Time for bed...

We have found that if we leave them a little later they go to bed more easily...most of the time!

Great Pot-Hen-Shall!

New "Chicken Plant"!

In the Chair...

Teetering....

Eye can see you...

This cockerel decided that hide and seek was a good game! 

GICRTV....

Emily has been making some video documentary about the chickens - in this edition she describes their coop and how they don't normally stay in it all day...

Chickens go batty for ratatouille!

Seems like they eat most things...today the garlic in the left-over ratatouille was the best bit! 

Cock-a-doodle-DON'T!!!

This one has found his voice....shhhhhhh!

Strawberries for dessert...

The chickens enjoyed some left-overs today, including some strawberry stalks! Here they are a few weeks ago in the "dust bath" - must get some new photographs as they have grown! We have discovered (thanks to the lawn man!) that the white ones (all cockerels) are Light Sussex.... http://www.sussexhens.co.uk/

Amy in charge...

We left Amy in charge for a few days..... the chickens seem to be OK! 

Chickengate...

We have now taken delivery of a gate for the back garden - the current pallet offers the chickens a good view!

Don't feed them after midnight....or 7pm!

Found something interesting tonight - it doesn't work to give them titbits in the coop - they panic as they cannot run away and hide with them! That wasn't in the Haynes Manual of Chickens!

Chicken (Supplies) Run...

Emily came to help get more food and straw...well she posed in the car!

Never boring.....

Yesterday we left patio door open to keep an eye on the chickens because they were attempting the wall trick again...and ended up with four in the dining room! So far today they have all been on the shed roof - we wouldn't mind but they then get scared of heights and cannot get down!

Another brick in the wall....

....we need one! The chickens have now worked out how to get on top of the coop and then onto the wall! They were less adept at getting down and had to be helped! David Ginola (cockerel, not French footballer) was most upset!

Spot the difference......

The Great Escape...

It seems that the chickens didn't appreciate us leaving them for the weekend and were looking for trouble on Tuesday afternoon! We know we have some holes in the fence but they had not bothered to stray - until they did! Looking out of the window we could only see two.....and then the other eight in a neighbours garden helping themselves to the plants and flowers!

We got all of them back and Ted blocked up the gap in the fence - it must have looked strange when the family were walking down the road with one or two chickens each under their arms! Some left-over potatoes kept them busy while Ted was finding a plank for the fence!

Magpies....

Magpies #1: There is a baby magpie who comes into the garden and gets chased off by the chickens; he is working out that it is safer to wait until they have been put to bed before he comes looking for scraps!

Magpies #2: HoneyHenny seems to have a little Magpie tendency as she pecks at anything shiny - including the studs on Emily's jeans!

Le Weekend...

The chickens have been looked after by "Uncle Mike" over the weekend and seem to have grown a lot! They have missed us of course and went a little bit mad in the garden when we let them out!