... aka our latest additions to the menagerie: two Rhode Island Red and two Barnevelder chickens. The Rhodies should be almost at point of lay (although it's admittedly a bit late in the year to be starting with poultry), but the Barnevelders still have a way to go before they can start earning their keep. They will produce lovely dark brown eggs when they do.

2 February 2012: Shortly after Christmas the two Barnevelders started laying, so we now have all four in production. Considering how cold it's been this is very good going. The Barnevelder eggs are still a bit small at the momemnt, but are a lovely colour (and they taste good too!).

They all live in a traditional chicken ark, which we have christened "Ty Chook" in honour of our favourite pub (the Ty Coch at Porthdinllaen), and the fact that I put a couple of coats of preservative on the ark before the chickens arrived that turned out to be a bit redder than expected... Well it looks OK to me, but then I am a bit colour blind! You decide:

When they're not tucked up in bed or having breakfast, the chooks are entirely free range and spend their time pecking away happily on the bank by the shed. We haven't clipped their wings so they are free to fly up into the trees if a fox appears -- as this Barnevelder has done. Although in this case it was probably to escape from the Rhodies who are busily asserting their dominant position in the pecking order.

Looking forward to those free range eggs at Christmas! (Are you listening, those chickens?)