Our poor chickens. They don’t know what’s coming. We’ve arranged to pick up three new birds tomorrow to add to our little home flock, effectively doubling the number of hens in our garden. I suspect we’re going to have a bumpy few days as they settle in and work out who is top chick.

Of course, we’re not getting rid of Gerry, Barbara and Margo just because three newcomers are on the way. After a disappointing winter it looks like they’re starting to show more interest in laying eggs, and pretty much since the start of March we’ve had two eggs a day, every day. They’re still not up to full speed, but it’s an improvement. February was another terrible month, of just 29 eggs – the same as January this year and significantly less than February last year.

February egg count

I think we’re going to have to keep a close eye on all six birds when the new ones arrive as it is pretty much inevitable that there will be some pecking and bullying as they try and establish a new pecking order (that’s where the phrase comes from).

We’re probably going to get three Black Rock, and we’re not going to give them names this time around.

We learned our mistake last time: chickens are poultry, not pets.

Related posts:

1. January 2010 egg count shows how our chickens are declining
2. A monster month for eggs
3. Introducing new chickens to our flock