More on the hens!

Whenever I'm doing some gardening I am supervised by the hens, especially if digging is taking place! Notice the concentration in that beady eye above!

I battle against creeping buttercup in the garden.  Because I was unwell and away a while in June the weeds had a change to run rampant.  So the last couple of weeks has been battling to get the garden back into some sort of order. Ably assisted by the hens!

Having a good dig around the roots of the columbine to seek out any worms!

And everyone joins in....

Even this wee chick!

Oh wait s/he (I'm still not sure!) has lost sight of Mum and is standing on the highest point (ahem, a tussock of grass about to be dug up!) to try and spot her!

It has to be said s/he failed. I wasn't worried as the chicks can feed themselves now and usually wander back into the hen house to roost with the other hens (including mum).  But no, this one got in a panic and managed to get through a small gap in the anti-chicken netting and was hiding among the wild flowers.  Took me the best part of an hour to coax it out - by bringing the rest of the hens into the garden for their "tea" and out comes the chick too!  Phew!

Anyway, after a good rootle some of the hens need to take a wee rest and have a bit of a preen....

While others carry on rootling through the now weeded earth....

And the other cockerels (yes I have more than one, sigh, and no they don't fight - they seem to have divided the females among themselves).

And at least the girls give me lots of lovely eggs, and the netting keeps them off MOST of the strawberries!

And WHERE was Madam Button during all this activity?  Sunbathing of course! She doesn't concern herself with mundane activities such as gardening... and yes she eventually found her way into the cordoned off veg patch - over the garden wall of course!

Here she is among the weeds (yes plenty of those) rolling around on top of the nepeta (cat mint) which I did plant especially for her.  I know....I know...

And after a rain shower, well one does have to keep paws dry after a shower!