working petrol lawnmower which has seen better days, a top box for the car, a couple of old demi-johns (from the days when home-made wine was THE thing to be seen drinking), a sack of wooden blocks, part of a plastic baby walker, part of a plastic baby gym. So 'greenhouse' is really "shed extension" - and our shed is the size of a garage and is also full!
Wellies on (yup, the black ones with multi-coloured small stars all over them) - up to the field - inanely singing the "chook, chook, chook" song. As I got closer I could hear contented humming and haa-ing coming from inside the coop - you know, that lovely little song that they sing when they're really happy? All sort-of coo-ey? A bit like doves with very sore throats? I didn't know that hens did anything but cluck - but mine seem to do anything but CLUCK.
Sprinkle the food into the run, clean out the water dispenser, make sure all fencing is secure (I don't want any more chooks escaping from my "Colditz" chicken run!) and open the door.
Peck is out first (naturally!) followed by a huge tumble of hens as they all try to exit a small door at the same time! What a mix!! Black Mirri tangled up with Ruby, who had Whitey almost climbing over her, while Rosie and Merida were trying their best to crawl out between her legs - upending her in the process. They fell out of the door in a tumble of feathers and clucks and then fell over each other again as they began the mad scramble for the food. But what was this? TOAST!! The chooks obviously knew about toast - you know, the left-over corners that some fussy kiddiwinkles won't eat because there's not enough spread/jam on it, or because "but that's where I've been holding it, Mum!". Forget the chook food - let's go for TOAST!!! But it's toast!! Lovely toast!
Oh, the toast is gone - back to chicken food - oh well, it's FOOD!!!!
The feasting began.
One more egg - bringing the count to 4 now
Panic over - all chooks present and correct, nothing wrong, one more egg (but that's a little by-the-by). I know we've had them for only just over 24 hours, but they really do grow on you quickly - they're all such characters!
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