So we finally got our Chickens! 6 beautiful girls from a local farm, and they are beautiful!

We have a Skyline, Blue Haze, White Sussex, Black Sussex, Rhode Rock and an Amber. Little miss Black Sussex was our first egger! One perfectly formed (and still warm) egg! needless to say there was lots of squealing from us (and a fair bit from her!)

Andy and I have both separately and together wanted chickens for a very long time, Andy set up a company “Clucking Lovely Coops” to make custom, and might i add, STUNNING coops, all by hand! Our style is a mini version of a Dutch Barn painted with Cuprinol Garden Shades in ‘Seagrass’ They have an attached nest box in which to lay their eggs and three perches set in the rafters. They have a huge run with our pear tree in the middle back for lots of shade and easy pickings from the lower leaves. Only thing missing now is a sign for their gate and of course, Bunting!

I can already thoroughly recommend getting chickens, they are a beautiful waste of your time, watching them in their funny little ways, scratching around, talking to them (and in my case giving them voices as if they are talking back) We could have gone for Ex Battery hens and I’m certain we will in the future but right now, we have our chickens for the reliable eggs, we go through a lot of eegs in a week what with the egg butties and all the many and varied cakes I bake, and whilst the eggs from our local green grocers are eggcellent value (couldn’t resist) it is still spending money where we could become self sufficient! Of course we paid for our Hens, but they will have paid for themselves in our egg savings before very long at all!

Plus they are already eating kitchen scraps and weeds I’ve pulled from the veg beds next to their run, and providing us with an endless supply of chicken manure….. who could want more!? well they’ll give you more I can tell you, like cuddles! and little kisses (you can tell me its just them pecking all you like but I KNOW they’re giving Mama kisses!)