The girls

With new hens, it's recommended they spend the first 24 hours in the chicken coop and run so they get familiar with the place and know this is where they are supposed to roost every evening.
When I got home from work this afternoon I decided to let the chickens out into the fenced off garden area so they could have a good scratch around. They seemed to enjoy themselves, digging for worms, nibbling on weeds and pecking at their images in the mirror Marly installed in the coop. And guess what? When the sun went down, all the chickens filed into the coop where they were locked in safely for the night by myself and Theo.

There was much discussion within the family on their names. So now, after much debate and consideration are photos and names of our hens:


Camomile-Mae: a speckledy hen named by Marie-Louise who felt the chicken should have a hyphenated name like her's.



Ludwig: She has a silver breast. Named by my son Theo because he felt he should name it after a boss on world 7 on new Super Mario bros wii.



Pie: another speckledy hen named by my daughter Naima because she looked like a 'pie'.



Sam: a black, copper breasted marran. Named by JM, it's short for Samantha.

The children and I had a lot of fun watching the chickens this evening. The only 'down side' was when the neighbour's cat Bella decided to do some stalking. She eventually realised our birds were too big for hunting, but not before making them quite nervous. I didn't feel the need to interfere because we have a lot of cats in our area. The chickens are going to have to get used to them. And by the end evening, the chickens seemed to come to terms with Bella's presence. Our cat Angel seems to be taking a more laid back approach to our birds. Perhaps because she is too busy hunting down mice. Hmmm...

Exclusive pictures!

The hens in the coop, settling down. They will stay for 24 hours inside so that they understand it is their new home and they can safely lay eggs there. We put fake eggs inside to give a hint and encourage them to lay.

The cat, Angel, is unsure about all this: new friends/foes/meal?

The chickens have arrived!

After trawling the internet and ringing a few poultry farmers/chicken breeders, we finally found what we were looking for: POL (point of lay) hybrid chickens, reasonably priced (under £20), vaccinated and available immediately upon collection. Yay!

So off I went to Teston, Kent to the Hen House Poultry. This is a small, family run business overseen by Ben and his very helpful and knowledgeable son. On a Sunday, the journey took about an hour by car and I only got lost once.

Upon arrival, I was directed to the back of the house to what I can only describe as 'chicken paradise'. Lots of green space, chicken coops and runs of various sizes, and some of the most beautiful chickens I have ever seen, hybrids and pure breeds. I should have taken photos. This is not a promotional space for Hen House Poultry, but I will say that Ben was helpful, informative and even clipped their wings for me.

Although there was not much variety in the colour of chickens available, Ben said he had more coming in on Tuesday. But I really did not feel like making the journey twice. Also, I could see more customers filing in to the garden looking to purchase chickens. So I quickly had Ben and his son grab four and put three of them in a large box and one in the cat carrier. I payed the man £54, loaded the girls into the back of the car, and off I drove back to London. Yee haw!

Fox-proofing

Today is a very nice spring day in London, one of the few we have every year (and with luck tomorrow's London marathon will also have a nice weather for the runners). It is time to start digging to insert a wire mesh around the coop to prevent foxes from going under it.

Then Marie-Louise and I inserted the mesh (cloture en fil de fer) in the hole:

Then we recovered the dig back with the ground:

Finally, time to put the coop (poulailler) in its new location and set up a little notional fence for the hens (polite chickens should stay hopefully within that part).

It was past time - overdue really - for an 'apperitif', but a little pastis was well deserved!

Ex-battery Hens

Battery hens are kept in cramped conditions in large warehouses where they are not allowed to roam around. Chickens only lay eggs during daylight hours, so battery hens are kept in almost constant artificial light to get the maximum amount of eggs out of them. They only last about two years as layers and then are discarded. It's very sad.
Fortunately there are poultry farmers that rehabilitate these ex-battery hens, teaching them how to walk, perch and nurture them until their feathers grow back. They then sell them on to good homes where they can have the opportunity to live out the rest of the lives as happy, normal chickens.
Initially I was not very interested in acquiring an ex-battery hen, but now I am having second thoughts.
The search for hens continues. There are lots of farms out there (but not many in London). We would prefer hybrids (make the best layers) that are already vaccinated, costing under £20. Surprisingly (to me anyway) raising chickens is very popular and it ain't so easy to find birds. We may have to wait until late April early May for the next batch to become available. So I am currently sending out e-mails to different farms. Will we have chickens by the end of this weekend or will we have to wait? Watch this space to find out...
In the meantime, I am going to enlist the children in helping to set up the run and fox-proof the coop. Get out the shovel and the wire mesh kids, because we are going to get our hands dirty!

Image courtesy of www.chickenandchicks.co.uk

Sundries, part II

Alrighty. JM and I went to B&Q this evening to buy wire mesh to put around the chicken coop. By the time we're done with fox-proofing this coop, it's going to look like Fort Knox. If any fox has enough savvy to climb up on the roof of the shed, leap over the wire mesh perimeter, burrow underneath the wire mesh buried a foot into the ground surrounding the coop and then figure out how to unlock the hen house - he deserves a chicken. But hopefully our precautions will discourage the rest of the opportunists who are just looking for an easy meal.

Perhaps I can get the children to help me wire off the perimeter tomorrow evening. If all goes according to plan, this Friday I can go buy some actual chickens - the point of all these preparations. Oh yeah, I also need to buy some chicken feed but I can pick that up on the way to the chicken farm at the local (Blackheath) Pets at Home store.

Until next time...

Sundries

The hens bedding has arrived in the shape of a 4kg woodshavings bag. Enough to nest and start laying these eggs! Unless the red mite is quicker: it is an insect that feeds on poultry, and hence we also got products to prevent any infestation.

Strangely, hen psychologists devised a 'boredom buster pecking ring': this device also contains a small bell. This, plus the mirror that Marie-Louise installed in the run, should keep the hens amused. I wonder how stressed hens react? Cackle away like crazy? Stay in the coop and only go out for feed (that'd be a teenager hen)? Run maniacally shouting 'hen! hen! hen!' when seeing her reflection?

If that donut-shaped boredom buster does not work, we could try old episodes of Foghorn longhorn!

The Chicken Coop arrived today!

It has landed, in a flat pack, the hens house: Chicken Coop: The Dorset

Maisha and Marie-Louise assembled it in no time, 25 to 40 minutes according to the instructions and in about 2 hours according to the other sources.

A bit smaller than what I expected; my dreams of grand chicken detached coop with air conditioning, living room for the winter, a separate perch for roosters, free-range freehold got somewhat reduced to a largish shed (I am talking from a hen's perspective here!).

The finished product looks sturdy.

We now need to fox-proof it: put up 'no fox' signs, cctv. And create a protected area where they can trash the garden to their liking.

I have been told that some charities rescue battery chickens - around 2 year old ones - from being slaughtered, and give them to caring new owners. We might look into this further.

JM.

Why we want to raise chickens

As is typical of our marriage, JM and I have agreed that we will blog separately but about the same topic. Coming from different cultures, countries, languages, ethnic backgrounds and sexes, we find we work better when we are in agreement, but apart. After 11 years of marriage, we find this works best for us.

So, why did we decide to raise chickens?

1) We have a very large back garden and I know next to nothing about planting and growing things beyond watering my house plants. I am aware there are lots of books/television shows/blog spaces and gardeners with loads of helpful advice to give. But the truth is, you cannot really interact with a plant, no matter how pretty it is. I know there are people who do talk to their plants and hug trees, but I always thought those relationships were pretty one-sided. So if I do not have the patience or inclination to tend to a garden (besides pay someone to clear out the dead leaves and cuttings once a year), what else can I do with all this green space and still enjoy it?

2) JM and I have been in discussion for a number of years about getting another house pet besides the one cat we already have. The discussions usually went like this:
JM: Let's get a rabbit.
Maisha: Too much work. Besides, a rabbit is a rodent and I don't like rodents. No.
JM: Let's get a ferret.
Maisha: Eeew. Too much like a rodent. No.
JM: Let's get a guinea pig.
Maisha: Aren't those rodents? Besides, the cat will try and eat it. No.

So last week I was sitting in my garden pondering what do do with all this green space and it occured to me that having a few chickens pecking around out there would be nice. For parts of my childhood, I was fortunate enough to have chickens and I know they can make nice pets. Granted I would not recommend having one curl up next to you in the bed at night (that's what cats and husbands are for), but I remember them as being lively, curious and friendly. And you get fresh eggs every day. So not a bad deal.

3) Being an urban eco-goddess is not easy. Especially with a large family. I try to cut back on the amount of food we waste with limited success. But if we had chickens, all that stale bread and vegetable peelings could be put to good use by very grateful recipients. Some people would suggest we get a compost bin for all that food waste. But then we go back to the whole issue of using the compost for planting and gardening - and I've already explained why I have been hesitating on that one (for those with short memories - read point #1).

So those are my reasons. I will leave JM to explain his reasons. Until next time...