"Say Little Hen"

I just could not resist using that title for this post.  I think you'll find it comes from The Good Life - Series One, Ep.2.

This Easter we got 4 chicks, babies only just over a week old.  The Little Foxes only changed schools at last half term (quite a wrench!) and we ask their old school, who take part in the Living Eggs scheme, if we could re-house the chicks that they hatched this year.  On the last day of term we drove back to the old school, picked up our little ladies, peeping noisily in a cardboard box.  They have been living in the nearly renovated boot room at Ash Cottage, in a home-made brooder with a heat lamp, ever since.
We each named one chick, they all had to have names that began with  the letter A.

Please meet:-

Agatha

Anoushka

Ashleigh

Astrid

The Little Foxes LOVE the chicks, and are extremely good at telling them apart.  Astrid is blondest, biggest and bravest and named by Una after the character in How to Train Your Dragon; Ashleigh, Louis named and is a very calm bird; Anoushka, is Mr Fox's little lady and is second largest and rather flighty; Agatha is mine and the youngest, she has only just got some tail feathers and is rather silly and flappy.  We look forward to them supplying us with eggs, around 15 weeks from now.

Possibly even more excited about the presence of chicks than the children is one of our dogs, Bea.  She has spent the last 2 weeks almost permanently at the side of the brooder, as close as she can get, whining quietly but with a very high pitch.  This does not seem to phase the chicks at all, in fact I wonder if the noise is not quite comforting to them.  Maybe they think that attentive, white, fluffy being is their guardian, with no thought but of their comfort and safety.  I think they need to read that informative work of one of my idols, Beatrix Potter - The Tale of Jemima Puddle Duck.

Ash Cottage came with a 60ft chicken run, which we have cleared, fixed and down-sized slightly. The Sargies, who cut down our trees and built our garden fences, also built us a chicken house.   Best described as channeling a bee hive it's design is influenced by that wonderful book Rosie's Walk.

Our chicken house could probably house about 10 chickens so I am hoping if all goes well to increase our flock by the end of the year.

Today for the first time this Easter Hols I have had the whole day alone, the children went to the local stables for a pony day.  So, with the help of Bjork, Carole King and Pat Hutchins I painted the chicken house.  Bjork (Debut) & Carole King (Tapestry) I have discovered are very good to paint to.

And the sweet tastin' good life
Is so easily found
A way over yonder
That's where I'm bound

A Way Over Yonder lyrics by Carole King 

Joining in with Mammasaurus' How Does Your Garden Grow again this week: