Happy Birthday Hens!

One year!

We've now had the girls for 37 weeks, and they were 15 weeks old when we got them - which by my reckoning makes today their birthday. Here are a few highlights from the last nine months:

The first few days:

Pepper looks so much younger in these early photos.

Gaining their trust:

We are now well established as "The Bringers of Food".

Learning how much they love fruit:

Having a bath:

After accidentally shutting Lemon out in the rain overnight, we brought her inside
for some pampering. 

Our Christmas present:

The first egg - laid on Christmas Day.

Freedom of the garden:

They love checking for dropped seed under the bird feeders.

Fizzing Whizzbee

I have recently been posting video introductions of our clan. Last but not least in our flock we have Fizzy. Fizzy is everything the others were not. She was the first and the bravest of our hens to eat from our hands, and will always pay most attention to what we're doing in the garden - just in case there's something interesting happening. She is the first out of the coop every morning, and was the clever one that sussed out the feeder weeks before the others.

If you missed my earlier posts, have a peek at my introductions to Pepper, Frog and Lemon.

A Squeeze of Lemon

Third on my list of introductions is Lemon. Lemon is large and fluffy and relatively tame, but nowhere near as calm as Frog or Pepper. It took a while for Lemon to trust us, but she is now happy to come and eat from our hands - and she'll never miss an opportunity to raid an unguarded corn pot (see footage of Pepper for a prime example). She also particularly loves fruit (even more so than the other three), and is quite willing to beg, borrow and steal in an attempt to get a mouthful of something sweet.

Why not also watch my introductions to Pepper and Frog?

Ribbit, Ribbit

The next in my series of chicken introductions brings you the quiet and unassuming Frog. She is the little'un of the group - shyer than the others and less likely to fight to the front in an attempt to get corn. In a British "love of the underdog" way she has a special place in the group - but she's also quite capable of standing up for herself, and it makes us smile whenever she forces Lemon or Pepper (easily twice her size) to back down.

Wondering what Pepper is like? Catch up on her introduction here.

A Peppery Post

I have had requests for some video footage on this blog. As one particular request specified that I should be attempting to catch a chicken I suspect that the person in question was looking for a good laugh. However, I decided I would oblige. Not once, mind you, but four times.

I am going to give you a chance to see our girls in the flesh, and this week it's the turn of the lovely Pepper. Pepper is one of the easiest to catch and one of the calmest too. So without further ado I'll let me do the rest of the talking: