Hello Lexi and Coco

 

On 11th October 2021, we welcomed our new

re-homed hens from Perth, Western Australia. 

Hello Lexi the white leghorn and Coco the lavender Araucuna.

We are thankful for our friends Tracey and Phil who transported our new pets

in a long car trip from Perth. Lexi and Coco lived in the A-frame coop for

five days whilst they adjusted to their new environment and the three other hens.

Lexi was hand reared in the Goldfields before she moved to Perth with her

previous owner Kat. Kat was downsizing and was looking to re-home her hens,

which was good timing as we wanted to add to our flock after Buffy died.

Several years ago, we bought our beautiful Rhode Island Red hen named

Chickadee off Kat. Kat knew that we would give Lexi and Coco a good home.

Coco used to be named 'Orphan Annie' as she was a solo hen adopted by Kat, 

and now re-homed with us. Coco and Lexi were 'buddies' who lived together

with Kat for over a year. We are glad that they have stayed together

and didn't get split up. They are a friendly, mature pair of hens.

Coco is a cute little chatty hen who's a bit flighty.

She lays pale green shelled eggs typical of the Araucana breed.

The flock of five! Lexi is a very calm, chilled big leghorn.

Coco and Speckles fight face-to-face through the wire at the rear

of the A-frame coop as they go for top spot in the pecking order.

 Bianco the bantam white leghorn is a miniature version of Lexi!

Frenchy the French Wheaten Maran hen has her head in the feed

bowl as she's a big eater and constantly obsessed with food!

Frenchy and Speckles check out 'the intruders' living in the

A-frame coop whilst Bianco walks away in the background.

On Saturday 16th October, Gerard let Lexi and Coco out of the

A-frame coop so they could meet the other hens and have a big

fight to sort out the pecking order. It was a close call who was going

to be top hen, with the results being: Speckles (boss), Coco (2IC),

Lexi, Frenchy and Bianco.

We are pleased that they have all settled in quickly.

Bye Bye Buffy

Buffy (pictured left) came to live with us in early March 2020,

just before the COVID pandemic really started to affect Australia.

Buffy was a bantam buff leghorn bred on a farm in

Salmon Gums in Esperance, Western Australia.

Buffy and Bianco were bantam hens who

looked so cute sitting in the nesting box together.

Bianco (the bantam white leghorn) was Buffy's little

buddy who came to live with us at the same time.

Buffy was known for her 'secret stashes' of eggs.

Lydia sometimes found a 'Buffy egg' laid in

the garden or a random location in the yard.

Buffy was on the bottom of the pecking order.

She was a little hen weighing about 950 grams.

Gerard's favourite memory is Buffy being blown over sideways on the

ground on an extremely windy day. Buffy had a very surprised look on her face. 

Hello Buffy.

Like all our happy hens, Buffy liked to have a dust bath and lay in the sun.

She only had quick dirt baths as the other hens often bullied her

out of the way or stole her dirt bath hole. Bianco liked to peck

and eat the dirt off Buffy's back when Buffy was dust bathing.

In late 2020, Buffy went broody which is uncharacteristic for a leghorn hen.

Broody Buffy made a nest in the straw outside the coop.

She was broody for over 50 days which is unusual!

We didn't put fertile eggs under Buffy so she was never a mum.

Buffy had a very big comb for a little hen.

Buffy the Christmas chicken!

She looks surreal sitting in a basket under the Christmas tree!

This is one of our favourite photos of Buffy.

Buffy died suddenly on 5th October 2021 from unknown causes.

The 23 month old hen had a happy life and she showed no signs

of illness before Lydia found her dead under a tree at home.

We miss our cute little Buffy.

May you be a happy hen forever.

Dust Storm

Frenchy and Speckles relax near the opening of the A-frame coop.

Frenchy and Speckles raise their heads up and are more alert.

Speckles begins to stand up.

Shake off the dust!

What a dust storm after Speckles' dirt bath!

I Can Jump

Buffy, Bianco and Frenchy stand on top of the A-frame coop.

Speckles preens on the ground in front of the coop.

Bianco gets ready to jump.

Is it a bird, is it a plane? Yes, it's Bianco!

Buffy stands on the edge of the chair looking very cute and innocent.

Buffy jumps off the chair.

Speckles looks on whilst Frenchy continues to preen.

Good Morning Girls

Frenchy and Speckles greet Lydia when she opens the back door.

Good morning girls!

Bianco is in the background. Where's Buffy?

Here comes double trouble!

Speckles and Frenchy stalk the pavement.

Frenchy wants snacks. Where's my lettuce breakfast?

One Pot Chicken

Frenchy is a one pot chicken!

Cheeky Frenchy stands in a large pot in the garden.

The tree in the pot died and the hens like jump in and eat the potting mix.

Naughty, but funny, Frenchy!

Happy Easter

Easter 2021 is the 10 year anniversary of this blog! Can you believe it?!

Wow - a whole decade of blogging photos of our much loved pet hens.

We've gone from 2 hens, to 3 hens, to now having 4.

I wonder what how many hens we'll have in the next 10 years?!

Speckles and Frenchy sit in the greenery on Easter Sunday morning.

Happy Easter from the 2 Happy Hens: Speckles and Frenchy.

Frenchy's profile picture.

Frenchy is a diva with attitude.

Speckles and Frenchy peck the ground.

Frenchy has a very fluffy white butt which we sometimes refer to as 'bunny bum'.

It was a very warm Easter this year with temperatures in the high 30C's.

Early April felt more like summer than autumn!

Frenchy and Speckles sunbathe on Easter Sunday afternoon.

Frenchy looks dead on the ground but she's really relaxed and enjoying the sun!

Frenchy happily sunbathing.

Buffy and Bianco managed to keep still for a moment to have their

photo taken for Easter. The leghorn breed is very nervous and timid.