The chickens have arrived!
The girls arrive!
Meet Amelia Egghart, Granny Featherwax, and Nanny Egg.
Amelia is so named because she is missing a toe, but she was the first intrepid chicken explorer to make her way down from the coop and into the little covered run. She’s an explorer, and undaunted by the challenges presented by being slightly toe-less.
Granny Featherwax and Nanny Egg, well… they just look a bit witchy. And very capable. And a little mischievous.
The girls stayed in their top coop for the first afternoon and night, to settle in – then we opened their ramp the next morning and tried to coax them down into the run with a little corn.
It took them a while, but by lunchtime they were all pottering around. Here’s what we’ve learned in the first couple of days of chicken-keeping:
- They’re very chatty – every time we wander over, they chuckle at us and follow us around, which is delightful
- They love dandelions – I mean, they proper love dandelions
- They poo a lot
- They drink a lot of water, too
- They’ll eat almost anything we will (apparently they go mental for cooked leftover spaghetti – watch this space)
- Checking for eggs is just about the most exciting thing to do ever (I’m hoping this won’t wear off)
- They’re very clever – took themselves to bed without needing any prompting or encouragement
They’re staying in their little coop and integrated run for a few days, but next week we can let them out to free range around the garden when we’re around. I’m a little worried about the fox that lives at the back of the woodland, but we’re hoping all will be well if we’re there and if we encourage them to be out in the orchard rather than under the tight bushes.
We’ll get some better pictures up when they’re out and about and they’re more used to us.
In the meantime, here’s their posh house:
The Ark of the Chickenant
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