A hen named Wanda

The happy wanderer... 6.1.18

Late summer/Autumn is the time of year we usually stock up on hay for the winter. So last August/September I collected some sample bales from our usual supplier - a local farmer:  we've been buying from him for 16 years - even when we've cut our own hay. He's always provided the best quality seed hay but in the past couple of years the Spoiled Pony has not been too keen to chew it - spilling much of it over the floor. The sample bales met with the same distaste.... and at £4 each that's a bit much to recycle in the Poultry Palace.
So I located an alternative supply of organic meadow hay - and when I turned up to collect some bales for the SP "to try" I discovered that the farm also supplied organic chicken on a commercial scale.
All commercial hens are "disposed of" and "replaced" after a fixed period, determined by when their maximum production period ends. Some of the luckier ones are rehomed shortly before the fatal day. We've got lots of poultry: Call ducks who don't lay eggs (except in spring), Runner ducks who don't lay eggs (except in the pond), cockerels who don't lay eggs and some lovely bantams who occasionally lay eggs - very small ones...... I'd been thinking about getting some more laying hens for quite a while. There really is nothing better than eggs freshly laid in your own back yard.
"Do you ever re-home some hens at change-over time" I asked the nice lady as she helped me load up the hay. "Why? Yes we do" she said, continuing "and we are changing over this Friday so if you'd like some you'll need to make up your mind how many in the next couple of days."

What a happy co-incidence!
The next day I returned with my poultry crate. I decided to take 8 hens. More than I needed but in the past when I've re-homed commercial hens I've always lost 2 or 3 in the first month. The change in habitat and habits can prove too much for some birds.
So I brought 8 hens home. And I still have all 8 hens which says a lot for the organic farm they came from. Between them they lay between 0 & 4 eggs a day which is plenty for us and one or two friends......
They're a friendly bunch; always rushing up to peck my feet and chuckle up at me when I go in their pen. They're always last to bed, refusing to tuck themselves in until it's well & truly dark; if I go out whilst there's even a faint hint of light still about they all pile out of their little house and come up for a nightcap - or something! Suddenly 3 or 4 weeks ago one of them started getting out of the pen and wandering around for the odd hour or two, then three or four and finally all day. She wanders everywhere - round the barns, the orchard, the fields, the house..... from minutes after I've opened up their house in the morning till well after dusk. She spends a lot of time in Rocco's stable, pecking away at hayseed on the ground - she even lays an egg most days in the corner or, very occasionally, on top of the fallen hay! We've lost one or two that way! Her wandering ways mean I have to keep an eye on the spaniels; they have all learned not to chase her when I am around.... although they do cast evil glances in her direction. Today Jaunty bumped into her when he ran round a corner ahead of me. He couldn't help himself: within a nanosecond he'd opened his mouth & in she hopped and demanded a quick turn about the yard (his story, not mine). Needless to say he couldn't wait to find me and give her over to my safe keeping (my story not his) and I'm happy to say she survived to tell her tale to the other hens......
Well, a hen with attitude needs a name. We  asked our #TeamGunner twitter followers for their suggestions. They came up with many and various but in the end I thought the most suitable was Wanda.... so Wanda she is. Technically, Wanda II because I did have a hen called Wanda a few years ago.......
So, let's see what Wanda gets up to over the coming months  - if she can keep herself out of trouble - and passing spaniels' jaws!!!!