It's August already

Huge news has prompted an update - Ruby has laid an egg! Okay, it was in the middle of the lawn as she tried to find somewhere comfortable in the kitchen all morning and kept getting kicked out but great news, back to real eggs. Even though we have been buying organic free-range eggs they are still very poor quality compared with the eggs your own chickens produce. Anyway well done Ruby for getting me to write on the blog.

Okay so I admit it's been a while since the last update. Things going on (like our civil partnership in less than two weeks....eek) and when we get home on these "summer" evenings (normally grey, warm and raining) its more a case of seeing the chickens, feeding and watering them while they have a good grub about and commit various horticultural desecrations and destructions. And they really have grown so quickly.

Ruby of course now in egg laying mode has cast off the cloak of motherhood, smacks the kids about the head, dominates Harriet (who is still in full mum mode) and sod giving them tasty morsels, she scoffs the lot! Oddly for the most stand-offish hen in the history of the entire poultry world she is now Miss Confident. Ruby will not be stroked however if a mealworm is involved she will just about accept it however she is absolutely not adverse to leaping straight onto your lap if she thinks a treat is imminent.

The chicks have now passed into adolescence.

Orpington bantams
Eggnog is still a star. She, and we really hope it is a she. All the signs are however "she" is very cocky and males tend to be a hint more assertive - if we renamed that bird again it would be Hitler. Eggnog has no fear. She likes a hug and is very inquisitive and more than happy to sit on your leg watching you. She also follows you (along with Ruby and Sebastian) where ever you go so the kitchen is frequently full. The yellow on the front has now gone and Eggnog is now all black with a lovely green sheen but still baby naked gaps which will fill in I hope.

Conversely Stan is the perfect baby buff Orpington and we think and hope than Stanley is in fact Stella. Stan's plumage and colour is wonderful and is just the most amazing Orpington shape. He is also possibly the very best insect catcher ever. Downside is that Stan is not having anything to do with the humans. Oh no - chicken independent.

Speckled Sussex bantams
Wow, have the "turkeys" come on or what?
Both monster chicks have changed from the Borg to complete individuals, however still huge in comparison with the rest of the chicks.

Jason, the darker of the two is the one that has more chances of being a hen though still "big". Bless him, he still has some chick down on his neck and tries to be as butch but fails as Sebastian is the big brother.

Sebastian is Mr Snowflake. Far whiter on his front than a speckled should be, I'm sure that he will get darker as he gets older. Oh and such a boy and with the biggest feet ever! He is also Mr Confident. No problem in sitting on your knee, arm, shoulder and in fact humans are his next best friend. Watch this space......

Blue silkies
Pearl and Shirl of course are silkies - vaguely brainless and bordering on lack of personality disorder. They haven't disappointed. They fit in as part of the tribe, they don't interact with people, we love them.

Okay, there we are - update! (pics to follow)

Its's a late post!

What a difference two weeks makes!

It's been busy over the last couple of weeks so I failed to update the blog however fortunately John has been keeping up with the photos.

In the period of two weeks we have gone from heatwave with warning of the entire UK population about to meet its demise over 2 days of hot weather. As pleasant as it was (most enjoyable to feel some sunshine at last) the past week has been dominated by westerlies blowing in with some quite spectacular rain. I note the Government have not yet started giving alert level foot rot warning.

The chicks and girls have been doing very well. Unfortunately the chicks are very quick at picking up tricks and tips from the Mum's and as soon as they see us they rush to the run door and start cheeping wildly. I can virtually hear them saying "Daddy let us out, we want to go trash a flower bed!".

After initially going through the overly protective stage and either having them all in the lawn run or being outside with them to keep the chicks from possible predation by crows or cats, and keeping them on the lawn and off the borders we have now given up on all.

My attempts at keeping the borders in some form of orderliness have failed. Fortunately most of the plants are now well established enough to have the poultry version of an auto weeder scratching around without detrimental effect and with of course some natural fertilisation and snail removal. Of course dust/mud bathing is far better enjoyed in the middle of a flower bed!

Likewise, Ruby is such a great mother that I have no problems leaving them out while we are at home as;

1. she is very quick to sound the alarm even if it is a plane flying over

2. she is highly feisty and will attack anybody or anything (which unfortunately included Harriet on occasion) if she thinks the chicks are in any danger what-so-ever.

3. while I am typing this both Ruby and Harriet are trying to teach the chicks how to get into the kitchen!

So how are the chicks doing?

Eggnog Tallulah is still the smallest but one of the most independent and has a great love for getting up to the highest point she can with the mums. This morning she managed to get to the top of the bench with Ruby and looked very adventurous before she realised that she couldn't get down so just threw herself off! Still thinks of Harriet as his main mum.

Stan (still convinced that its a boy and the buff Orpington bantam) continues to be the lone explorer. Definitely is in the Ruby camp of children. His feathers are coming on well and looks okay because they are all pale.

Laverne and Shirley (the blue silkie chicks) failed as a naming option however it has evolved into Pearl and Shirley. Definitely Harriet's children (I am convinced silkies have a regional hen dialect) they rarely stray far from her. Getting lots of little feathers now but still staying small - there is a low chance that Shirl may be a boy.

The turkeys, Jason and Sebastian - which are supposed to be speckled Sussex bantams - are very large and I wonder at times if they are indeed not bantams but regular sized chickens. I am sure that both are boys, feet the size of small ostrich and looking real youths with scruffy feathers sprouting everywhere and a need for running madly everywhere in the "I want to be there first" mode.

It is amazing the change and growth rate so I will try to keep up! (and we will be needing homes for the boys at some stage)

Ruby and Harriet are now enjoying the freedom of flower border exploration again and Harriet has regained not only her skill of dust bathing in the wettest soil she can find but has got back the permanent soil staining on the front of her head. Both of them are looking particularly scruffy as are in mid moult - Ruby only has half a tail and Harriet has shed so many feathers in the run it looks like the aftermath of a pillow fight! After their "spat" they are now getting on fine again however Ruby has very successfully now made herself top hen.

Garden looking lovely with the warm, wet (indeed moist) conditions being perfect for rapid growth (bananas, cannas and gingers are going great guns) and the tree ferns have fully recovered from the winter trauma.

Allotment is now beginning to provide lots of produce - courgettes, french beans, globe artichokes, turnips and radish while the pots at home produced a small crop of peas and we are about to start harvesting pot grown carrots.

So busy times in the garden, the allotment and with the chickens, but highly enjoyable. Promise a faster update next week.

Two weeks old

What a difference a week makes!

It's been a busy old week and I have been away for some of it so the chicks seem to have been growing at a most impressive rate.

Eggnog, although still the smallest, is doing extremely well and devoted to Harriet. We are dithering on what sex it is. Although Eggnog started out a boy in our minds I get the feeling that Eggnog may in fact be Tallulah! As you can see below, that chick has been eating lots!

The buff Orpington bantam has been named Stanley, as I am convinced he is indeed a male due to already visible and fast growing comb (please tell me if I am completely wrong here). Stanley is THE most independent of all the chicks and is quite happy to go off exploring the garden without mother hens in tow.

The silkie chicks - I personally think they are a definite for being named Laverne and Shirley (for those of you who remember "The Fonz" the names should be familiar http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laverne_&_Shirley ). They do everything together, are slightly dim (I think it's a silkie thing) and so hope that they are both girls as I would hate to lose either of them. Any comments back to the blog voting for Laverne and Shirley would be deeply appreciated.

Harriet with Shirley and Laverne

And then we get to the baby turkeys. What we think are the speckled Sussex are growing at an alarming rate. They are probably twice the size of Eggnog. They are always the first to the food and I am sure that at least one is a male if not both of them.

Speckled Sussex chick realising its got wings!

After the "confinement" the girls have undergone both incubating and the start of rearing, they have now had both a chance to spend some time in the "lawn run" and if we are about, free-range in the garden.

The "lawn run" was a quick internet purchase which in the guise of a guinea pig run seemed to suit the purposes of getting one of the mums and some of the chicks out onto grass and some peace from the other. However that proved to be impossible as Harriet and Ruby are joint mums so dividing them, never mind the chicks just didn't work.

The positive is that we can get all the birds out onto grass for a good scratch about and a hugely enjoyable dust bath (it's hysterical watching the chicks emulating Harriet and Ruby dust bathing, usually underneath the mums and getting kicked out on a regular basis, not that they minded) when we are not around.

Best of all is that when we are about we now let all the birds out into the garden. Still not quite confident enough to leave them alone as although Ruby as turned into a complete headcase if she thinks any of the brood are in peril I still feel a cat could take a chick. However if we are about they now all go out and love it.

Of course for ever positive there is a (slight) negative;

• Newly seeded lawn trashed and reverted to a dust bowl within a few days
• How quickly newly planted vegetation is removed in search of the occasional bug
• Physalis (Cape gooseberries) were outrageously victimised and eaten without mercy
• Borders instantly scratched out onto the paths

So bless them a couple of rules are now applied;

• chicken training - they now move easily between the lawn run and home run
• when free ranging, mums are not allowed on the borders
• when free ranging, physalis is seen as a legitimate target so that is a sin they are allowed
• Stanley does exactly as he pleases
• can chicken herding be classified as alternative employment? I love it.

All in all, could life be any better?

Allotment update to follow as I ran out of time.

Back home

Well the good news is that Eggnog is doing great!

Eggnog munching out in the lawn run

We have just had the most wonderful weekend in Devon with our dear friends Bunty and David. They are wonderful hosts though I fear our livers may disagree.

Also visited Paignton Zoo and met up with my great colleague and friend, Curator of Birds Jo Gregson. As ever I was very impressed with the work Jo and her team are doing, especially with cassowaries - here is a picture of one that I hope will soon be at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo.

Now that is an impressive bird!

We did take out time to visit Devonshire Traditional Breed Centre in Crediton http://www.dtbcentre.co.uk/ where I acquired three hopefully fertile buff Orpington eggs.

I'm not a fan of Bramha chickens but this lot were great - full of personality

It's still a lovely collection, the chickens and grounds were a pleasure to see and as ever the staff were great (Thank you Tracey for rushing around and getting fresh Orpington eggs)

If only I had a really big garden it would be FULL of buff Orpingtons

Back home and it was a pleasure to see the mums and chicks. It's been good weather in London over the weekend so some of the plants were a bit saggy but nothing that a good water around the garden didn't cure. Rob and Isobel had done an excellent job with the chickens though Harriet and Ruby had done an excellent job at trashing the run with the chicks.

Ruby on guard

First we got all eight out of the home run and into the lawn run - of course Ruby kicked off big time when we moved her chicks but once they were out on the grass they loved it. Slight problem in that the silkie chicks walked straight through the wire (well the gaps were a bit big) so a rapid job with some smaller wire soon secured the pen for the mums and chicks.

Harriet and Eggnog in the lawn run

So how are the chicks doing?


Eggnog is doing brilliantly. I have NO idea why we are calling him "he", I really want Eggnog to be a girl so fingers crossed. Still staying close to Harriet, Eggnog is now far more visible and he eats with gusto and is becoming a little mister independent.


The two silkie chicks look gorgeous and are fast as hell, they have got the idea of catching flies, just like Harriet - is fly catching a silkie thing?


The buff Orpington bantam is growing really quickly and had the fullest crop.


Most impressive are the speckled Sussex. They have grown faster than anybody, you can see the flight feathers already starting to form on the wings. They scratch about just like the mums and with the size of them I wonder if they are indeed bantams!


It was lovely to be away but it's equally lovely to be home.

Eggnog - it's a long story

Sometimes you wonder where your partner is coming from - seriously.

We have and indeed continue to worry about the little black Orpington bantam. It, although now a "he" in our minds, has ended up with the most unusual of names.

Aforesaid chick is black with small white stripes (though these have now turned yellow) so I instantly thought, in an alcoholic sense of course, that we should call him Guinness.

So innocently asking my lover what drink name did little chick inspire...........Eggnog!

"Eggnog???" I ask?

"Yes, Eggnog, what's wrong with that? Isn't it champagne and Guinness?"

Rejoice, Eggnog we love you!

Various worries - chicks not getting the idea of running up the ramp to the hut in the evening though Harriet stayed with them in the run as Ruby went to the nestbox.

Eggnog has NOT got the idea of eating and preferring to stay in the warm feathers of Harriet instead of eating however we did see him eat and drink.

Various good bits - all the other chicks are doing great and both Harriet and Ruby are doing a great job at feeding them especially as this is their first time.

Various wonderful bits - the George clan came around this evening to take over chicken and chick rearing duties over the weekend while we are away in Devon. A huge thank you to them.

There may be an update from Rob and Isobel (that would be good) however that's it now until Sunday evening

Day 2 - The Responsibility Begins

"The official photographer writes" So, day 2 is nearly over but alas, no more little chicks. The other six eggs have not hatched and it doesn't look like they're going to either, so we can only assume for now that they are infertile or dead in the egg. We're going to give them 24 more hours and then we'll find out what's happened to them.

The Mums

HOWEVER, the little'uns we do have are absolutely wonderful, truly marvellous!!! The Buff Orpington chick seems to be developing a very brave personality....we could have another Cybil on our hands here...God help us all!

Buff Orpington - Cybil's successor??

I came home tonight and the little Black Orpington was alone outside, both Mums were inside with the other chicks so I picked it up and put it back with Ruby, then we gave them all some mini mealworms, which they LOVED....the little Buff Orpington was whizzing around eating anything and everything it could get its tiny little beak into....wonderful to watch.

Blue Silkie with the little Black Orpington

The Mums seems to be coping very well although Harriet was sitting in the main inside area without any chicks.....Ruby had them ALL underneath her......little Madam! Ruby has really taken to this like a duck to water. Its amazing that this is their first time as Mums and yet they know exactly what to do with no help from us at all. Mother Nature is truly fascinating!

Come to me my Children

The Speckled Sussex chicks are looking good and healthy and are almost as brave and confident as the Blue Silkies and the little Buff Orpington (we're going to have to watch this one methinks!!!)

One of the cheeky little Speckled Sussex chicks

Anyway, I am loving being a new 'Dad' although all this adrenalin and worry is knackering me!!!

May the joy, stress, worry and sleepless nights continue and may our little babies grow into gorgeous, lovely little Girls....do you hear me??? Girls!

18.45pm and we officially have chicks!

After the cheeping of chicks this morning there had to be some more chicks when we got home and we were not disappointed. As I walked down the garden I could hear them even over the rumbles of thunder.

Ruby's nest first as she hatched the first chick. Fairly sure that the two brown ones are buff Orpington bantams, very lively and very noisy and climbing all over mum. Not sure about the other one as the writing had rubbed off the egg but its either a black Orpington bantam or speckled Sussex bantam. We think its the Orpington.

How cute are this lot. Two blue silkies and a light Sussex bantam that hatched under Harriet. Oh and she's such a lovely mum. I have to say that Ruby has turned into Mother Warrior!

"Hello world"

Of course all said all we wanted to do was watch chicks with mums but that wasn't going to happen as both girls still had three eggs to hatch and both had newly hatched chicks. Saying that both the little Orpingtons were very happy running over Ruby and the photo above shows a cheeky chick checking out the photographer.

So amidst torrential rain and thundering above we left eggs, chicks and the girls (no longer girls but the mums) safe, dry and snug in the little shed and we'll see what the morning brings.