Speckles' First Egg

Much to our surprise, Speckles laid her first egg on 26/06/2018.

We weren't expecting her to start laying for another 4-5 months!

Speckles' first egg weighed 46 grams and is on the left of the photo.

She laid another egg the next day.

It's nice to collect two fresh eggs a day (from both Speckles and Chickadee).

We were surprised that Speckles started laying in the

middle of winter at the young age of 5.5 months.

We wonder how long it'll be until Frenchy starts laying?

Speckles has fluffy cheeks!

3 Weeks Together

Speckles and Frenchy came to live with Chickadee 3 weeks ago

after Nestle died. The girls are still going through the pecking order.

Frenchy is on the left of the photo has lost most of her black tail due to moulting.

Speckles (in the middle) pecks for shell grit next to big Chickadee.

Speckles has taken the position as second in charge (2IC) to Chickadee.

Speckles and Chickadee drink from the water bowl.

Chickadee likes to peck the tap to see if water will fall.

The 2 new hens are aged about 5.5 months and they are

flighty birds, especially in the early mornings and at dusk.

Speckles stands on top of the coop as Frenchy looks from ground level.

Speckles likes to stand on the upside down bucket.

Timid Frenchy is a loner at the bottom of the pecking order.

She is often seen by herself in the yard, away from the other two hens.

Frenchy stands solo looking curious.

She has lightly feathered feet, typical of the French Wheaten Maran breed.

Little fluff and big fluff!

There's a big size comparison between Speckles and Chickadee!

Speckles and Frenchy shouldn't grow to be as big as Chickadee, but we'll see!

Welcome Speckles and Frenchy

Lydia's friend Jo bred these lovely French Wheaten Maran hens in

Perth, Western Australia. They are approximately 2.5 months old

in this photo taken in early April 2018. The two brown little

hens eating from the blue rectangular feed container

(front left hand side of the photo) travelled to regional

Western Australia on 5th June 2018 to live with Chickadee.

Lydia's friends Sonya, Ron and James were kind

enough to collect the 4.5 month old 'babies' from Perth

and drive them a long distance to their new home.

'Frenchy' is the hen with a long black/brown tail in the

top of the photo and 'Speckles' is pictured below.

Chickadee was not impressed at the new arrivals and

she made lots of noise for days afterwards!

4.5 month old Speckles and Frenchy are photographed at

dusk two hours after their first meeting with Chickadee.

The scared newcomers spent their first night sleeping

on the ground in the coop under the nesting boxes.

Frenchy (left) pokes her head out.

Frenchy makes herself comfortable in the

nesting box Chickadee normally sleeps in!

Speckles stands guard. We think that Speckles will be

2IC after Chickadee gets used to being the new boss!

The new kids on the block quickly learn how

to eat from 'Dine-a-chook' feeding station.

Speckles feeds by herself.

Now it's Frenchy's turn for a solo feed.

Frenchy has a rest under the bushes.

Speckles does a 'yoga' wing stretch.

Cranky Chickadee is no where to

be seen as she sooks around the corner!

Farewell Nestle

We sadly said farewell to 6 year old Nestle on 2nd June 2018.

She was the oldest hen we've had as a pet so far.

Nestlés health problems worsened from the age of about 5.5 years

onwards when 'old age' caught up with her.  

She fought a bad respiratory infection late 2017 and was

strong enough to recover after a course of antibiotics.

An x-ray at the vet in February 2018 found a large lump about the

size of a golf ball and several smaller lumps. An ultrasound

a couple of months later looked like a large tumour, probably cancer.

Nestle was loved in palliative care until her quality of life quickly

deteriorated and we had to say goodbye on the 2nd June.

We are thankful that 6 month old Nestle came to live with us for 5.5 years.

Nestle was a fun loving hen who was selected to be a

'promo girl' for a special posting on the internet .

Being a leghorn hybrid, Nestle was very flighty and

loved to jump and be up high as the dominant hen.

Nestle loved to sit on Lydia and Gerard's shoulder like a 'pirate chicken'.

Nestle hated the rain and disliked water falling from the sky.

She used to crouch down low and walk backwards on rainy days.

The preening hen had a 'bad hair day' after getting wet on a rainy day.

Nestle was often mistaken for a rooster with her

characteristic, oversized big red comb and wattle.

She was aged 4 years and 7 months in this photo.

Nestle loved the pet carrier and was not afraid of travelling in it.

She laid about 5 eggs a week up until the age of about 4 years.

Nestlé's eggs were a pale ivory colour typical of her mother's Leghorn breed.

The size of her eggs increased as she became older.

Like all the Happy Hens whom we've had as pets, Nestle loved having a

dust bath. She spent many joyful hours in dirt baths, especially on sunny days.

Nestle was the dominant hen but was a big sook at heart who loved cuddles.

 This shadow photo of Nestle shows off her silhouette nicely.

Nestle looked cute when she slept with her head under her wing.

We think the older she got, the more cute she became.

Nestlé's comb shrunk when she got old and sick.

As the weather cooled down with the change of season,

she chose to stand in the sunny spots in the backyard for warmth.

We will miss you Nestle, our dear little pet hen

who was full of personality and affection.

Goodbye Nestle - may you be a Happy Hen forever.