Chook Heaven

After being confined to their pen for about two weeks I thought it was safe to let the chooks out into the world to free range. They were very excited and rushed out to scratch and explore. For their first outing I waited until mid afternoon so they weren't out too long before it started to get dark. Almost on cue they head for their roosting box as the light disappears from the day so I don't have to go looking for them. Christine is now laying and like Sage allows me to pick her up for a cuddle while Onion and Maudy haven't managed to lay at all and remain quite nervous. Perhaps they are low ranking chooks because Christine is definitely a leader and has taken to complaining loudly if I don't let them out to free range. I was a bit worried about them annoying the neighbours but fortunately they seem to stay within the boundaries of our garden. In the morning they eagerly greet me for the scraps a good friend brings which they relish even though at first they didn't seem to know what they were. Yesterday I could repay the kindness of the gift of scraps with a half dozen eggs. Oh I get such a thrill collecting those gorgeous little warm eggs.