Some of the latest news...

Lady the Splash Bantam Langshan is on the sick list. She's on a course of antibiotics and higher nutrition levels. I'm really hoping she can beat this. Her evenings are spent in front of the heater keeping warm. Her food is rich and high in protein flavoured with garlic, curry and honey.

Bev the Barnevelder is broody but is being discouraged. When you move her off the nest she dutifully waits just outside the nesting area. Every few minutes she will peek around and give an indignant 'BOK' like someone waiting for a turn at the public toilets :-)

Dottie is the stealthy broody. No one saw this one coming. 9am she was on the nest - no surprise really I just thought she was doing her egg earlier that day. Check 1pm, Hmm she's still sitting and has flattened herself out like a blue tounge lizard. No bokking around the yard, no egg stealing, just steely determination!
Wyandottes have a poker face and are rather difficult to read. I needed to check for eggs and considered the safety of my fingers. Reaching towards her I felt pure fear. Thankfully she was too hypnotized to care and wiggled her body to ensure everything under her was snug- this included my hand. It was fantastically warm under there and she had somehow split her feathers apart so he skin was in close contact with the eggs. How do these creatures know how to do this stuff? Nature is a marvelous thing! Another broody isn't needed and I don't want her wasting her efforts so she was taken off the now empty nest and encouraged to eat and drink. She did her little dance and produced a mind-blowing enormous poo. I think that one will singlehandedly fertilize the entire spinach crop!

Mackles hasn't produced an egg in about 5 days -will be keeping a close on this as Lady did this in the beginning of her illness.

Dandylion and her baby- the baby was named by one of the kids - Princess. Hmm not sure about that. The chick has an uncanny resemblence to Buckbeak from The Harry Potter movies. Dandylion is back to laying 6 out of 7 days she will produce an off white egg that looks like it's been polished. She is crazy little hen, on your heels most of the time. Her rooster crouch is quite a sight making a very flat platform with much stamping on those funny looking feet. Her shake off makes her look much like her name. The chick is fearless and a little crazy too and wow can it run. It is getting much larger and attempts to get under mum look rather uncomfortable for all involved. This one will perch on your shoulder like a parrot and is happy to be held and stroked ...until she can't see her mum.