Chickens again!

So happy to be a chicken lady again, some sweet young things raised on Portland have come to join us at The Raggy Rat!

One conquers the apple tree before Daisy climbs up there. Then we clip the birds wings to prevent poultry walkabouts!

Much lighter than our old buff orpingtons, the girls enjoy some cuddle and strokes. I like the smell of the feathers and the glossy sheen as I stroke them!

And 26 eggs in 7 days! But ouch! I do not know who laid this beauty!

Food - something cheesy!

A lot of people share recipies on their blogs, but I struggle with that, being a sort of bucket chemist in my aproach to family food. 

This amazing cheese mattress looks like a soufflé but I don't believe it is! 

It was made using a whipped up blend of fromage frais and three eggs. But it will also work with plain yoghurt. Before it went into a getting-warm oven, I sprinkled finely grated cheese on top. Then I baked it until it looked beautiful. 

It went down smashing with fried mushrooms and grilled tomatoes!

Three Eggs ... home grown ...

Three fresh eggs, three different sizes ... now we have had a wind-egg before, but what's this?



a dinosaur egg, me thinks!



And it really is a whopper, poor chicken, well done to my Buff Orpington!

We love our chickens!

and today, they get a new fence and gate - going into see them will be much easier!

cuddle time ...

some times, you have to stop what you are doing ...



and cuddle a buff Orpington!

Great Eggspectations!

one day we decided to have an egg guess - we have 5 chickens and they had just had a very muddy grumbly day, when we took a vote at tea time!



and would you know it, daisy was right - I was so eggsited as it was our first time we ever had all five birds lay! Mary made that lovely egg box lable ...



Daisy made this lable, and said Matty's Chicken looked like a goose ...



Matty said it didn't ...



but all the egg boxes look lovely, would anyone like some happy eggs?

and then there were eggs!

we have settled into a nice routine here and chez raggy-rat ...



I get the chickens up before the girls, and then later on we look for eggs and share out veg and dinner scraps ...



and after a week and a half with us, the first egg appeared, just after Steve's birthday!



and the Orpingtons have really got used to us, in fact all the girls seem really happy around us now ...



and in the afternoon, we go in and throw a few handfuls of corn ...



one of the black-tails had a very pecked neck when she arrived, it is almost filled back in now, she looks great!



one hen likes cuddles ...



the girls have inspired some nice drawings, matty did this chicken and egg ...



and daisy drew this image, showing me and matty collecting eggs, and a nice tub of grit on a log, too!



Actually, with my red henna'd hair, I look a lot like a chicken!

Chicken-Lady!

I was a bit busy today, getting to know some new pets ...



This is the most forward of the chickens, a buff Orpington (one of two) who let me stroke her as she inspected me and my camera ...



A sea of fuzzy butts, as my camera appears!



RUN! one of the three Black-tails is very camera shy!

do you remember the life cycle post from last September?

http://raggyrat.blogspot.com/2009/09/life-cylce-by-our-back-door.html



They Hatched!
We have new babies - this pic is better viewed large of course!

a life cycle, by our back door ....