Always a sucker for an underdog

A month ago I bought some hens from the local auction (no surprise there). I bought 3 little brown hens who looked a little rough around the edges but out of all the sad and sorry looking ex-free range layers or exbatts this 3 were the best looking of the bunch and I may be a hopeless sucker for a hopeless case but commonsense tells me to sadly avoid the really sorry looking ones. So I got my 3 home and put them in a quarantine pen for a week (If you ever get birds from markets/auctions you really need to do this as you never now what the may bring into the flock) Good job I did as they had worms and lice after an extended stay in isolation, I introduced them to the flock, expecting trouble, but they were good as gold. Ok there were a few scuffles from Margo and pixie (anything less would have been out of character) and big Ben had a go. But within 2 days they were laying in the nest boxes, perching at night and going to bed (slightly after the rest) on there own. I was expecting them to be flighty and feisty towards me but the are lovely (in fact they could teach some of my other hens a thing or too about showing me some respect) very friendly and wonderfully easy to handle.

Now I hate to say I have favourites but some chickens I have a little more fondness for than others (That's not to say I don't love them all) and I have a special place in my heart for this little lady





This is wonky, an unfortunate name I know I had planned on calling here Clementine or cinnamon but well wonky kind of stuck.
She is not the most prettiest of hen, she's very scruffy, had an outrageous lice infestation, her beak had been trimmed badly and was overhanging like a broken nail, she limps slightly and is lopsided (hence the name). But after a couple of days beauty therapy treatment, some dusting, a beak and claw trim and a bath she looked a lot better. she started laying eggs again with a week and bless her has laid everyday since. Now it wasn't her sorry looking condition that has made fall in love with her its her character. She is the sweetest of hens, she is a little bit simple and slow and gets picked on by cloud (my delinquent welsummer who was at the bottom of the pecking order) but she just bumbles along unfazed by pecks on the head. She has difficultly pecking at the grass (so I tear her little bits of and hand feed her), has a little bit of difficulty climbing the ramp to the house (so I often give her a hand). She follows me everywhere snuggles into my arms when I pick her up and makes the cutest little noises (unlike cloud whose vocals would scare a banshee).
I love little wonky she is truly a poppet. Her two sisters sugar and honey are also little sweeties too. I'm so glad I bought them and given them a happy home.

Jess x

P.S cloud my delinquent welsummer also has a special place in my heart for her feistiness, she shrieks like something possessed all the time. she has a habit of escaping and she has a piecring sidewards sneaky peering look. she hates being picked up yet is quite happy having a cuddle when you catch her but she will try and peck me and pulls my hair. I'm wondering if she is picking on wonky because she's worried shes no longer the apple of my eye.

P.P.S that's enough blogging for today I have tons to do outside and the ducklings are waiting for their bath.