• Home
  • About
  • Birds
  • Bread
  • Cakes and Cookies
  • Chocolate Making
  • Chocolate Making II
  • Chooks
  • Christmas
  • Fabulous Food
  • Family & Friends
  • Frugal Living
  • Homemade
  • In My Kitchen
  • In Our Garden
  • Jams, Preserves & Sauces
  • Musings
  • My Cool Things
  • Savoury
  • Suppliers
  • Sydney
  • Waste Reduction Plan
  • Pandemic Posts 2020

Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

Living well in the urban village

Feeds:
Posts
Comments
« Mocha Bars
Chicken and Chestnut Rice »

Communing with Chickens

July 24, 2012 by Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

Last Sunday, Pete and I sat in the backyard and communed with the chooks. It was a gorgeous Sydney winter’s day, and the girls had just been let out onto a new patch of the garden. They were scrambling about excitedly, scratching for grubs and slugs.

Here is our beloved Rosemary, who continues to be completely bonkers. She’s the baby of the group…

She stared me down as I tried to take a photo of her laying…

Francesca, our Italian princess (who is actually not the least bit Italian), has always been quite different to the others. She is dark, petite and the most curiously adventurous of the flock…

We made jokes about her being a grassfed chicken, as she chomped away at the weeds we held out to her. She will try to eat almost anything…

Frannie has always been our noisiest chicken, and today I filmed her carrying on.  She’s the only one who does this, and she does it regularly. We’re not really sure why – she isn’t a dominant member of the flock, but she’s certainly opinionated.  I think if she had arms, she’d wave them around…

Bertie, Maggie and Harriet were far too busy to pose for a photo!

All five ladies are doing well, although they’ve now got a little grey in their feathers and their egg production has dropped off substantially. Watching them in action left us in no doubt that they’re all still full of life!

Share this:

  • Email
  • Tweet

Like this:

Like Loading...

Posted in Frugal Living | Tagged backyard chickens | 87 Comments

87 Responses

  1. on July 24, 2012 at 12:14 am Glenda

    Your ladies are just lovely.


    • on July 24, 2012 at 5:33 am Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Thanks Glenda! x


  2. on July 24, 2012 at 12:17 am Promenade Claire

    I love the last shot with the chooks ‘concentrating’ so hard! And I can see and feel your winter sunshine in the photos :) Lovely


    • on July 24, 2012 at 6:17 am Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Thanks Claire. It was very therapeutic to sit outside with them!


  3. on July 24, 2012 at 12:33 am Misky

    Grey and reduced egg production; I empathise completely.


    • on July 24, 2012 at 6:27 am Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Misky, one day a couple of weeks ago, we didn’t get a single egg. I went out to chastise the girls, waving my finger at them, telling them to lift their game. They all looked at me so forlornly that I found myself saying…”oh never mind..I haven’t laid an egg myself for a while now..” ;-)


      • on July 24, 2012 at 7:23 am Misky

        We girls have to stick together, Celia. :D


  4. on July 24, 2012 at 12:44 am niasunset

    You are amazing… and they are so lovely. Thank you dear Celia, love, nia


    • on July 24, 2012 at 6:28 am Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Thanks Nia! They do make us very happy!


  5. on July 24, 2012 at 12:53 am sallybr

    Wonderful, Celia!
    I must say that in the light of what goes on with my life, I read your title as “Commuting with Chickens” and I said to myself doing the back and forth from OK to KS with chickens would be the closest thing to a nightmare! ;-)

    communing is much, much better!


    • on July 24, 2012 at 6:28 am Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Sally, could you imagine? Herding them is hard enough, commuting with them would be a nightmare! :)


      • on July 24, 2012 at 7:49 am sallybr

        Celia,I am curious… what do you do if you have to travel? Do you put someone in charge to take care of them? How much work do they involve?


  6. on July 24, 2012 at 1:08 am Barbara Bamber | justasmidgen

    I love the lay of the sun on your little chook’s backs! This is how I imagine my eggs to be sourced. Beloved and named and so well cared for. They really are so sweet, I had no idea! So.. feathers turn grey as well?? How many years do they usually live and when do they stop laying eggs?? xx Smidge


    • on July 24, 2012 at 6:32 am Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Smidge, I don’t know if they actually go grey, but they’re less golden/orangey brown than they used to be. I don’t know how long they live for after they stop laying, and I’m trying not to think about it. We still get more than enough eggs for our needs.

      The girls not only have names, but their personalities are really distinct as well. Rosemary is mad and will do completely daft things – she’s quite fearless. Frannie is petite and brave and inquisitive – she will try anything and is usually the first to peck at something new. Harriet is bossy now that Queenie is gone. Maggie is timid and won’t be caught or held, and quite the loner in the pack. And Bertha – she is a crooked, mean, gun-toting hillbilly. ;-)


  7. on July 24, 2012 at 1:08 am Sous Chef

    Our neighbours have chickens and Himself keeps muttering about getting some, I’m not so keen although it must be lovely to have fresh eggs.


    • on July 24, 2012 at 6:34 am Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Sue, they’re so much fun! The fresh eggs are wonderful, especially for the first couple of years. We’ve noticed that the quality is just starting to drop off now.


  8. on July 24, 2012 at 1:29 am Norma Chang

    I too had no idea chicken feathers turn grey. Is it very obvious? Cool how you name all you chooks.


    • on July 24, 2012 at 6:36 am Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Norma, they’re a lot less brown than they used to be – here’s a photo of one of them when they were very young. As you can see if you compare to the top pic of Rosemary, the feathers on their lower backs have gone a bit lighter…


  9. on July 24, 2012 at 4:33 am Emilie@theclevercarrot

    Great shots of your chickens. I like the one of Francesca. She knows how to work the camera :) Oh, how I envy your fresh egg supply!


    • on July 24, 2012 at 6:38 am Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Emilie, she’s quite the princess, our Frannie. I have a videoclip of her bathing here..

      https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2010/09/07/dustbaths/


  10. on July 24, 2012 at 6:25 am ceciliag

    Well their egg production may be down but it looks like their weeding and fertilising abilities are in full swing!


    • on July 24, 2012 at 6:39 am Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Yep, they’re still working like troopers! :)


  11. on July 24, 2012 at 6:34 am EllaDee

    Your ladies are great. I have chicken envy :)


    • on July 24, 2012 at 6:39 am Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      I don’t mean to give you chicken envy. I’ll take lots of photos and keep sharing mine with all of you. :)


      • on July 24, 2012 at 6:43 am EllaDee

        I’d like that :) It’s great that you share the photos & anecdotes. Many people don’t realise how personable & clever chickens are. Keeping chooks is on my to do list when we go to live in our house in the country.


        • on July 24, 2012 at 6:53 am Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

          Oooh, that sounds very exciting. I didn’t realise you’d planned a permanent move!


  12. on July 24, 2012 at 6:49 am heidiannie

    I was driving past a chicken farm- free range chickens – maybe 100 of them all over the yard and pasture and it started raining. It was so hilarious to watch all the biddies run for the barn and shelter. Honestly I laughed so hard there were tears in my eyes. We haven’t had much rain lately, and I walked rather calmly through the storm- it felt so beautiful- but not to those chickens.
    I was thinking of your little flock and their happy little clucking. These ladies were squawking loud enough for me to hear them from the road! LOL!


    • on July 24, 2012 at 6:52 am Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      That is too funny! The way they respond to thinks always makes me laugh – I opened my black pocket umbrella in the yard once, and they all went bonkers, thinking it was a bird of prey. Another time I threw in fish bones, complete with head, for them to eat. They thought it was a snake, with the shiny head and eyes, and no-one would go near it until it was covered in a bit of dirt. ;-)


  13. on July 24, 2012 at 7:33 am hotlyspiced

    How cute. Your chickens have the best life. I think Frannie is trying to be a rooster. It really does look like a lovely winter’s day. xx


    • on July 24, 2012 at 6:11 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Charlie, I have no idea what she’s doing. When she was little, she’d make that noise every time she’d lay an egg, and the more dominant hens would get sick of it and go over and peck her on the head. :)


  14. on July 24, 2012 at 7:41 am Debra Kolkka

    You know how I love your chooks. That is some voice Frannie has. Wouldn’t you love to know what goes on in their little chook heads?


    • on July 24, 2012 at 6:13 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Small Man accuses me of anthropomorphizing, but truly, they behave like humans sometimes…


  15. on July 24, 2012 at 8:08 am jcosmonewbery

    I wonder if chickens think they are communing with you? Or are you just staff?


    • on July 24, 2012 at 6:14 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Oh yes, we live to serve. I took out red bor kale recently and they decided it was too tough for their poor little beaks and just looked at me in disdain.. :)


      • on July 29, 2012 at 12:13 pm jcosmonewbery

        I can understand that.


  16. on July 24, 2012 at 8:43 am teawithhazel

    oh..i love everything about chooks celia..the way they look and the sounds they make..and the eggs are a bonus..x


    • on July 24, 2012 at 6:27 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Jane, the eggs really are a bonus – it’s just nice to have them in the yard!


  17. on July 24, 2012 at 9:01 am lambsearsandhoney

    Lovely pics thanks Celia. My chooks have failed to acknowledge the wintry weather here and are all laying like crazy. When they’re not doing that they seem to enjoy picking on our very handsome, but not very assertive rooster. I was in hysterics the other day watching him being chased around the yard for a full 10 minutes while he tried to protect a particularly good looking piece of bacon rind that one lady was determined to take from him. She won.


    • on July 24, 2012 at 6:27 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Amanda, he is very handsome indeed, I was admiring his photo just the other day!


  18. on July 24, 2012 at 9:05 am Claire @ Claire K Creations

    Haha I read it as ‘commuting’ with chickens. I was picturing a rather chaotic car ride.

    Communing is much more peaceful. They’re such beautiful girls!


    • on July 24, 2012 at 6:29 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Oh Claire, could you imagine it? The car would be covered in chicken poop.. ;-)


  19. on July 24, 2012 at 9:22 am Miss Piggy

    I would LOVE to have backyard chooks – you are so very lucky. I’m sure you already know this (being a chook wrangler) but egg laying dies off in winter due to less daylight hours (which is why those horrible big egg producers leave the lights on 24/7). If only all chooks were lucky enough to live happy lives like yours too…it breaks my heart to think about what’s going on at those egg farms.


    • on July 24, 2012 at 6:31 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      They actually didn’t slow down at all last winter – a product of being ISA browns, I suspect. They’re bred to lay continuously for a couple of years and then stop. We’re still getting plenty of eggs. I doubt our girls will have a long life – the hybrid ones usually don’t – but I hope that by the end of it they would have had really happy ones…


  20. on July 24, 2012 at 9:31 am Joy

    I love all things chookie! I dont think they do go grey – my eldest is over 6 years old and looks more boney, i.e. less feathery, than the others but still lays the weekly egg. It seems the older the chookie, the bigger the egg, sometimes with wrinkles in the shell. Joy


    • on July 24, 2012 at 6:32 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      How nice that your old chook still lays, Joy! I think our girls are definitely fading a bit in colour – maybe a product of being ISA browns.


  21. on July 24, 2012 at 11:39 am ChopinandMysaucepan

    Dear Celia,

    Your chooks look so healthy! Do you eventually eat them? I remember when I was a kid in Malaysia, some friends would bring our family life chickens during Chinese New year and after seeing them slaughtered by our maid, my sister and I would refuse to eat the chicken LOL!


    • on July 24, 2012 at 6:32 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      No, we won’t be eating these, Chopinand, they’ve become pets. Doesn’t mean we don’t eat chicken though! :)


  22. on July 24, 2012 at 11:52 am Abby

    I love your chicken updates. I can’t wait to share the pictures and video with the littles in the morning! xo


    • on July 24, 2012 at 6:33 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Abby, it makes me happy to think of your littlies watching our chook videos from the other side of the world! :)


  23. on July 24, 2012 at 12:36 pm Maureen @ Orgasmic Chef

    The most comforting time for me was sitting on a log watching the chooks or taking them for a walk to find the best bugs. They wouldn’t stray too far but they’d follow me anywhere. They loved getting into the orchard and digging under the trees. I could almost feel my blood pressure go down. :)

    Anyone who’s ever owned chickens could never buy cage eggs or chicken that wasn’t free range.


    • on July 24, 2012 at 6:34 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Maureen, I decided last year that, for as long as I can, I only want to eat eggs laid by chickens I know. It’s probably not always going to be possible, but it’s nice to imagine it will be. And I find them very zen – they don’t give a rats about anything else in the world except what they’re scratching for. Ultimate live in the moment animals. :)


  24. on July 24, 2012 at 12:39 pm cravesadventure

    I needed a chicken update and fix – great photos:)


    • on July 24, 2012 at 6:39 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Glad you enjoyed them, Renee, thanks!


  25. on July 24, 2012 at 2:02 pm ChgoJohn

    You’ve pretty well summed up the climate differences between you and I in your opening, “Last Sunday, Pete and I sat in the backyard …” In a Chicago winter, there’s very little back yard sitting — unless one happens to fall on a patch of ice. How nice, though, that your winters often you such opportunities, even if not every day. Of all the billions of poultry in the world, yours are some pretty lucky fowl, the way you treat them. :)


    • on July 24, 2012 at 6:40 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      John, thank you for saying that. I certainly hope the girls are having a happy time with us. We’re very blessed in Sydney, the weather is usually quite mild. We do extreme days occasionally, but on the whole, it’s very pleasant. This winter has been extremely mild indeed.


  26. on July 24, 2012 at 2:06 pm theintolerantchef

    What a wonderful life your girls have Celia! Maybe they just have a bit of S.A.D. And are waiting for Spring to kick in for real? :)


    • on July 24, 2012 at 6:41 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Becca, it was the most interesting thing. Maggie’s comb shrunk right down when she stopped laying, and the it’s gone back up again now that she’s started again. I have no idea what it all means…


  27. on July 24, 2012 at 2:49 pm Desert of Love

    We used to have chickens when we were little. My parents used to live in a bus and we lived by the beach. Your post reminded me of that.


    • on July 24, 2012 at 6:41 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Thanks for stopping by. It must have been fun to have chickens growing up!


  28. on July 24, 2012 at 3:30 pm Tandy

    I so envy you having chickens in your back yard – not that I can have any as Jack Russells are not well behaved enough for us to have any :)


    • on July 24, 2012 at 6:42 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Oooh Tandy, I can’t imagine having chickens and Jack Russells in the same backyard!


  29. on July 24, 2012 at 8:26 pm Tesney Ap

    They looks so pretty and healthy :) You are so lucky, Celia :)


    • on July 25, 2012 at 4:43 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Thanks Tes! We really are! :)


  30. on July 24, 2012 at 9:47 pm Jo Smith

    Life really doesn’t get much better than being able to sit in the sun and watch chickens in your back yard. Your chickens are very lucky cluckys.


    • on July 25, 2012 at 4:43 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Jo, it’s a form of meditation. We love it. x


  31. on July 24, 2012 at 9:57 pm Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella

    They are adorable. And I wonder if giving chickens certain names predisposes them to a particular personality trait? Like human names are supposed to.


    • on July 25, 2012 at 4:48 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      I wonder, Lorraine. They certainly seem to suit the names they’ve been given!


  32. on July 24, 2012 at 10:36 pm Christine

    Celia, you are a funny “chook lady” with your videos! Ha, ha.
    I think their combs are a good indicator of the laying condition. The redder the comb the better the laying.


    • on July 25, 2012 at 4:48 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      I know, it’s tragic, isn’t it? :)


  33. on July 25, 2012 at 9:36 am Rufus' Food and Spirits Guide

    Wonderful photos!


    • on July 25, 2012 at 4:48 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Thanks Greg, glad you enjoyed them!


  34. on July 25, 2012 at 11:50 am Mrs Mulberry

    Celia, I can’t believe I have only just discovered your wonderful blog. I must have been living under a rock. I adore your lovely chicken – fantastic post and photos. I ll be dropping back for more!!


    • on July 25, 2012 at 4:49 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      I thought the same thing when I found your Instagram feed! Going to check out your blog now! :)


      • on July 26, 2012 at 5:57 am Lizzy (Good Things)

        Glad you two brilliant bloggers found each other!


  35. on July 25, 2012 at 12:15 pm SarahKate (Mi Casa-Su Casa)

    Your ladies are GORGEOUS! There’s something so wonderful and soul-soothing about spending time with animals. You’ve got some very lucky chooks there… with such an amazing garden to live and wander in.


    • on July 25, 2012 at 4:50 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      SK, they don’t get to wander all over the garden, or they’d be nothing left to harvest. But they do get lots of room to roam in, which is the main thing. And lots of affection, although I doubt they notice that! :)


  36. on July 26, 2012 at 5:56 am Lizzy (Good Things)

    I am definitely envious of your girls, Celia. We only have a tiny garden now and no grass for chookies… love this post!


    • on July 26, 2012 at 5:59 am Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Thanks Lizzy. I find myself envying them too, they always seem so carefree.. xx


    • on July 27, 2012 at 6:05 am Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Thanks Lizzy! We’re very blessed to have space for them!


  37. on July 26, 2012 at 12:02 pm Jason Dingley

    We have run out of straw for the nesting box, and I have been thinking of what else I could use that I had around the house for free. Disappointingly I was unable to come up with anything and had resigned myself to buying more straw. Then I saw this post, and the resourceful use of shredded paper.


    • on July 27, 2012 at 5:59 am Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Jason, we put the local newspaper, which is a little glossier than the Sydney Morning Herald, through a shredder. It works well! Whenever we’ve put straw into the nesting boxes, the girls have pecked about in it, looking for food! :)


  38. on July 28, 2012 at 7:43 am Sophie33

    Your ladies look so beautiful! Thanks for the tour,…! :)


    • on July 30, 2012 at 7:40 am Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      You’re welcome, Sophie! :)


  39. on July 29, 2012 at 12:23 am bakecakecrumbs

    I do love your chickens – it makes me all happy just to think of them living a happy life in your backyard, scratching around merrily for bugs and good things to eat! I also love the way you share the joy you obviously get out of having them with the rest of us!


    • on July 29, 2012 at 9:22 am Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Thanks for sharing them with us, C! They really are such funny little things. There’s a stone bench in the current patch that they’re allowed on, and Rosemary was very amused by it. I watched as she just walked back and forth under it a few times.. ;-)


  40. on July 30, 2012 at 6:48 am Platanos, Mangoes and Me!

    I like your chicks and your stories about them…..


    • on July 30, 2012 at 7:03 am Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      They do make us very happy…



Comments are closed.

  • Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

  • Follow @celiafigjam
  • Recent Posts

    • Making Zokin
    • Curry Puff Pastry
    • Hiatus
    • The Glass Lid
    • Denim Revisited
    • Vegan World Peace Cookies
    • Here Be Chickens!
    • A Tale of Two $2 Quilts
    • Daily Quaft Therapy
    • A Repaired Tea Bowl
  • Categories

  • Archives

  • © All text and photos are copyright 2009 - 2023 Fig Jam and Lime Cordial. All rights reserved. Please ask first.

    Protected by Copyscape

Blog at WordPress.com.

WPThemes.


  • Follow Following
    • Fig Jam and Lime Cordial
    • Join 14,062 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Fig Jam and Lime Cordial
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Copy shortlink
    • Report this content
    • View post in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

  • Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
    To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • %d bloggers like this: