It’s now been nearly a fortnight since we brought our chickens home.
In that time, they’ve plumped up a little..
…and today they actually agreed to stand still and have their portrait shots taken.
They’re astonishingly intelligent birds.
In the short time they’ve been here, they’ve learnt to fly up to a high roost, eat greenery, and scratch for worms. They recognise both Pete and I, and come running whenever we approach, clucking and begging for food. They’ve also established a clear pecking order…
I adore their distinct personalities. One hen is particularly bonkers, and spends much of her time pecking at the laying box. I’m sure she’s trying to communicate with us in Morse code. Tap-tap. Tap-tap-ti-tap.
Another steadfastly refuses to follow the flock – she feeds in a different area to the others, chases her food more vigorously, and has her own unique method for ascending to the 5′ roost – she takes aim, leaps straight up like a Harrier Jump Jet and flies between the slats of the roosting platform, tucking her wings in at the last minute to fit through the small opening. One day we will probably have to rescue a wedged chicken from the roost.
After laying four eggs in quick succession, the hens have now completely stopped – a common occurrence after they’ve been transported. And to be fair, we have substantially changed their lifestyle – they now live outside and eat food scraps, lots of weeds and plants, and worms and snails that they dig up from the garden. We still supplement their feed with grain mix, but it’s no longer their sole source of food.
To try and encourage them to lay, Pete put two plastic golf balls in the nesting box – the sight of an “egg” is supposed to inspire them to add their own eggs to the clutch. Our hens simply dragged the balls out and played chook soccer with them. Sigh…
One of the cutest things they do – and I’d like to think it’s a sign that they’re happy and well fed – is have an afternoon siesta. After lunch, they all snuggle up together in the middle of the enclosure, make a few contented clucking noises, then settle down for a little kip. I took this photo today, as they were settling in for rest time – it reminded me of a group of ladies gossiping at the hairdressers…
In the week or so that they’ve been here, they’ve almost completely emptied our garden of weeds. Not that we have “weeds” anymore – now all unwanted plants and pests are viewed as chicken feed. They’re brilliant at getting rid of onionweed – I’ve watched them meticulously digging out the bulbs one at a time. And their current favourite food is fresh buckwheat, which they’ll happily allow us to handfeed to them.
As you can tell, we’re really enjoying our chickens!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
How many photos I can see you are besotted!
They look very contented and happy girls. I can just imagine them playing chook soccer. Hopefully they will start up their laying again soon.
Ok, I have to ask…. did you name them all yet?
I definitely need to hide your blogs from my beloved, or I’ll be in trouble…. ;-)
I can see why you have taken so many pictures- these ladies are lovely!
Too bad about the eggs, but soon they will be feeling quite at home and hopefully fill your refrigerator with beautiful brown eggs!
Lovely chickens, they look in fantastic condition and are obviously well pleased to be with you as you are to be with them!
Oh lovely ladies, I wonder are they any better at soccer than the Socceroos? The Chookeroos? Hehehe.
Thank you all! We’ve had Dr Ian the Chicken Whisperer over, and he doesn’t think the girls are getting enough protein to lay. So we’ve bought them some high protein feed to supplement their diet – will see how we go with that!
Sally, no names – not sure why, nothing seems to have come to mind yet. I always like to wait and see if their names choose them, if you know what I mean.
Chook soccer? Perhaps you should set up a TV in the henroost so they can follow the World Cup!
We grew up with chickens and when we moved from Brisbane to Canberra my mum and dad even flew my favourite chicken down on QANTAS for me. She went where no other chicken has been before! When it was really cold weather, I would feel sorry for the girls and take them my warm weetbix for breakfast. I figured of they gave me a warm egg for my breakfast it was the least I could do in return.
Oh, I do so love my afternoon nap like those chikkies.
You and me both, Gill! :)
Great that they have settled in nicely. Can you even remember the garden before they arrived???
hehe what personalities! Chook soccer and psycho chooky! I think you have a reality TV show in the making Celia! :D
Celia,
Chickens are so addicting, they are lovely animals to live with and impossible to eat them once you get to know them. I mean, if for any reason you plan of eating them, not only their eggs, don’t get too close because they are simply adorable. We had chickens for eggs once and they turned into pets… we had to buy eggs after all…
Enjoy,
Claudia
we used to have wooden eggs in all the nests. no clue if they actually helped :)
i think their new diet is great, and soon you’ll have delicious, flavorful eggs! chicken are meant to be outside, and dig around and eat greens and worms. they look so content!! i wish i had space for chickens, i so envy you!
Nancy, given Australia’s recent performances at the World Cup, perhaps letting the hens watch might stop them laying completely! :)
Chef, that’s fabulous – flying a chicken down to you! I know what you mean about the cold – for a few days, I was soaking wheat grain in warm water for them for breakfast, until Pete told me I was getting carried away… ;-)
Gillian, not really. They seem to have taken over the backyard completely! :)
Lorraine, it really is interesting to see how different they are. A good lesson for me to learn that animals have distinct personalities – sometimes we view them as a commodity and don’t really think about it. I can see how some people end up as vegetarians…
Claudia, no, these ones aren’t intended for the pot! And as I said earlier, they’ve been so much fun that even if they don’t lay a lot, I’m not overly fussed. I can see how they could end up as pets! :)
Dana, that was the aim with the golf balls, but they’re too smart to be fooled by a lightweight plastic thing. We might have to find some ceramic eggs. They’re also still quite young, and learning all the time what they do and don’t like to eat – love worms and bacon rind, don’t like parsley! :)
One thing that amazes friends who’ve come over to visit the ladies is how high they fly to roost. Most people have chickens that don’t fly, but over the past couple of weeks, ours have become really good at it. They now fly straight up to the roost without any problem!
You ever seen those fancy chickens? The ones they show? Be careful, you could start a new collection….(wink)
The girls are looking well and I love the photos, very glamorous in that low light.
They’re very pretty! I live in the city so no outside animals for me. I have two cats (and a chihuahua) that would probably like to make a meal of chickens. I know absolutely I would turn them into pets. Its probably a good thing that I can’t have chickens in my backyard because I really like chicken dishes and I probably wouldn’t be able to eat chicken if I had them for pets.
Joanna, we’re not allowed to go there! :)
Cat, I know exactly what you mean! They’re very captivating to watch…
HA! Chook soccer…how appropriate right now…I envy you the 1.space to have the chickens and 2. The husband willing to be part of the experience…We don’t even have a yard, but when I was being wistful and wanting a yard for “the dog and bees and maybe chickens” DH stopped cold. No. Chickens. He said I was crazy to want bees, too, but he might be coming around on that one…
Enjoy the eggs!
b
Hi Celia,
Your birds are just beautiful.
Just in case you are not aware chickens 12 months old and over moult, drop and grown new feathers, over autumn or early winter. Needless to say the stress this puts on their bodies mean that they stop laying for quite a while around this event even if they haven’t been moved.
Kind Regards
Belinda
Belinda, thank you! These chickens are only young – about 20 weeks – but they are losing (just) a few feathers at the moment. It’s good to know it’s a normal occurrence! Latest update – they’ve discovered they loooove corn on the cob.. :)
Your blog looks wonderful – going to explore now.. :)
Cheers, Celia
Oh, how exciting to have some new chickens! There is no comparison between home grown eggs and bought (even the supposed ‘free range’). We have eight ‘girls’ now, and they are all so different in looks and personality. Your chooky photos are just lovely!
I also wanted to say thankyou for your homemade pectin instructions. They really helped me and a friend out yesterday! You have a wonderful blog. :o)
Christine, so glad you found the pectin post useful, thanks for letting me know! :)
The girls are quite happy, and we’ve recently had an egg. It’s mid-winter now, and they’re quite young, so I’m not expecting them to lay regularly until spring. But it is so nice to have them in the backyard – they’re such funny little things.. :)
Just a tip on your chickens when they stop laying if u hold them and give their feathers on the back of their neck a little firm tug, they will start laying again. Trick my neighbor showed me and it works a treat. Love your site.. Thanks for the lime info.
Haha…thanks Debbie, I’ll keep that in mind. Another friend suggested a stern talking-to while waving a hatchet! :)
Hi! I’ve just discovered your blog and am totally hooked. I, too, am in the process of implementing Linda Woodrow’s brilliance in my garden (which is here on the other side of the world in Argentina…but the hemisphere and climate advice all holds true), and I’m work out how to fit chickens into it. Can I ask you about your chook dome – did you do a full-sized one for that flock? Or did you scale it down? (My lot is too narrow to fit a proper mandala on it but I still want the chooks!). Anyway, I’d love to here your take on that. Thanks!