Broadway Bantams

We are based in the Cotswolds, in a very pretty little village.   I live in a 200 year old cottage with a large garden with my partner Mark and our 3 dogs, Laphroaig who is a 9 year old loopy Red Setter, Kimi who is a 6 year old Border Terrier and Talisker who is a 5 month old Border Terrier. We also have 9 Bantam hens and Squeak, a Bantam cockeral, 2 hybrid chicken hens (who are laying), 2 Austrolaup hens (17 weeks old ish) and 4 Cream Legbar hens (17 weeks old ish) 

I started keeping chickens about 4 years ago because I wanted fresh eggs.

I started with 6 laying hybrid hens. Then people at work started asking for eggs and I soon found I hadn't enough eggs for everyone. So I purchased another 6 laying hybrid hens and a cockeral.

Not long afterwards a friend was moving house and couldn't take her 6 laying hybrid hens with her so I gave them a home too. I now had 18 hens and a cockeral. I named the cockeral Lenin after Tom Good's cockeral in 'The Good Life'. As he grew up I found I had to be careful with him as he would attach me to protect his girls.

I kept them in a fully enclosed run and 2 coops and I would let them out to roam the garden when I was home. But I wanted them to have more freedom so built an outdoor grass run for them. This was a bit flimsy but did the job.

Then a couple of years later, with help from my dad I built a nice new, more stable, stronger, larger outdoor grass run. I'd had my chickens for over 3 years. I lost some to old age but I lost most to a fox one summers morning between 7 and 9. I couldn't believe it.

So now I have started again and I'm a lot more careful when they are let out.

I never let my chickens out when Im not home!