January 2009

1 You can tell that pepper's a "complete" hen again as she proudly prances around the garden.
2 Pepper's off with her first egg of the year.
3 Robin in snowNot one of my birds, but I couldn't resist sharing this pic with you....

A robin enjoys the snow in 
Allenheads in the Tyne Valley , Northumberland

4 SpookfishThis fish certainly wouldn't survive in our very frozen pond....

The capture of a live spookfish has revealed that they use mirrors as well as lenses to help them to see in the murky ocean depths.

5 It all white and the chicks won't come out of their run as they won't walk on snow.
6 Poor chicks.  The lawn is still covered in frozen snow, severely restricting their wanderings.  However, they did still slip & slide their way along the patio to beg for treats at the door.
7 Even at -6C Lacey stays out on the perch alone at night.  We've tried lifting her into the nest with the others, but she just comes back out.
8 The grass is green again and although it's still only 1C and foggy today, the chicks have been able to take back their normal territory.
9 Lacey's had company for the last couple of nights.  Despite temperatures still being sub-zero, Clover & Pepper have joined her for an outdoors sleep.
10 My guess is that Clover will be next to start laying.  I've spotted her in the nest throwing straw over her shoulder.
11 Aggie has shed her tail feathers again - how strange.
12 Did you know...  It takes 4lbs + of feed to make a dozen eggs
13 and...  The greatest number known of yolks in one egg is nine
14 Crow was out laying two mole traps under our lawn and transporting the soil piles to the paddock.  Pepper was a bit of a nuisance, following him everywhere.
15 I had to laugh out loud this morning when I gave the chicks a naughty bread treat.  Lacey ran & ran, squawking & squawking with a mouthful of bread as Pepper chased her to try to steal this last piece.  I had to rattle the sultana bag to bring Pepper back to me and allow Lacey her little snack.
16 Three eggs in the last three days caused me to examine the last four eggs and they seemed to be distinctly two different shades of brown - two of each.  Made me wonder if not only Pepper is laying?
17 So I had a good look at the girls this morning, but Salt and Tat still have very pale combs, especially compared to Pepper.  That means Pepper still gets all the egg credit at the moment.
18
Alektorophobia is the name given to "the fear of chickens", but who could ever be scared of our lovely girls?
19

Pepper says "I'm having a good month!"
 

20 I dug up some jerusalem artichokes in the veg garden and Pepper came and watched me from the other side of the chicken wire fence.  And yes, she had more worms than any chicken should probably eat in one session!
21 I arrived home from the gym to find Crow in the garden resetting the mole trap with Pepper right at his feet "helping".  I'm now looking out of the window and Crow is raking at leaves and gravel with a shovel down the edge of the border and Pepper is there, every step of the way, with her beak in every spot as it is disturbed.  What a funny bird she is.  I'm not sure how she's not had her beak or toes chopped off!
The others?  They're out and about in the garden seemingly uninterested in human activities.
22 I'm going to the front gate to check the postbox and five chicks are scratching around in the back garden.  Clover's missing.  I chat to them, as I do and hearing a "don't forget me" squawking from the nest box where Clover was sitting inside on the perch.  Clover always talks back when she hears a human voice.
23 Pepper is such an expert at getting sultanas out of their cellophane bag.  If the bag is standing up, she'll peck at the open corner to get her beak in.  Or she'll knock the bag over to spill the contents at her feet.
24 Pepper's assumed a laying pattern of three days on, one day off over the last twelve days.  That's worthy of a summer performance.
25 Crow leaves the door open when he goes to let the hens out.  Then it's a race to see who can get to there first for the corn and sultanas.  Pepper won this morning.
26 As for me, I close the door because it's no contest.  Pepper always and Salt usually both make it back faster than I do.
27 Surprise!  Yesterday we got 2 eggs and the way Salt's eating, I guess she's the new layer.
28 Why is it that when the chicks walk round from the front to the back garden they just cannot resist pooping on the path outside my potting shed?
29 Double eggs again and Clover sat on them both for a while but didn't lay her own.
30 Little Lil and her giant eggI've come across an amazing story on the BBC website about Little Lil, a pet chicken who has laid an egg measuring 10cm long and 7cm wide.

For the full article, including video, click here.

31 Another pair of eggs from Salt & Pepper and Lacey sat in the nest for a long while, then made a big announcement but she must have laid a phantom egg as there was no real one!  Practice run?
eggs this month
eggs this year