First Egg

Whoever bet on Bluebelle wins!  She laid the very first egg on Sunday!

Latest Stress Therapy

Have discovered the perfect therapy for stress/anxiety related disorders.  It's called 'Hen Gazing'.  Utterly soporific and 100% guaranteed to cure all such related ailments.  It is the perfect panacea and has no known side effects.  The therapy itself is however, highly contagious and so far every single visitor has suffered an acute infection.

Poultry progress - Bedtime Confusion

Interesting to note that despite sunset not occurring until 21:28 hrs, all girls are going to bed at 20:35hrs.   There was a bit of confusion though.  Black Betty was first, as usual but there was queue jumping on the ladder and Sandy flew up on the roof.  Normal order was restored and Bluebelle was last again.

All 4 joined us for sundowners in the summerhouse.....mmm not sure that's a good idea!    They are really getting to know the garden and their favourite siesta spot is in the Sofa border - not actually on the Yew sofa but in all the bark mulch!  They haven't yet discovered the vegetable patch and we hope they don't!

Despite all these avian distractions and heavy showers for days, I did manage to put out nearly all the Geraniums and a sign for the gates which Al has now made dog-proof with some mesh we found behind the garage.

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Poultry Progress at Pear Tree Cottage

Above left: No 2 Day shelter in production                    Above Right: Black Betty & Bluebelle tango on the lawn

A need for a day shelter was recognised as in torrential downpours the poor girls were looking a sorry sight all huddled together looking very bedraggled so Al is making this beautiful mobile avian pavilion out of odd scraps and some lovely old cast iron wheels that Maureen gave me which are just PERFECT for the job!  It will also keep their food/trough dry.  The trouble was, it fell off the trestles while I was painting it and broke off a roofing board - what a vandal!!  A swift and immediate repair was carried out. 

Today they were allowed the freedom of the garden for the first time.  They spent their time having a very relaxed explore but only ventured as far as the lower lawn.  Everyone has discovered that watching hens is  a VERY soporific activity!  All come when called and they wandered back to their temporary enclosure on their own.

Poultry Progress at Pear Tree Cottage

Above left: Bluebelle followed by Sandy                           Above Right: Black Betty is last to get out of bed

So! It was Bluebelle out first in the breakfast queue this morning but amazingly: tonight, all 4 found their roosts unaided.  Even more surprising was the fact that Black Betty was first to bed!  She was the one  Chris found in the shrub rose last night in the dark.  Given the fact we believed we'd be catching and or helping them find their roosts for the first several nights; we were very pleasantly surprised that they all put themselves to bed on only their 2nd night!  What clever girls!  Bets are being taken on when the first egg will be laid.....and by whom!!

Wrong Car!

Fletch Fiesta

In the meantime,whilst hen things were happening; so was Bransford Nurseries Plant Sale and Al had mistakenly taken the wrong and roomiest vehicle to Bromyard!  Help! That left Chris and 'Fletch' Fiesta to cope with all our bargain purchases including 5 trees whose canopies were in our faces all the way home.  Most of those destined for PTC are now planted and Chris also cut and laid an Indian stone threshold in front of the hut.  Not bad for one day!

Poultry Progress at Pear Tree Cottage

Right: Amelia takes a look around before taking the plunge.  

All 4 hens awoke to new and alien surroundings.  Bluebelle was first out and is the quietest and the most tame and an instant favourite. Sandy (the Blacktail and christened by Chris was the only one to fly back to roost in the house unaided.  The others all escaped from the temporary enclosure and had to be hunted down and helped up.  Black Betty was the last to be found and, in the nick of time - just before nightfall, Chris found her inches away from his face roosting in a shrub rose!  She is the least tame and the most fearful.  Priorities now are to finish rabbit proofing the garden in an effort to deter Lacy the neighbouring terrier and known hater of pheasants from his regular visits.  Shame this terrier can't differentiate between pheasants and hens!

 Above: Bluebelle and Amelia take their first look around their new surroundings.

The plan is to erect a secure run for them in Cato's Corner.  Al is building a small shelter for them which will remain in the run and offer protection from foul (sorry!) weather.  We plan to lure them in with corn (until they are used to it) which would allow is to leave the premises safe in the knowledge that they are secure.  In the meantime, they have the freedom of the garden (excluding the vegetable patch) as soon as they have learnt to roost in their safehouse unaided.