Day 261.

Bush eggs: one. Nest box eggs: two – there’s nowhere else for the girls to lay, really. Feed hopper: full.

We have new hens; does that make us old hens?

Being confined (which we are) and being bored (like we are) we had nothing better to do than talk to the new hens. This is what we found out:

Ella is a black Orpington cross, just about to lay her first egg. She has a topknot she is overly fond of and is a bossy bitch – I mean she was only here five minutes before she took ME on! Cheeky! She also has a big ol’ butt and I’m not just being mean.

Sylvie, also a point-of-lay, is a dark-grey hen of VERY mixed parentage. She seems nice but dull.

Buttercup (point-of-lay as well – what is all this ‘point of lay’ business? Is The Female Person trying to make a ‘point’ about our ‘laying’?) has the most unusual feathers and the biggest, liquid-brown, cow-like eyes I have ever seen. A bit flighty though and very small.

Jack is finding it hard to contain his excitement. The new hens are all too young to be added to his ‘list’ but as they are point-of-lay they are nearly old enough. Jack keeps asking them questions about EXACTLY how old they are. And how old their mothers were when they started laying. And do they FEEL like they will lay soon. And would they like to see the nest boxes. So unsubtle, so unsophisticated, so typically rooster.