Raining again. Jamie has been done a couple of times with treats. She wanted to do lots in the garden today and we wanted to help! I feel ( and look so Jamie says) very bedraggled.

I didn't lay the last two days - the first time I've missed more than 1 day. I heard Jamie muttering about " similar fate" to Simone and Sweet Pea, so I laid a beautiful big brown egg again today, and she was very pleased with me!!  I am moulting a little bit which is the problem- just feel a bit uncomfy! And am missing Simone.

Well it is a sad day for Jamie. Simone has been unwell for a while, and today she was was not really eating and had lost weight and was clearly unwell. We got shut in and Didn't hear or see anything. But we did hear that Tangi has got more feathers for korowai - so that's both Sweet Pea and Simone now living on in korowai. We had better stay well!

It has been a very exciting afternoon! Chaz was back again and he laid more stones on our courtyard, as well as around the garden we can't get to! 

Jamie and Chaz moved two round black things down into the garden, and we were given access to slugs. Simone ate a great big green slug! I actually didn't like the taste of that one- yuk.

Well, Jamie is worried, cos Simone has not laid for weeks again! Seecil keeps her in line but that shouldn't stop her laying - that;'s what we hens do!

Today was great... Jamie got this noisy machine going and it churned out green broad bean tasting bits! Yum - we all tucked in to those. I also got a slug and a snail!!

It's been ages since Simone has laid again. Although she sat in the nest for ages yesterday, there was nothing to show for it! Jamie is making it rain in parts of the garden at times, which is rather disconcerting!

Jamie has been very busy in the garden - planting potatoes in bags. The jerusalem artichokes are up and Jamie is not very happy cos we keep sneaking in under the netting and scratching them all up!!We have been getting some very yummy treats after she comes back from the beach. She calls them inanga. Little fish.

Yum! Mind you it is hard to get any as Seecil is after them so quickly!! And she is a big bird now.

Jamie is ecstatic - Simone went into our house and despite being moved out of the nesting box a bit later by Seecil- who whipped in laid an egg and whipped out again - Simone rearranged herself where I lay my eggs, and after a long, long time she emerged and an egg sat there. 6 weeks to the day since she last laid!

We celebrated later today with a dust bath in the glasshouse. So another 3 egg day at last!

And we did a bit of jeans cleaning too!

Seecil and I helping Belinda weave wind breaks. We were " cleaning her jeans". It was a sad day today - there was a fence across the top of the ramp and we couldn't get into the garage. There is also a fence around the main vege garden - sigh! But at least we were let out. We have been kept in these last couple of days. Jamie is still convinced that Simone is laying but hiding them. Still no luck on that front.

We had a dust bath in the glasshouse today as Jamie was studying the seed raising pots. I gather she has cucumber and some tomatoes, and sunflowers up. Don't understand that, but know it is a great place to have  dust bath! Simone still isn't laying, but Seecil and I are being very regular with our beautiful eggs!

You know that garden we can't get to??? Well, we can!! Simone showed us how. You just fly in!

Jamie is NOT impressed!

It is cold here, with snow on the hills behind, and Jamie still did a bit in the garden just now. She has been quite busy lately with the compost and the garden and stuff. We have had some snails - we like those! And two big grubs out of some old wood !! Woohoo. Jamie rescued two lizards from the wood pile and put them in the Lizardry ( a special pile of stones)and out of reach of our beaks - sigh!

Jamie has been very busy creating seed sewing mix with old cow poo and sand lately. We often get worms while she is doing this, so we like being helpful. Then she has been in the glasshouse sewing seeds.... cucumber,pumpkin, sweet red peppers, lots of different tomatoes, melon,and  zucchini. WE like it when the glasshouse door is open because we dash in and dust bath on the floor!

We've been shut in the last two mornings, cos Jamie wants to know where Simone is laying!!! Anyway - I don't think she is laying in the garden. I think she has stopped for some reason, and now Jamie does too - as we all got a great covering of mite powder this afternoon! Boring..... we don't have mites, but Simone might!!

We had our first inanaga from Jamie's whitebaiting today - pretty yummy. And Jamie made potting mix and we got worms from the mix! more yum. She has planted out  cabbage, Kale and silver beet. So quite an eventful day really. The best bit was our dust bath in the glasshouse. 

Ha ! Jamie came down to the garage a little while ago and we were just chilling out in the laundry area. GAve her a real surprise!!

Simone is being a sneaky bantam! Jamie hasn't collected an egg from her since Friday. Seecil and I have continued to lay in the house - but no bantam eggs. Jamie has begun searching the garden and there are lots of hiding places!! And we are not telling!

Jamie is pleased with the growth in the garden now of the leeks and beetroot. And the seedlings in the glasshouse need potting on apparently.

It was raining a bit today and when Jamie came home Seecil suggested sheltering in the garage. Jamie wasn't keen on that idea, and lowered the door.

Seecil then led us around the top lawn and we found new garden bits to scratch and could call out to Jamie in her kitchen and maybe just maybe we could get inside via the cat door!

PS - both Seecil and I have really red combs now. We are so healthy and have almost forgotten our former caged lives( which had us with no colour in our combs!) Jamie says we behave just like ordinary hens now! Yay!!

Yesterday was fun. We had lots of visitors admiring us. Then Jamie left the gate open when Barbara was here, and Seecil decided to explore the neighbourhood and went out along the street to the neighbours. Jamie got quite a surprise when she answered the door and there was Rick holding a slightly sheepish looking Seecil! The gate was promptly shut!

We are enjoying the long days and have made dust baths all over the place. Jamie sewed red onions and some carrots in the garden we can't get to! Sigh!!

I don't know what we have done wrong, but now we can't get into the main vege plot and there are worrying signs of exclusion developing around  the other plots.  Mind you Simone got in there this afternoon, and Jamie was saying some very strange words when she was trying to get her out again. Of course when a gap was created - for Simone to get out .... we raced in. Jamie seemed very frustrated at this! Sigh!!!

We've really given Jamie something to think about! One of us - and she can't tell ( and I'm not saying)  though she thinks it is Seecil - has laid an egg today which is flat on one side and all puckered with creases in the shell. It is a big misshapen egg! 

Spring is here! And we are all laying well though mine are still the largest eggs- Naturally!

Jamie has been gettting horse manure and putting it on compost heaps and gardens and it is very exciting as there are lots of worms. She doesn't want us in the main vege patch now, but we can find ways around the netting and fence! We are not silly chooks!

We all played "in and out" the glasshouse this afternoon while Jamie was trying to clean it. I think she got a bit frustrated with us! Simone was the only one to lay an egg today - in a nesting box for a change- we usually sleep in them!

Another 3 egg day. Simone led the way, then Seecil, and I finished off the egg laying activity!

In the afternoon we helped Jamie in the garden, sewing mesclun and Broccoli! She shut us out of the glasshouse, and we let her know we were not pleased by tapping on the glass door all the time she was in there!

Simone says it is high time she had her photo up here, so... watch this space....

jamie was very excited today as this was the first day we all laid an egg. A 3 egg day!

Well,  Jamie has been putting compost on parts of the garden which has kept us happy as lots of grubs and things to scratch and then today she planted some globe artichokes in that spot, so I guess she doesn't want us scratching there anymore. It might not stop us! We all snuck into the glasshouse when she was watering in there today and admired kale, cabbage, silver beet and lettuce seedlings!

Here is a photo of our eggs. The other two are FINALLY starting to get producing as well. The big brown ones are mine of course. The larger pale ones are Seecils first 2 efforts and the small one's are Simone's. Jamie's very proud of us all!

Breaking news - 2 eggs in one day! Simone - surviving bantam has laid her first egg. half the size of mine! Small and pale........ Very exciting for her and us all though!

Oh dear - it is a SAD day here. Sweet Pea had been  back in isolation in the glasshouse since Monday and was still very unwell. Today her babysitters Alys and Simcha came, and now the glasshouse is empty and Jamie looks very sad. However I heard Jamie say that Sweet Pea's feathers will be used by Tangi in the making of a korowai, so she will live on in that way. We are missing her. But really more interested in FOOD!!

Well the late afternoon has proved very interesting. Sweet Pea has come home. She immediately started raving on about having become a Trekkie while staying with Alys and Simcha. Consequently Seecil is giving her the run around, in case she had forgotten who is top hen. However S P  also stood up to Simone, so fun and games around the garden.. I just kept on eating. Sweet Pea still has  a funny bulge on the side of her face and doesn't look that well, but it is good to have her home. 

She's back!! Jamie's back!! So exciting . We have had several visits and wheat and our house cleaned out and I rushed inside in the late morning and laid a big brown egg which she was so excited about that she had it for lunch!!

Well I laid another egg today - to cheer Jamie up. That makes the grand total of 12 now!

Sweet Pea has gone away to be bantam sat while Jamie is away. Chico is being cat sat somewhere too.

So the 3 of us will mind the fort for the next week. Hope Louise remembers us!!

Oh dear - apparently Sweet Pea went to the vet today and is very ill. She has had antibiotics and is going to be away from us for a while. I hope she is OK, I 've got quite fond of having her around.

Jamie is going away on Wednesday, so it is all very anxious making, though no doubt she will make arrangements for us. It won't be the same though. Sigh!

Oh late news. Sweet Pea is ailing, so Chaz and Jamie have taken her away and I understand she is inside in the warm and the vet will be consulted tomorrow. She is the littlest one of us, so I hope she is OK.

Well I laid another egg today - we were out and about, and I ducked back in and laid another egg! Jamie got a real surprise at that when she discovered it later. One tedious thing I have to report is that actually Seecil is top of the pecking order! Sigh! So she demanded a close up on here too!

Well, Jamie went off and left us again, but Miriam brought us lots of greens and food.

So I laid another egg to reward her. Jamie arrived home today with Chaz - who apparently helped build our house. He was pretty pleased to finally meet us and picked me up a few times. Jamie picked up Seecil but she squawked! It was good to be out and about in teh garden again  this afternoon. bit damp though.

I laid another beautiful big brown egg today. That's 8 from me now! - in 7 weeks. Jamie says there is something wrong with the ratio, but I'm just loving that I don't have to churn them out each day!! And as I tell her - at least I am laying them - unlike some...........

Today while we were out and about I helped Jamie sow lettuce, mini cabbage, Kale and silver beet in the glasshouse. She is hoping they will grow well in there.

Well, it has been an interesting week. Jamie was away Tuesday and Wednesday, so I thought I would fool Miriam who was feeding us.

I laid an egg at the other end of the house - our so called nesting boxes are our sleeping boxes) and buried it in straw and got Seecil to lay her first egg there too!

Thursday was so wet we didn't get cleaned out, so friday Jamie got a real surprise when she cleaned everything out and found the eggs. I laid another one today so that's 7 from me and 1 from Seecil so far. Hers was much smaller than mine!!

Have now discovered that worms are delicious. 

Yesterday and Today jamie has been banging bits of wood and  2 more raised garden beds have appeared. 1 is small and for melons and the other she says is for lots of greens for us. I like the sound of that.

Oh well here is a photo of me with Jamie taken yesterday, and another of me helping her building!!

The possibility of mites had Jamie clean out our house, paint cracks and bits with kerosine today. She has put lots of new straw down on top of paper so we will be really snug.

Our water tastes a bit different - boiled olive leaf potion is apparently good for our health - in case Sweet Pea has a chill, or any of us have worms. It will be in our water for a week! Sigh!! She was tut tutting because one of us big girls has very runny droppings - I blame Seecil myself ! I didn't see jamie do anything in the garden today, but a man was doing something with the gate, and I heard sawing yesterday!

Jamie has been worried about Sweet Pea as she has been very quiet and her eyes close over a bit, but she was getting stuck in to the dust bath this afternoon without any hesitation. The others scratched lots of dust over me- that was great fun. Seecil, Simone and I eat wheat out of Jamie's hand and we love the cat food or luncheon she gives us when we get back into our house. We 3 come running when she taps on the wooden dish she brings afternoon tea on.

I must say Jamie has been very busy - it looks like she has built 3 new gardens. Wonder what she will put in there. And I heard her muttering that the garlic is up! 

Hey and my crown is starting to get quite red now. I so like my new life and being in the sunshine.

After a week Jamie let us all out into the garden - scary and exciting. We are let out most afternoons and scratch around and go in when she feeds us some more food.

We used to sleep in the corner of the run, but after Jamie showed us the house and kept putting us in there we decided that was much preferable and warmer!

I have laid 3 more eggs - Jamie says they are still golden ( on an economic ratio) July 7, 12 and 19! So she has had 5 eggs so far. The days are getting longer, so I might lay a bit more, but it took a while to get used to it gradually getting dark and such short days!

After a bit of toing and froing especially from the uppity Simone- I am top of the order.

Seecil and I slept outside huddled in a corner as we didn't know what the steps and house were for. We haven't got any feathers on our throats or heads or underneath, as we rubbed them all off on the cages . It is cold at night!

Two days later I laid an egg in that corner!

Then 2 days later I laid an egg beside the food container. 

Jamie started grabbing us in the late afternoon and putting us inside the house - scary.

After a few nights we got the idea and go and sleep snuggled up to the bantams in the nesting boxes. very cosy.

Monday june 15 

I arrive at Jamie's place having arrived on the back of a ute with Seecil. Carol carried us upside down and deposited us in a chook house that had 2 small black hens in it- Simone and Sweet Pea.

All a bit scary.

The story so far.....

Sunday June 7

Jamie  traveled to Te Horo and chose two bantam hens to take up residence in La Chicalatta. What a place Louise has - hens, geese, ducks guinea fowl - all happily around the house and in trees and paddocks!