Three wishes!

I thought today how un-complicated Christmas must be for animals - well that is for the ones that are loved and cared for.

I put up three little stockings tonight for my wonderful little hens and loved the expression on Blodwyns face. I wondered what she would wish for tonight along with her camera shy sisters - Braith and Bethan?

They are three very different characters, although some people may think they look similar they are not.

That is the wonderful thing about chickens, they do have the most individual and personal characters.

Can't wait to see what turns up in those little stockings tomorrow!

Merry Christmas to everyone from Inside the Chicken Coop!
xx

Now that's better!

I have been so worried about my poor old girls during this freezing weather.
Yet they started to lay again and now look very healthy for old hens living through extreme weather conditions. They love their comfort and so I continue to pander to their needs.

I have so far fitted three shower curtains to protect their coop from the snow and ice.

I put the curtains onto a proper curtain wire so when it is sunny I can draw it back to allow the maximum amount of sunshine into the chicken coop and when the weather gets nasty I can shut them in and keep them cosy.

Tonight I took them a little bread and warm skimmed milk (they do like to watch their figures) they were so appreciative.

Blodwyn tucked in first as usual. The milk was dripping from her beak! I think if she were human she would be like the 'Nigella Lawson' of the chicken world - Beautiful and loving her food!)

Hope all our animals stay safe and warm in this weather.

Was it wrong of me to laugh?

I had an unexpected half day of work today so wanted to make full use of the extra time.

As usual I divide the time between being with my animals and my writing, so I was so pleased that I managed to let the girls out for a while to stretch their wings. Although they love their cozy coop which is safe while I am work, it's great to see them pottering around the garden while there is some daylight and today they welcomed the few hours outside of the chicken coop.

When they have a bit of freedom they always do the funky chicken meets 'Eddy the Eagle Edwards' act but today they did a new routine that would not go a miss in strictly come dancing.(well in some cases anyway!)

The ground was very wet and slippy. As they emerged one by one from the coop, they did their own star turn by flapping their wings in delight, running as fast as they could - then doing a mud slide in most un-dignified manner.

I did notice that each of them did not learn from the previous one's mistakes and just went for it anyway, all falling in the same spot, poor things! Was it wrong of me to laugh?

Spooks in the Coop

Bobbing for apples.


Alas, poor Yorick.



Forget it Casper, you don't scare me!



Pumpkin Head


Igor the feathered claw


Even Witches have pets!

Happy Samhain to everyone!

Harvest Hiccups

Oh fab! Windfall apples, full of naughty goodness. Just look at that rotten one, it's full of fermenting tasty bits.



Yum, I may have to sample one of these as well.



Or perhaps two! Yummy, I can taste the natural sugar and it's making me so happy! Weeeeeeh!



Oh dear! I feel soooo wob-errr-ly - Hic!



Ohhh my head hurts-hic! Ohhhhhhh, noooooo, I feelz bad! Hicc!



Beddddz I need my bed, hehehe!! Hic! Hahah Hic! Oh nooo I'm going to throw up that worm I ate earlier. Sl-eeep, I need sl-eeep.


Several hours later and more than forty winks



Oh that's better, never again! Hmm, well perhaps not until next year. Anyway, I am taking the meaning of harvest quite literally. I shall reap, gather and eat! In moderation of course.

And then there were three

Today was supposed to be a very lucky day due to the way the calender has fallen as it is 10/10/10. Unfortunately for me one of my hens died today. I felt so miserable for a couple of hours and I certainly didn't feel lucky. However, on reflection and in the company of the three gorgeous girls that are left, I think I am very lucky. I am lucky to have these wonderful little companions that share my life and put up with my mad behaviour inside their chicken coop.

A comment that Simon Whaley made on my other blog Working2Write, made me see that if I had never kept chickens, I would never of had my little book published.

I had just buried Branwen and was sat on the bench balling my eyes out when Blodwyn (my favourite) jumped up beside me. It was like when a dog can tell you are upset. They seem to sense the change and whatever their intentions are, it usually works, as it did for me. We sat in the sunshine looking out for a while, she was so close I could hardly take the picture below, but it was precious to me. Yes, today I do feel lucky!

World Animal Day

It's World Animal Day today and a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the relationship we have with our beautiful animals all over the world.

This fantastic organisation also supports decent conditions for all animals to live in.

Check out the World Animal Day website at www.worldanimalday.org.uk/

My hens are enjoying a sunny coop today but yesterday when it rained constantly, I went out and bought two very cheap shower curtains to cover the exposed areas. It rained so hard that the roof had started to leak and they looked very miserable, but after a while they were soon snuggling down in the straw and enjoying some boiled rice!

Whether you keep animals or not, it's great day to think about all the wonderful and amazing animals that share our planet.