Chickens
Two cockerels and
six hens were purchased in June 2005. Most were approximately four
months old, although there were two older hens who were already laying.
One of the cockerels (Sparky) and three of
the hens (the three Gwens, as it was difficult to tell them apart when
they were younger, although they are now different sizes, so it's Big Gwen,
Middle Gwen and Small Gwen) were pure Light Sussex. The other cockeral
Tufty is pure white (species unknown) and the three remaining hens:
Jeff, Marge and Madge are
hybrids. They are friendly birds and will come up to you if you
enter the enclosure, particularly if you are carrying any type of container,
as they love household scraps which they get on a regular basis. Sparky is the leader of the coup and gives a "text book"
cockle doodle doo, While Tutfy is a more interesting character, but misses
out on the doodle, when he is crowing. We let
them out between 7.30 am to 9.30 am and they automatically go into their
shed around sunset. We initially got around one/two large eggs a day from
the older birds, however, by the end of August we were averaging around
four. We often sit on the bench near their enclosure and watch their
interesting and restful interaction with each other.
Click on pictures to enlarge
