She's really gone and done it now. Vinnie the chicken crowed for the first time, to her, well let's admit it,
his great surprise. And then he did it again. And again. The crowing is rather hoarse, but he got it right
first time.
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| Vinnie, with his beak full as usual |
He's turning into quite a handsome cockerel, with a fine rosy triple
comb and wattles, orange eyes, little bumps that will probably develop into spurs, a splendid ruff of neck feathers, and drooping white
plumes in his tail. He was quiet while he was in the chicken house, where he does not have enough room to stretch out and give it all he's got.
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| Vinnie with Blanche. |
They love mooching around the hangar, with its earth floor covered in sawdust, gardening compost and eons-old cow manure. In the shade of the hangar roof, the lush grass makes good grazing for them. Blanche has taken on a pale golden colour, from dust bathing on the hangar floor.
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| Oh shake that thing... Tim's picture of a communal dust bath |
They have investigated the plants under cover for the winter, in the case of my poor Clove Pink cuttings and the globe artichokes (left) with extreme prejudice.
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| Alice is turning into a handsome bird too. |
It's not the right time of year to expect them to start producing eggs, but they're getting to be a good size now and we keep on hoping. We really aren't ready for
poussins though. We got the chooks as working animals, not pets. Well, that was the intention. The best laid plans of mice and men gang aft agley.
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| Lots of goodies to be found on a mild winter's day. Vinnie disposed of a huge earthworm in a trice. |
He really is rather handsome.
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| Vinnie now has a growing fan club and is working on his own Facebook page. |
Heaven help us.
6 comments:
Looking forward to that first egg. Have you thought of running a book on when it will be, who it will be and what will be done with it??
Yes... He will look good naked in the roasting tin all golden brown...C
Our bet is that it won't be Vinnie!!
Vinnie just flew at the front door. He wants to come in and rule the roost.
Fun. Nice photos too.
Ken, thank you for the complement. We've started using Photoshope Elements to edit photographs and maintain our photo library, and we'd both thoroughly recommend it; that's one low on the experience range and one pretty high. And the chickens are rather photogenic. Pauline
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