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My eggs-tra special friends
As a chef, Thomas Moor, of Marina Avenue, Motspur Park, was more used to cooking a tasty meal with chicken than getting to know them as pets. But all that changed nearly a year-and-a-half ago.
“Amy and Martha were just ten days old when they arrived in a cardboard box with a little sawdust in the bottom,” he recalls. “They were so sweet, so tiny. They made little chirruping noises.
“They spent their first few weeks indoors, in the living room, in an old cupboard turned on its back with chicken wire over it to keep them in – and the cat, Tibby, out. They also needed a light a few inches above their heads, switched on all day and night, to keep them warm.”
Back to nature
Keeping chickens, along with growing your own veg, has become increasingly popular in recent years, perhaps because of the recession, or maybe it’s our yearning to ‘get back to nature’.
But for Thomas, 39, who grew up in Switzerland and moved to England in 2003, the appeal of keeping chickens was more to do with their idiosyncratic personalities.
“Yes, they do have personalities,” he insists. “Martha is the slightly larger of the two. She’s a bit more daring. This week she’s discovered how to dig a dust bath for herself in the corner of the vegetable plot.
“Amy is slightly smaller, and a bit less adventurous. But they always trot round the garden together whenever they are allowed out – which is only when someone is around to ward off any curious foxes.
“It’s entertaining to watch them walk round the garden with very jerky movements. They strut around like a pair of little dinosaurs, which they evolved from, I guess. And having their eyes on the side of their heads, it’s very funny how they turn their heads to one side to look at you.”
Ever-present danger
But Amy and Martha are not allowed to roam freely unless they are supervised because of the ever-present risk from foxes.
“The chickens have nearly come to grief a couple of times from foxes,” says Thomas. “Even in the mid-afternoon, if you turn your back for a few moments they can be in severe danger. The foxes round here are so brazen.
“Luckily Amy and Martha seem to have an innate sense of the danger and squawk very loudly if ever a fox does approach them. But you can’t be too careful. They have had a couple of lucky escapes.”
So what are the advantages of keeping chickens? “You get fresh eggs every day and you know where they have come from. They really are nicer than bought eggs – they should be as well, as the girls have a very healthy diet of chicken feed plus lots of yummy kitchen scraps. They love sweetcorn especially.”
Dawn risers
One drawback with having chickens is that Thomas has to feed and water them at dawn before he heads off to work in London. “They are early risers and early to bed,” he says.
“In Switzerland we have the expression ‘going to bed with the chickens’, which means going to bed early. And that really is true, because Amy and Martha put themselves to bed about 8pm or 9pm in the summer, and much earlier in the winter when dusk falls. They go in their shed and fly up on to their perch, about three feet of the ground, to roost for the night.”
But he insists they are not a lot of trouble. “They’re much joy and fun,” he says. “Seeing them running, or waddling, around in the garden after I get home from work is very amusing.
“When gardening, though, they are a very big hindrance. Every time I put my fork in the ground and they hear the noise, they come running, thinking they will get some worms. They think they are in for a treat. And they really do love worms.
Joined at the hip
“They always strut round they garden together, like they are joined at the hip. I suppose they’ve always been together, that’s all they’ve ever known, and they certainly seem to be very good friends.
“I guess that is the reason you cannot buy chicks singly – they need a bit of company, I think.
“Even when they go to sleep on their perch at night, they are always snuggled up next to each other, wing to wing. In the winter I could understand that might be for warmth, but they do the same in the height of the summer heat. They have certainly bonded.
“Sometimes if I am trying to eat outdoors they can be a bit of a nuisance. They always want to jump up on to the table and get the best bit of food from your plate – always the thing you were savouring yourself the most. I don’t let them make a habit of it, of course.”
Cheap cheep
In return for normally two eggs each morning – one each – the costs of keeping chickens are fairly minimal, says Thomas.
“They’re not too expensive to keep. I suppose I spend about a few pounds on them a week. Then they get all the kitchen scraps. And if they can break into the vegetable bed – which they seem to, from time to time — they top up their diet with a few extra morsels.”
As well as food, it’s almost more important to ensure they always have plenty of fresh water available, adds Thomas “It’s amazing how much they can drink in a day.They drink so much water, especially in summer.”
First fluff of youth
Amy and Martha were just ten days old when Thomas received them. “For the next few weeks they lived indoors. Then when they were old enough they moved to the chicken shed outdoors, although I still kept a light on above their heads out there to give them some warmth until they had their adult feathers.
“In the early days I was worried the cat would attack them, as they looked just like tiny birds and he always seemed to be licking his lips when he spotted them.
“But now Amy and Martha are full-sized adults, they all toddle round the garden together, and there’s never a problem between the cat and the chickens. They seem to have a happy agreement to share the place and more or less ignore each other, even when they pass within inches of each other.
“The chickens each produce about one egg a day. More than I need, normally, so I’m happy to have neighbours to help with using them up.”
Do you have any pet stories or hobbies to share? Tell us at mail@motspurpark.info
External links:
www.keepchickens.info
The Poultry Pages: Keeping chickens
Down the lane: Chicken keeping
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Chick sisters: Amy and Martha at 14 months old enjoy the garden
Worm hungry: Amy is straight in as soon as a hole is dug in the soil
Spade work: Martha rides on the shovel; on their perch
Early days: Amy and Martha lived in an old cupboard for a few weeks
Feline foe? At a few weeks old, they were of interest to Tibby the cat
Fluffed up: The honey-coloured young chicks explore their world