Two chickens, Porsche and Cordelia, just wasn't quite enough. I discovered a Poultry Centre at the Bell Plantation just north of Towcester. What a lovely place. So much bigger than I expected with lots of different types of shops. Great for Christmas Shopping I think.
At the Poultry centre I found exactly what I was looking for. I got another Silver Laced Wyandotte bantam, a Blue Laced Wyandotte bantam and a lovely ginger and black Peking bantam.
Back when I was starting out keeping bantams, Esther tried to get me a blue laced wyandotte - she found a breeder who had a clutch of eggs hatching so Esther ordered for my birthday. Unfortunately something went wrong and nothing hatched. Finally, I have my blue laced. It is actually grey but it is very lovely.
We have called them Maggie (named after the Newcastle Magpies - black and white strip, when I joked with Ant that they were all vaccinated against Newcastle disease). Cagney (Peking) and Lacey (blue laced wyandotte).
I was worried about bullying when they arrived after Mapp, Lucia and Porsche had made the lives of Buffy, Willow and Cordelia so awful at the start that I kept them apart for ages. I needn't have worried.
Porsche pottered up to Cagney who immediately gave her no doubts as to who was top chicken. I've seen Porsche trying it on a bit with Lacey who is more nervous, but Cagney hears the noise and heads over to see what gives. Thank goodness.
Apparently, according to Ben from the Poultry Centre, they are between 23 and 26 weeks old. Today I had my first teeny egg - they definitely aren't full grown yet.
Lacey today started eating the fluffy feathers that Cordelia had shed when moulting recently. That looked really odd and I didn't think it would be good for her so I had to hand pick up all the shed feathers. Hopefully I got them all and she can forget this odd habit.
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