Gratuitous chicken pictures

[Charlotte]

The girls got an afternoon out at the SEEKRIT BUNKER yesterday.  Lots of new dirt to scratch and wormses to nom 

















...and this evening, back in the garden:

[fruitcake]

Chicka Mundo

[Sergeant Pluck]

Some good photos in there 

Why has one of your chickens got a purple bum?

[clarion]

If you'd been laying eggs...

[Sergeant Pluck]

Well at least her bum matches her leg ring.

[Charlotte]

We sprayed her arse purple.  But it's special chicken arse-spray, not something we picked up in the reduced bin at Halfords...

That chook is Adela and sadly, she's at the bottom of the pecking order.  This means that all the others beat her up and peck at her.  She lost a load of feathers round her backside and it was starting to get very sore.  The spray does two things; it's antiseptic and it dyes the area purple.

Chickens are attracted to peck at anything red.  By making her arse something other than red, she won't get pecked nearly as much.

[pcolbeck]

Yes watch out if your wearing sandals and have red nail varnish on your toes this summer. They will be pecked if the chucks are loose.

[anth]

Where once there were just Miss Hennypenny



and Margot



There are now also Skye and Ruby



Integration is proving.... Interesting. Then again, Missy and Margot have had the place to themselves for two years now, I'm not sure I'd be too happy at being told I now had to share - so going through a slow process of introduction before everyone moves in together.

[Hello, I am Bruce]

Charlotte, do the ankle rings have your phone number on them?  Where did you get them?

Our chickens have started taking an interest in the world outside the hedge, and they could get anywhere in the street if they got over.

[jellied]

Charlotte, do the ankle rings have your phone number on them?  Where did you get them?

Our chickens have started taking an interest in the world outside the hedge, and they could get anywhere in the street if they got over.

How on earth would a chicken be able to read the number on it's ankle for heaven's sake? Let alone dial the number.
I don't think you thought that question through very well.

[pcolbeck]

Charlotte, do the ankle rings have your phone number on them?  Where did you get them?

Our chickens have started taking an interest in the world outside the hedge, and they could get anywhere in the street if they got over.

Clip their wings. It doesn't hurt them but will prevent them flying (or should I say that fumbling through the air thing that is the nearest chickens get to flying) over the hedge.

[Charlotte]

Charlotte, do the ankle rings have your phone number on them?  Where did you get them?

No, they're just colours.  We use them to tell one chicken from t'other as we've two of each breed.

I suppose you could put your phone number on them somehow.  We just clipped their wings; if you've never done it before, there's plenty of info on the intertubes, it's dead easy and can be done with some sharp scissors.

You only do one side.  That way, if they do try to attain lift-off, they go round in circles 

[pcolbeck]

Our chicken run. They need a new house before winter as the one attached this run is on it's last legs. I adapted it from a small combined coop and run we were given but it's rotten. I have a design for a splendid new house that will get attached to this run.



The girls. Henny Penny the little white bantam who is incredibly tame and sweet. She is an old girl now (8 or 9 years old we think) but still lays a few eggs a week except in winter and Mildred who is about 2 years old and a bit of a one but a very good layer.

[Hello, I am Bruce]

We finally got an egg today, after having three birds for 7 weeks.  Extra seeds for dinner all round.

Decided against clipping their wings, there was a fox den in the neighbours garden so extra mobility is probably a good idea.  Crazy brown chicken is not impressed.

[Woofage]

Had a double yolker today !

[Charlotte]

The girls have been working overtime - we had eggsies for tea tonight and still have rather a lot...

[Kathy]

Have you tried fried-rice omelettes? Basically make a very thin omelette and then use it as a pancake to wrap some pre-cooked fried rice (with some seasoning and whatever "bits" you fancy). It's a jolly nice supper dish, but we don't have it much 'cos it's so egg-intensive...

[Charlotte]

Sounds rather good 

[nicknack]

And frittatas.

[Charlotte]

No wonder Emmeline was making so much noise the other morning...



Our hens usually lay eggs at about 75-80g, this one was over 120g and looked more like it had been laid by a goose!

Our first evah double-yolker.  

Poached.

Om nom nom  

[Tewdric]

The girls have been working overtime - we had eggsies for tea tonight and still have rather a lot...

That's eggcessive.

[Wascally Weasel]

The girls have been working overtime - we had eggsies for tea tonight and still have rather a lot...

That's eggcessive.

Eggstremely so.

[Jaded]

The girls have been working overtime - we had eggsies for tea tonight and still have rather a lot...

That's eggcessive.

eggshellent, shurely?

[Hello, I am Bruce]

No wonder Emmeline was making so much noise the other morning...

Our hens usually lay eggs at about 75-80g, this one was over 120g and looked more like it had been laid by a goose!

Our first evah double-yolker.  

120g is massive    We regularly get double-yolkers, but the biggest was 96g.

[Sergeant Pluck]

Guess all you hen people have seen this, but just in case, quite interesting  :

http://beta.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00t3tl1/The_Private_Life_of..._Chickens/