Cluck cluck update.

[liathchan]

So we've had the chooks for about a month now. I'm back home for a couple of weeks while I continue to proof-read and edit my thesis.
It's so good to see the feathery bug-wranglers :-) They are such pals and still go everywhere together, cuddle up close on the perch at night and lay in the same nestbox despite us providing two!
I took some photos to

Comments

[asliceofthemoon]

It's ben raining a lot here too. which is a welcome relief from the merciless summer.

[liathchan]

I've heard about the relief of the monsoon's arrival mentioned in books on travelling in India... but it must be pretty humid now! One thing I seriously envy though is that you probably have an easy and plentiful supply of my all-time favourite summer fruit - mango!

[liathchan]

I got the girls at 19 weeks old, which is about the usual age for aquiring hens if you want them to lay quite soon... they are already 'teenagers' in human terms! At the place I bought them, John (the "Hens 'n' Huts" owner)already had them in a big pen together with a few others, so he had them socializing for a time prior to me buying them. I know he hand-raised Ingrid from a day-old chick, but I think he bought Greta and her Barred Rock brood-mates from a mass hatchery at about 16 weeks. It's quite evident from her temperament that Greta wasn't hand reared - she's a bit skittish still about being handled, though she is improving. Ingrid on the other hand is practically a lap-hen! She's bold, sassy, easily handled and enjoys spontaneous cuddles, for instance yesterday she ran over the lawn to meet me as I got out of the car, so I picked her up and she 'chatted' away in my arms. It's the cuttest thing! As for getting used to eachother - they were fast friends right from the day I got them, their personalities naturally promote the

[liathchan]

Lucky thing! It's rained at least once every day I've been here and there's no sign of change. Our tomatoes will be quite pathetic too this year even though they are in a greenhouse!