Semi-full nest

The new chickens have arrived and have made themselves at home. Collecting them from a farm in the New Forest on an overcast and rainy spring morning was an adventure in itself. We'd out it off for a week because the weather was so foul (yeah, yeah, pun intended) and I hated the thought of new chicklets coming to our soggy garden. But the weather didn't improve much and we couldn't wait any longer. The Easter holidays were almost here and I wanted them settled in as soon as possible. Talented Elder Son would be home from university and eggs were required. TES is a fanatical body-builder and chomps his way through up to half a dozen eggs a day so these new chickens would need to start work as soon as possible

We brought them home and planned to put them in the little "chicken garden" to acclimatise. But Gabbana and Cockie had other ideas. They had settled themselves into the hen house (Palazzo Pollo) and refused to move. They've never done this before. Clearly, they sensed something going on and organised a sit-in. With much coaxing and handfuls of corn, they emerged - reluctantly - and were escorted off the premises while the newbies checked out the accommodation. After spending the first twenty weeks of their lives in a crowded barn with squillions of other chicks, the palatial surroundings of Palazzo Pollo must have seemed quite daunting. But they settled in quickly and Cockie took an interest in them from the start. Gabbana, however,was unimpressed with these upstart newcomers and expressed her distaste by squawking loudly. For two days.

Things have calmed down now and they are getting along famously. In fact they move around as a little flock of four and are absolutely adorable together. Their individual chickenalities are coming out quite strongly. Cockie remains the alpha male with loads of attitude and no clout whatsoever, Gabbana rules the roost and bosses the others around. Tosca is very independent and curious, and Bianca is a real "lap chicken" who thinks she's a puppy. She follows me around and jumps onto my knee when I sit down outside. A real little sweetie.

And what about the eggs? Two days after they arrived there was one little egg in the nest box. We were thrilled. And since then, er, nothing. Not a thing. It's possible they are hiding them in the garden, but we have scoured the property searching for this mystery nest and have found nothing. Now I've place a decoy egg in the nest box in the hopes that they'll get the idea. Watch this space...