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As we near the end of February, I am pleased to inform anyone who cares that I now have five hens laying. That is exactly half my flock. Doris, Gladys, Hilda, Purdy and Betsy have all presented me with their first eggs this year. I have decided that spring officially starts when half your flock is in lay, so I am determinedly turning my back on winter. So ner.

After Betsy's tiny egg, she decided to take a weeks break. Yesterday, however, she produced a lovely little pale cream egg. She walked around it, chattering to me for all the world as if to say 'Ha! Now be impressed! I am only this big, yet I got this relatively large egg out of my behind. Aren't I clever?'. I have to agree that she is. The egg is roughly three quarters the size of a pekin egg. Considering that Betsy is half the size of a pekin...well, I'll leave the maths to you. It was never my strong point.

I am getting closer to purchasing a decent sized rabbit hutch for the serama. Although I still hope to integrate eventually, it's clear that it will take some time. At least with a decent hutch I can put them outside and they can all get used to looking at each other. At the moment, the pekins wander in to the garage to spy on the micro chickens, and Betsy and Vera hide in their cage. Or else get lost in the tangle of junk occupying the garage. It is not fun trying to extricate two tiny hens from the Jenga like pile of garden chairs and camping equipment. There is always the risk of...squashing.

Conditions here haven't really improved weather wise, but we are due a break from the rain towards the end of the week. I am itching to get out and clear the Palace run, especially now that I've managed to track down some aubiose. It doesn't take much to make me happy.

Now for some blatant self promotion. If you are reading this, you are likely to be a chicken lover. If you're in the UK, you might well purchase a magazine entitled 'Practical Poultry'. And if you were to purchase April's edition (on sale from the 25th of February), you might spot a familiar character.

That's all I'm saying.