Chickens.
Lovely, red wattled, brown feathered chickens.
The girls are so excited. I am so excited! And Archie just doesn't know what to do with himself. He spent the afternoon trying to warn me that they were in the backyard, and guarding the backdoor in case one tries to sneak in.
Not that they would. They refuse to leave their coop. I can relate.
I'm sure they will venture out tomorrow. Peanut saved her dinner scraps as an enticement. We tucked them in to sleep tonight, and as I was bathing the kids we heard them bok-boking as they went off to sleep. It was such a lovely sound.
We collected the chickens this afternoon from Bellchambers Produce. It is THE quaintest shop I could ever imagine.
It has a totally unassuming entrance, way back from the road in an industrial area. Inside, there are huge bins of grain, sacks layered on pallets and a couple of cats lazing around to keep the mice down. The calenders on the wall date from the 1940s. The floor is covered in wisps of straw, and your bill is totaled on scrap paper by an elderly country gent who knows everything there is to know about chickens. (He was very kind to me when he realised I had no practical experience with chickens. I chided Peanut for playing with some stuff in a tub, while asking him if he had shell grit. He did. It was in the tub... There is only so far books and internet videos will take you!)
So we loaded the hens up into a box and brought them home. Bug and her best mate Archibald were desperate to get into the pen and have a poke and a sniff, respectively, but after a quick meet and greet they were banished outside the fence so the hens could settle in. Bug kept tapping the gate and saying "knock knock Mama! Knock?"
The really nice thing about the chicken pen location is I can sit and watch them from my sewing room window. You know, if they ever come out of the damn coop!
Nice looking birds, one looks like she may be almost ready to lay...Just a quick observation...they will fly out of their run as your wire is a little low....unless you clip their wings...Im sure the gentleman you bought them from would do it for you...but you may not care if they are free ranging in the garden anyway... :)
ReplyDeleteThe children are going to be so excited when they start laying, my little 3 year old never tires of collecting the eggs...
I clipped their wings myself! Three YouTube videos and a dire need for it to be done had me out there with the kitchen shears this afternoon. Luckily the birds were placid enough for me to do it easily. I can't imagine doing that on a wild fully grown bird!
ReplyDeleteI'm very excited you think one might be almost ready to lay! Is it the comb colour that lets you know? One really is quite red.
Oh, and I am planning for them to free range. The fence is more to keep the puppies and kids out instead of the hens in! I figured they would need a place to retire to if it all got a bit much.
ReplyDeleteI just love having chickens! Just keep an eye out for foxes...all my chickens ended that way :(
ReplyDeleteThey look lovely! Hope they bring much fun and enjoyment to your family, and lots of eggs too!
ReplyDeleteYes, the redder and larger the comb means that they will be ready to lay...did the fella at the shop tell you how old they were, or just 'point of lay'?
ReplyDeleteLook at you clipping their wings, with kitchen shears no less..!!! Ive never been game to do it..so good for you. I did have to give a chook a course of injections once...ugh..that was super scary...and she karked it anyway...poor luv.
Enjoy your girls, they look just like my Mavis and Audrey.....
Oh, Mavis and Audrey are good names! Ours are Milly and Tilly.
ReplyDeleteYou gave a chicken injections? Now THAT is impressive!
Chooks are lovely (Aussie for chickens lol). We always keep some, even if just to have them chuck-chuck to us whilst we are in the garden. People think I'm a bit too crazy with our chooks though - I cook them breakfast each day and am often busted chatting to them lol
ReplyDeleteI still remember our excitement at bringing our first hens home.
ReplyDeleteNow, I'm reliving it through you! :)