Eggcellent Eggs!

Sorry for the bad pun, it was bound to happen sometime! Alls well at Chook Towers, the girls have been successfully excluded from the garden and have their patio area as a large run which has a dirt area for them mess about in. Since the feather pecking incident I've been leaving the girls outside while I go out during lunch. The garden is by no means fox-proof, though we have 6 foot fences all the way around I'm sure a fox could get over if it was determined. We seem to have country foxes here, thankfully not town foxes and no-one's ever seen any during the day, and Andrew has only heard them once or twice in the dead of night. We also have active neighbours directly next to us, who are around in the garden a lot, which works as an extra deterrent.

The pecking seems to have subsided, although Bett does still have the occasion peck at Shirley. Speaking of Shirley, her feathers are looking better, she still had a bald patch on her back, but it's getting smaller. She also seems to be moulting at the same time, so is looking a bit ropey at the moment.

The group dynamic seems to have changed since the feather pecking. Shirley and Bett, who used to team up as defence against boss Ivy have split up with Shirley living in fear of being pecked by her friend. She's moved over to Ivy who seems to quite like her and pair are seen together most of the time. The pair give Bett a wide berth, but the group seems to work well.

None of this has put them off laying, we are getting 3 eggs a day almost every day! The battery industry lost 3 good'uns when they let my lot go! Haha!

Finally, I must apologise for the egg count page, I am planning to reorganise it when I have time, and am currently keeping a paper record of egg production, watch this space!

The new extended Chook Towers. Note the Fort Knox type fence to protect my poor plants!

Shirley 1 month ago And today!

After you!