chicken stuff

Hattie, Hetty and Bluebell

Julie (little Cotton Rabbits)

Thanks so much for all of the kind comments about the blanket and all the great paint suggestions.  I'm looking forward to changing the bedroom colour but I suspect it will take us while to get around to painting – the thought of having nice new grey walls is lovely but the reality of getting them is less lovely. In the meantime I have something else that is lovely and grey in my life. Meet Hattie, Hetty and Bluebell…

 

Girls

 

Come on girls, turn around and say hello. They are more interested in pecking the fence than having their photo taken, in fact they are more interested in pecking than doing anything else.

I collected them on Monday afternoon and they are slowly getting used to their new home. They've been very twitchy and nervous, jumping at every new sound – the lawnmower a few gardens away caused lots of consternation and when a plane went quite low overhead on it's way to Stanstead airport they went completely to pieces – watching them reminds me of the story of Chicken Licken who thought the sky was falling.

They became a little calmer this afternoon. Earlier I spent a couple of hours outside with them, weeding the veg patch and all the while making warbling happy chicken sounds and cooing at them to get them used to me (the neighbours will now think I'm completely batty). They still need assisting in and out of the hen house, as the ladder clearly terrifies them right now but having had chickens before I know that they'll be doing it on their own in a few days. It won't take long before they'll have settled enough for their individual personalities to emerge – they are already starting to size each other up and work out the pecking order.

They are all hybrid hens bred from Marans crossed with other breeds – Hattie is a Speckled Ranger

 

Hattie

 

Hetty is a Speckled Humbug

 

Hetty

 

and Bluebell is a Bluebell

 

Bluebell

 

They came from Handpecked which is a lovely family-run local business with a good range of hens and supplies.

It's so nice to have chickens in the garden again. They are such fun to watch and having freshly laid poached eggs for lunch is delicious, though it will be a month or so before they begin laying so I'll have to be patient. In the meantime I am enjoying being a chicken keeper again 🙂

 

Chicks

 

56 thoughts on “Hattie, Hetty and Bluebell”

  2. I feel as bit envious of your hens! We used to keep chicken but at our current home the deeds don’t allow us to keep poultry 😦 Chicken Licken… I loved that book as a child. Enjoy your eggs when they come! Sharon x

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  5. They’re so lovely. I have chickens and it’s such a pleasure. One of mine is a Barred Rock and she looks a lot like your Hetty. Her name happens to be Betty. 🙂

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  6. Ahh Julie, what a lovely blog. It really has put a smile on my face. Poached eggs for lunch and lots of cake for tea-yum! I love their names and hope they settle in as quickly as possible. Chicken Licken was one of my favourites as a child too; I think I still have it somewhere in the house. Looking forward to regular updates. Love Helena x

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  7. They are such pretty ladies arent they. My dad had chooks growing up and we used to go in and collect the eggs from them, feed them worms and snails from the vegie patch and watch them strut around. I hope they bring you many years of enjoyment!

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  8. They are gorgeous! What colour eggs do they lay? I am partial to brown eggs. For 16 years I always had laying hens and thoroughly enjoyed their company and the endless egg benefits. They always encouraged me to strive to get “back to basics” and enjoy those everyday moments. Love your beautiful blanket. Artwork on your bed. I am envious of your crochet skills. Such a beautiful treasure!
    As always, Lori from Port Perry

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  15. I sure do miss having chickens around. We were just about to get some again when a stray dog showed up several months back. He was abused and needed a good home so we let him stay. He is a boarder collie and getting used to us, but he sure does bark at every bird in the sky. I’m pretty sure he would not make friends with new chickens:)

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  18. I love keeping hens – we have 7 now and a rooster. The eggs are lovely and our hens kept laying all over the winter. You’re going to love having your new hens, especially when they get settled in.

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  20. They’re lovely! I’ve got a dream of owning hens one day….at this point in time with two terriers and two toddlers it would be a little unwise 🙂 Fresh eggs are the best! X

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  22. A www they are so lovely , they look like real characters too ! Hope you have lots of łovely eggs xxxxxxxxxxx

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  23. The hens are lovely! They are such good pets and so lovely to have around. I have three red hens called Miriam, Mable and Rose! I love them to bits! I had to put up a fence around my front garden to stop them coming to the door and spending the day laying on the doormat and making an unimaginable mess! They are free range (we live on a dairy farm) but they still choose to spend a large portion of their time trying to work out how to get past the willow fence and get to the doormat (and Charlie my dog, whom they love to tease!!) They are sooooo entertaining and always on hand to help out (!) with digging the garden! I love the colours of yours, I would like a grey one and a dark treacle coloured one. Lovely pics, look forward to seeing more and finding out how they are getting on
    Kate x
    Loopandbar

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  24. wonderful – i bet you can’t wait for fresh eggs, sounds marvellous. the pictures of the hens are lovely, I really love them all standing in a row pecking at the fence 🙂 hehe turn round ladies! jenny xx

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  29. You are going to love your chicken. I used to have two chickens, Harriet and Lucy when my children were small and I adored them. My favorite besides the eggs was the sounds they made while I was weeding the garden. It was so peaceful. Sigh!! Love it. Good for you!! Such a happy spring thing. Lovely idea. I love their names.

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  31. I love it! I’ve been begging to have chickens for years, but a certain someone thinks I’m nuts. How lucky you are! They are such funny little creatures, have fun with them!

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  36. How Fun! They have beautiful names too. I’ve always thought it would be wonderful to have chickens, but we live in one of “those” neighborhoods. Do the children like them too?

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  38. They’re just beautiful! I’m jealous-I can’t have chickens where we live… Keep us all posted on how they’re settling in as Spring comes 🙂

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  41. Even your chickens are in tasteful colour ways – you are amazing! They remind me of those pigeon roof grey skeins you were knitting with a few weeks ago. Hope they bring you as much pleasure as your blog brings all your readers … Happy weekend to you all 🙂

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  43. Congratulations on the chickens! Certainly a fitting spring gift! We’ve always loved fresh eggs whenever we can get them, so I can imagine how lovely it will be for your home to have access to 3 laying hens. Enjoy!

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  49. Gemini Systems – discreet video modeling has been so successful in quick learning for kids with autism – developed by a mom of 7. I found your blog because my sister was knitting your little bunnies. I know a child with autism requires so much of you and you want the best for him. I heard about this and am passing it on. Maybe you already know, but thought I would share. Excited to read along : )

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  52. What beauties!!! I love their colours – and their names!
    We keep talking about the possibility of keeping chickens but there are foxes in the area and we just don’t know if we could keep them safe enough. (Our neighbours had some for a while but they lost them all in the end)

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