We have always been pet/animal mad in our house.

You name it, we have had it. When the children were small we had rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, terrapins, geckos and tanks full of fish.

All the colours

Alongside the 6 cats that we have had since 2005, we thought the household complete until the Diva dog, Theodore joined us in June 2017 and then we definitely said NO MORE ANIMALS.

Diva Dog

Obviously the smaller animals passed away after a couple of years and were duly buried in the back garden. To be honest, it is a bit of a pet cemetery out there, with the bones of beloved pets buried all over the place; lord help the people who live in our house next!

Anyway, I digress.

Several years ago we had helped rescue some battery hens; Carmen, Cookie and Henrietta. Obviously we didn’t know just how old they were but we gave them a good life clucking around the garden, until a few years passed and so did they.

Louis the Leopard Gecko

Duly they were given a lovely burial in the rear garden with all the others.

We never considered getting any more chickens and disposed of the coop and all the equipment we had obtained.

Jump forward to 2020, the year the World went wonky.

A Clowder of Cats

Now, during the lockdown phase it became apparent that people were going to be stuck inside shielding or self isolating OR being forced to stay away from their jobs to protect and prevent more infection.

This has a massive side effect in that peoples mental health started to decline. I am not really talking about people such as myself that are medicated for mental health issues, but your every day ‘normal’ kind of person too.

Leo and Bumble

Being stuck in one place. No shops, pubs, garden centers, libraries, museums or cafes to go to. Events all across the World (and closer to home) cancelled. Nothing to look forward to as even the annual summer pilgrimage to beach holidays were affected and it felt like you really were confined to one place with no hope of it ended any day soon.

Now, for some reason Chickens seem to have a very good effect on peoples mental health. I don’t know exactly why but they do.

Hercule (for obvious reasons)

There is probably some scientific papers written about it, but I personally think it is the silly way they cluck and peck about, making silly warbling noises. Either way, they are pretty good fun to watch and somehow it relaxes you at the same time!

As I said, our chickens had passed away some years before but there started to be discussions in the household about getting some more chickens. To be honest, I wasn’t fussed either way and just let it wash over me.

Pretty soon a huge box was delivered which I was informed was a new coop for the chickens. A lovely wooden structure with a roost, a laying box and a run underneath the housing had been bought and it was time to get it ready for its clucky residents.

Super-Coop

Baby Bear and the husband spent a couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon putting it together and ensuring it was placed in the best location.

Step 1 – done!

Last Sunday it was decided to go and have a look at the local Poultry Centre, Bell Plantation.

Bell Plantation

Now this was not just a poultry centre, it was a garden centre, emporium, cafe and also had a couple of independent shops too. We had been over about a month ago and they literally did not have any chickens of any variety at all.

We didn’t know if it would be any better however wanted to get the water dispenser, food silos and straw/grit for their house.

Eye to Eye

The last words of the hubby to Mum before we left was ‘I won’t be getting any chickens today, but if they have Silkies, I will be buying some!’ Apparently that was because Mum wanted Silkies.

We took the Diva Dog over with us as well behaved pooches are allowed in the Plantation. I kept my fingers crossed that he would do himself proud and behave but I also wanted to see how he would react to the chickens as they would be sharing the same garden.

Well of course he bloody loved them.

Just saying Hello

The only thing we aren’t sure is if he wanted to play or eat them!

Les spotted that they had Silkies available. Knowing they sell out exceedingly quickly, he decided that we were getting at least two of them. We then had a look at the other breeds and spoke to a lovely lady who was able to advise us on what other kinds would work together.

Silkies

She told us that they would be very good together as the Ranger is very friendly and amenable to most breeds. We then decided on a Devon Rock which was black with a sheen like a raven and had fluffy feet!

Four chickens decided on, we went to pay for all the items and headed back to the car.

A 18 year old Mini; with a 30 kg dog, bale of straw, 4 chickens, 2 adults and feeding pots. Well, Baba always sits in the front seat so that left the back seat for Les and all the rest.

Rock Chickens

I managed to drive everyone home safely and soon the 4 ladies were safely ensconced in their new home, clucking and warbling away as they made themselves comfortable.

Loving Life

Discussions followed about names and after some deliberation we came up with –

Lizzie

Beryl

Agatha

Tuppence.

The four girls have been with us for a week now and we have had a couple of eggs. We think they are from Beryl as we were told her eggs would be darker in colour.

Pretty decent in size

Theodore has got used to them and spends his days lazing in the sun ignoring them for most part.

Girls on Parade

All of them having a pretty easy life.

Oh and totally enhancing our lives with their presence.

All getting along quite nicely

Till next time,

SPSG xxx