I have four laying hens, they are Red Shavers, so they lay the brown eggs, that seem to be so sort after in the supermarket. Its funny how people believe they are healthier eggs, when in fact, its just the breed of hen that lays them.
Anyway, my four girls, are a real joy, often they give 4 eggs a day, although today it was only one. They don't have names, there is just the little light colored brown one, she is always into mischief, if one escapes it will always be her, or she will show the other where to get out. She is also the one that is hardest to caught, she must have the biggest drumsticks, because boy can she run, and change directions so quickly.
Then there's the big red bossy one, she is the darkest one, and always bossing the others around, she will bulldoze the others out of her way, to ensure she gets the very best of the kitchen scrap or fermented food I give them. Although she is the largest and most bossy, she is by far the dumbest one, when it comes to being caught, because she escaped, she will usually head for a corner to hide, she will squat down, and just wait for you to pick her up.
Then there are the two in the middle, I can't tell them apart, they are quite light colored, about the same sized, and don't have a distinct personalty's like the other two.
I have had them about 5 months now, right over winter, and they have laid right through, the coldest, wettest, rainiest days. It always makes me day to go out, give them their evening feed of always laying pellets, and check their wee shelter, which used to be a rabbit hutch, but I always try to guess how many eggs will be there, before I look.
I have a neighbour in the front flat, and their grandson Titian, loves to check for eggs, and gets quite grumpy if I don't go out and call him before the night feed.
I have been very sick now for a few months, with infection after infection, and if not for those chooks, I would have just given up and just stayed in bed. But the hens had to be feed, twice a day, weather I felt like feeding them or not.
I would wake up at daybreak, needing to pee, as you do at my age. I would quietly look out the window, over at their pen, and they would always always be running up and down the grass inside the netting. I've never understood how they knew I was even awake, I mean, I had just woken up, and walked on carpet over a concrete floor to the window....
I would walk off to the lou, and get their pellets on the way back, sleep on an old pair of crocks, and walk over the always wet grass, and feed them. They would always say "Thank you" is their own way, tell me any news they had from overnight, and say sorry, my socks were now wet.
I'd come back inside, and by that time I would be awake, so I'd make a cuppa (with me, a cuppa is always a cup of tea) and check facebook.
I wasn't cooking for myself while I was sick, but I always made an effort to cook the chooks something warm during those cold winter days... Usually wheat, rolled oats, or rice, maybe some sort of pasta, I got in a food parcel, and whatever kitchen scraps I had, a couple of apple cores, crusts off the bread, a couple of soup bones or a few leaves whatever was green in the wee garden I have beside the front door. Those chooks ate way better than I did.
I have a stove, that has elements that have a very low setting, so I would have a big old pot simmering away, cooking up with ever, it was particularly good, because even if I fell asleep while it was cooking, it didn't burn. I would sometimes take out a couple of scoops when it was half cooked, let that cool down, and feed them, while the rest kept on cooking.
I would cook enough for about a week, and with about half of it, I would ferment for them.... generally just add some kombucha or milk kefir when it was luke warm, and let it sit on the bench and ferment away until I had used it up. I would always just warm it through before I feed them, just so they had something warm in their belly. I had a go at making sourdough bread a few times, by the time it was cooked, I might have one slice, and the girls would get the rest.
The second time I would wake up, while I was so ill, I would make myself go out and feed them some of this warm food... and if it wasn't raining, I'd drag a plastic picnic chair out to the pen, so I could sit talking with them, while I would feed them. Chooks are very polite and have a quite good sense of humour, and they would talk away to me, while they were eating.... I have tried to teach them not to talk while they have food in their mouth, but they don't seem to hear, because they keep doing it. :)
I would then come back inside, and sleep again for a few hours. Then when wee Titan was staying, there would be a knock on the door, for a (I'm nearly five soon) little man, gosh he can knock loudly, and insistently. I'd get out of bed, go to the door, and he would tell me its time to check the eggs, always about an hour before dark, I don't know how he knew what time it was, but he was usually right.
I'd go get 4 handfuls of chook pellets, and he would walk the 30 or so yards with me down to the edge of the pen, and feed the girls, before we'f go on around to check the eggs.
When I first got the hens, young Titan could only count out loud, he didn't understand about matching the number he was saying up to the actual number of eggs.... Now, he has this sussed out, when we open the lid, he will see how many eggs there are, and count them one by one as he picks them up so he has come a long way.
For quite a while, when I first got the hens, he was only here a couple of times a week, so I used to say he could have the eggs we collected, his Dad told me, he would always want to eat them that night for dinner.
The past 8 weeks or so, while I have been sick, his Dad has been on home detention, staying here with his parents, so Titan has been here most afternoons after daycare. Its been good because he would always make sure the chooks were feed, but he also wanted the eggs every day... that was ok, I didn't feel like cooking them anyway... Now though, we have come up with a deal, that he can have half of the eggs we collect.... and he gets the odd one if there are 3.
Titan is a delightful little boy, always into mischief, but cute as, at the same time, gee I like children that age, they are so honest and call a spade a spade.
He must have spent a lot of time around me, because for a start, he would just grunt when I thanked him, but I have noticed the past couple of months on the way back from feeding the girls, I would thank him for waking me up, to make sure the chooks were feed. He started to reply, "You're more than welcome Lynny"
sometimes he'd add, "just because you are sick, it doesn't mean the chooks don't get feed ah...."
I have started to feel better the past week, and today on the walk back from collecting the eggs, after I thanked him for helping me to feed the girls, and he told me I was more than welcome, he said, "Lynny, I'm very happy you are feeling better" to which I replied "Thank you Titan" and he answered, "You are more than welcome, Even though you're really old I like you."
Now what better compliment could I ever wish for!
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