The View From The Hen House

THE CHICKEN BLOG: A BIRD'S EYE VIEW FROM THE GROUND
We’re just a small flock of six hens. We still consider ourselves young though admittedly we are not spring chickens any longer. I’m not sure we are what you’d call free range but we’re happy enough with a large house for nesting and roosting (under the swimming pool) and a big outside fenced run. Baby One did get out last week but she didn’t get far.When she came back she said we were better off here due to the large numbers of abandoned dogs roaming the area…
Mrs Black (Head Hen)

On choice
The first problem is how to stock the henhouse. Do we go by age, colour, breed, gender, laying form? In the end some are definitely more beautiful than others; some are better at laying - either more often or bigger eggs.

Do we need a rooster for them to be happy? Definitely not! As I said to a (male Spanish) neighbour passing by who suggested we needed a ¨good cock around the place¨ they are generally greedy, noisy, lazy and too much trouble.

On Feeding
What hungry birds our hens are! They eat loads of grain but also most greenery from the garden. In fact what they really like is Bermuda buttercup (clover-like with a yellow flower) and they jump up to get the freshest morsels from my hand. It’s then we discover that some can jump, and indeed fly higher than others. Hence the bareness of the terrace wall of any green weeds at all!

The different chickens make very different choices when given a variety of food. Some kinds of fruit and veg are always popular but some are rejected. Why are melon seeds a favourite whilst pumpkin seeds get stamped on? Beak wiping seems to indicate disgust with an offering but maybe it’s the equivalent of a napkin?