Chick chick chicken

We have some new additions to our family... chickens. We rescued them with the help of these people from a battery farm who no longer needed them. Boy were they in a state, these photo's have been taken four weeks later as they explore there freedom in the garden, acess all areas including the carrots which may no longer be growing thanks to the fact that the feathery tops have been eaten by the chicks.

Let me introduce you to them Egwina (the boss), Chickpea (the noisey one and so named because her head was bold), Poulet, the rather sickly one but by no means at the bottom of the pecking order) and my favourite because she stayed near me to get away from the pecking Henreitta (the darkest and featherest of them all).

Thier fluffy white feathers haven't taken long to come back, in fact it was about a week that we noticed that they looked a little bit more plump, they still have bold patches. Poulets neck was the best seeing the feathers grow starting with the quills poking out of her neck almost prehistoric looking, and then waiting as the feathers poked out from within the quill getting longer and longer bit by bit.

RIP Tobias

Sadly our much loved family dog was put to sleep yesterday evening. Old man Toby was suffering from a cough for a few months and as the weeks went by he stopped eating and stopped jumping before it was decided that his heart wasn't strong enough to cope.

We'll never forget you jumping up at the kitchen window to see if we were still inside while you went out. Even how you reclaimed your youth when the youngster pups came to play at your feet and all you could do was jump up and down and bark. How you sat at the bottom of the stairs to make sure you weren't forgotten as we all talked and laughed upstairs. How your snoring became as loud as dad's. How you grew old gracefully with your silver beard.

RIP old man, Tobias, Toby, Thank you for all your laughs and love x