The day finally arrived - our hens came! The farmer appeared in his landrover with crates of beautiful chickens in the back. We were expecting some plain old brown hens, but he fished around and picked out two lovely blue-grey birds and two white ones and thrust them at us. We had to pretend that we knew what we were doing and that it wasn't the first time we had ever held a chicken in our lives. We bundled them into their new coop before they had a chance to complain!
Introducing, Polly, Wendy, Henrietta, and Pecky Sue (Blue Marans, and Light Sussexes, I think, although we were a bit too flustered to remember what the farmer said):
First dinner time:
They spent a few days in the coop, to get settled, before we opened the door and let them roam. They were a little bit nervy at first. When we opened the door for the first time, half-expecting a flurry of chickens desperate to get out after their confinement, nothing happened. In fact, they took a whole day to pluck up the courage to come out! It took some corn sprinkled on every step of their ladder to tempt them out.
Hurry up, the Clucks!
But now, there is no stopping them. They have gradually roamed further from the coop every day, poking their beaks into mischief. When they see one of us, they hurry over and then bumble around us, gently muttering and burbling to themselves, hoping for some corn. I was doing some weeding yesterday evening, and, upon hearing a rustling in the hedge next to me, I turned round to see four slightly flustered hens fall out. They proceeded to be a Right Nuisance, getting under my trowel and pecking at my gardening gloves. I left them fighting over a slug, with Wendy digging a hole in the flower bed.
Tasting the great outdoors:
We are slowly learning their personalities; Pecky Sue is the first to run over in the hope we have a tasty snack, and she has a wonky beak, which makes her easier to spot. Wendy is a bit of a weirdo, and prefers pecking at my watch/ ring/ shoe than any food I might be holding out for her. Polly likes an early night, and whilst the other peckies are still roaming about outside before dusk, she will be found already settled down in the coop, looking at us blearily from the nesting box before resolutely tucking her head under her wing.
They haven't started laying yet, so we have to be patient. This morning, we had to take a family walk up to the nearest farm to see if they had any eggs to buy, to avoid a trip to the shop. I had half-made some scones with Willow before we realised we needed an egg! Unfortunately the farm didn't have any either, but we passed our nearest neighbour on his quad bike on the way back who kindly said we could pop by theirs to get one. After a quick socially-distanced chat across the garden, we came away with two home-laid eggs and a bag of rhubarb, which little Willow insisted on holding, one stick at a time, on the walk back home across the fields. So tomorrow, it is scones and rhubarb crumble on the menu. And a few scones to be taken back across the fields to leave at the neighbours' garden gate, to thank them for the eggs!
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