Am I boring you yet with all these chicken posts?
Just one more to complete the set – I thought those of you who were following their antics might like to know what we eventually named them all.
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Top of the pecking order is Queenie, full working title “Queenie the Meanie”. She rules the roost like the Emperor ruled the Dark Side.
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Bertha, with her crooked comb and fierce eyes, is Queenie’s enforcer. She does most of the pecking in the flock. She is by far the smartest chicken, and Pete’s favourite, as she’ll eat from his hand and likes to follow him around the garden. She’s also the healthiest, moves the fastest and digs up the most worms. I once watched her in amazement as she tried to catch flying insects, Mr Miyagi-style.
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Harriet, who is so similar to Queenie that it’s sometimes difficult to tell them apart (she has a marginally lighter coloured head), sits third in the order. This little gang of three can often be seen eating together, to the exclusion of the others, although Harriet will be pecked away once there’s less food to go around.
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My favourite chicken is Francesca. With her distinctively dark head and red comb, she is by far the most beautiful lady in the group. She’s a bit of an enigma, and it’s hard to be sure exactly where she sits in the hierarchy. I’ve never seen her pecked, nor have I seen her pecking anyone else. All the other chickens leave her alone, but perhaps that’s because she’s learnt to keep out of their way.
Frannie doesn’t particularly like to fly, so will try her hardest to roost anywhere other than the raised platform. We’re perpetually having to pull her out of the laying box, and she once tried to roost on a stick on the ground.
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Timid little Maggie, with her pecked head, clearly hasn’t learnt how to get out of everyone’s way like Francesca has. We’re not sure what goes on in the roost each night, but we suspect she doesn’t know her station, and gets pecked mercilessly for stepping out of line. Chickens are like the mean girls at school – if I watch them for too long, I start having flashbacks…
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Right at the bottom of the pecking order is little Rosemary. She’s not shy. Clearly the youngest in the group, she can be downright annoying at times, running around the pen like a mad thing and bodyslamming into the dominant hens while they’re feeding. She has big yellow legs and I suspect she’ll end up the largest of them all.
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Aside from the pecked heads, our ladies seem very happy, and they certainly have healthy appetites. We now have four hens a-laying, which provides us with two to four eggs a day. They looove leftovers, particularly pasta and rice, although Pete won’t let me feed them too many carbs, as he insists it’s very bad for them to get fat. I guess watching your weight really is the bane of females everywhere!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 