Chickens,

The girls have requested that I refrain from taking any more pictures until they have regained their beautiful plumage - and I keep forgetting to take the camera down into the garden with me. My S-i-L has promised to make the gate for the bottom of the steps tomorrow and then the girls will be able to go out in the garden all day unless it is raining.
They have lost most of their outer feathers so they are not weather proof yet, this can make them cold and of they get rained on they will stay wet for a long time.
For some reason poor little Stephanie McQueen is being picked on by the other three. She hides in the house all day until they go to bed when she nips out into the run and stuffs her face with food and water and then waits until it is dark before going back into the house. When they are out in the garden she can run away more easily so she scratches happily in the flowerbed, throwing clods of earth all over the place - including on Mrs Pecky - and she gobbles up the worms. She hates to go back into the run when the others are there so I have to pick her up and put her in.
Things will improve because tomorrow Mr M has promised to assist me in the wing clipping so that they can't fly over into next door.
I have spent far more time than I should just standing and watching them - very good for the blood-pressure.
Now I am going to start the double page layout of their arrival. These will go into the 2009 album.