Busy, busy, busy

Well, there's been some rain recently. Did I say rain? I actually meant it's the end of the world, and we're all going to be getting into the ark within the next couple of days!

Our garden has turned into a swimming pool. The fact we have clay soil means that the water pools, and pools, and pools. A trip down to the cabin needs wellies at the very least, and the grass is submerged. Really.

Since they've tasted freedom, none of the hens would consider spending an extra 10 minutes in their house, even if it were hailing footballs! So each and every day, despite rain which would knock you over, out they come, and out they come into the rain.

Hens aren't ducks. Hens get wet. Their feathers get wet. And they look bedraggled.

They have been pecking and scratching and paddling all week. And they do still seem happy. When the rain just gets too much, they take shelter. It can be under the patio table or in the rabbit hutch - almost anywhere but in their house. They've been scratching about as normal, and they're mainly wearing little muddy boots whenever you look at them.

They're laying like troupers and we're still getting around 2 eggs a day. 

Cleaning out their house is getting a little harder though, as the rain makes it hard to do anything efficiently. Still they get a top dressing every day, and a thorough clean out at the weekends. But boy, do they poop! We have 3 de-pooping sessions in the garden every day, simply to make it easier to get around without trailing poop everywhere. Though the rain has made it somewhat easier, as it washes a lot of it away.

My sister, Samantha, and the family were down from Scotland last weekend. Sam has been pestering Steve for hens for quite a while now, and he was a little ambivalent. However, seeing the pretty ladies in our garden and seeing how they aren't as hard to look after as he had thought, she's going to be getting her hens a whole lot faster.

Soon everyone in the whole of England will have their own hens. Think how great this would be! There would be fresh eggs in every kitchen, and commercial eggs would only be necessary for commercial purposes. Could we get any more Good Life?

Aaron wants a Dexter cow now - and I am considering it!