It's surprising how hard it is to find hens for sale in Wales. Seriously. There are fresh farm eggs for sale everywhere. Just no hens.
So, armed with directions from our neighbour, whose husband remembered seeing a 'hens for sale' sign, we set off. We drove up and down the road where we thought the sign had been spotted. Again...there was a sign for fresh eggs. But no hens. So we went back to Google. Aha...hens in Bala. However it turns out to be eggs for hatching. As newbies to the chicken thing this was clearly not an option. A bacon sandwich and another Google search later we set off for a farm in the middle of nowhere. Stunning location. Very isolated. We were greeted by the farmer and his son who took us to a barn and the hens. Dark ones, speckled ones and white ones. Who knew it was so hard to choose two hens? How do you decide? The speckled ones looked a little fierce. So I ruled those out pretty quickly. And the farmer helped narrow things down further when he explained that the white ones were more 'flighty'. Not sure if he meant literally. But I was looking for 'calm' and 'happy on the ground'. So it was down to the dark ones. I asked the farmer to pick. Which basically meant...whichever he could catch. Anyway...we drove back with two hens stuffed in a cardboard box. With the smell of hen poo increasing as we got nearer to home. Names were decided as I drove (Stu had no input or choice in this matter): Nanan and (Auntie) Gladys (named after my Great Grandma and her sister). They're been with us a few days now and seem to have settled into a routine - they now know when it is time to head into the Eglu for bed (unlike a couple of nights when they flatly refused to go in). The other day they decided to fly the coop - or jump the fence. One thing I was concerned about as the fence isn't that high. However, after a demonstration jump by Gladys this morning, we've identified the problem section which can be fixed with a little more chicken wire. This evening Gladys stopped at the door to the Eglu...clearly wanting a stroke before she went to bed. I'm rapidly getting very attached to them both. They're a constant source of amusement. Today's photos...
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DebbieMe, my life, my family and my travels Archives
November 2022
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