Meet the menagerie

Chickens are difficult creatures to photograph. They normally either walk away from you or have this amazing ability to turn around so you end up with a photo of a dirty bottom. Or in the case of one of my newest hens, they take such an interest in the camera you can only get strange shots of their faces giving you a funny look.

Marleen - an enormous Bleu d'Hollande

Andrea being given the once over by Freddy,
on the day she first arrived

Snowy, my oldest hen,
a Light Sussex

Rusty and Clementine (Clemmy),
who I rehomed for a friend back in May

Outside in one of their runs back in the summer -
my 7th bird Cinders is the grey one

Out to play in the big garden

Then there's the ducks. Or rather, the duck. Sadly my poor Daffy got taken by a fox a few weeks ago, after she'd been really naughty and refused to come in that night - there's not a lot you can do if a duck decides to stay on the water as you can't chase it in! We also lost Donaldina to natural causes back in the summer. So we just have Freckles left who still lays the occasional egg although her laying days are coming to an end. Here are all three enjoying the sunshine with some other water birds and their babies - can you guess what they are?!!

Baby moorhens

Freckles getting rather miffed
as a juvenile moorhen steals her grub!