Those of you who have followed this blog will remember how much excitement accompanied the arrival of our first batch of 3 hens nearly 3 years ago.  Esmarelda, Hagitha and Bertha were the first hens we'd ever had and they were excellent hens!

[caption id="attachment_5518" align="aligncenter" width="360"] February 2011[/caption]

Sadly within a short space of one another Hagitha and Bertha died.   The breed we had are the sort that are bred simply to lay eggs and lay a lot of them, and by the time they have layed their quota they have very little energy left and they simply die.  And so it was with Bertha and Hagitha.  Esmarelda lives on, however, and we had long debates about what was the best for her.  Should we rehome her or should we get her some new companions.  In the end the argument which persuaded us was that if we rehome her she'll be terribly pecked by the new flock, and that we would be far better off introducing some younger hens into the henhouse.

And last Saturday heralded the arrival of Anna, Emma, Isla and Rona.

[caption id="attachment_5519" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Emma, Anna, Rona and Isla .... or is it Isla, Anna, Rona and Emma?[/caption]

2 black rocks



and 2 bluebells - which are huge!



They are still finding their way around and are still extremely nervous - particularly of low flying pigeons!  But Esmarelda is doing her best to show them the ropes although she is also making it quite clear that she is Queen Hen and if there are any tasty worms to be had they are hers.  But unlike the first 3 hens we got, within two days these 4 were finding their own way to bed up the hen ladder which is just great as being large hens they are quite a challenge to pick up.  Particularly for someone like me who doesn't like flappy wings.

Now we are looking forward to the day they begin to lay - but I suspect we may be a few weeks off that stage yet.