December's Cluck

Dedicated to the memory of Lou Lou and Annie Chicken - You brought a smile to our faces and we are grateful to have had you in our lives. Have fun in Chicken Heaven.

Hi everyone,

It's been a real mix of emotions here in The Garden. The month started with us being invited to sell our eggs at the Riselely Village Craft and Produce Fair. We were very excited and laid as many eggs as we could to keep the residents of Riseley happy. The adult human, with the big hair, also made some meringues and macaroons, which I heard from our chicken neighbours went down very well.

The weather has been getting gradually colder here in The Garden and on several mornings I have seen the human who looks like Julia Roberts, defrosting the water. We are nice and warm in our coop and have the new Coop Central Heating, which means we can control the temperature from wherever we are in The Garden.

As the weather gets colder we find it harder to lay as many eggs so we are hoping our customers will understand. It's all to do with our mother, Nature.  She knows we if we had chicks in the cold they wouldn't survive, so she has programmed our bodies to only lay when they would have the best chance of surviving. We are still doing our best though, as we know so many people appreciate what we do.

It is with great sadness I must tell you two of our new friends have died this month. First Lou Lou, she passed away a few weeks ago and just today Annie Chicken also said her final farewells to The Garden. I will miss our chats, especially with Lou Lou, as she was so lively and chatty and we had become good friends. She would follow the humans around as they cleaned our coops, checking they had done them properly and making a real fuss if she saw something out of place.

Charlie said a few words today in our memorial service.

Although they weren't here for long we saw a big difference in them, their claws were in much better shape, their crests had darkened and their feathers returned. Most of all they had learnt how to be chickens and I, for one, am grateful we had a chance to be friends and teach them the joys of outside, dust baths and general happiness.

Cluck cluck in peace.

To all my human friends, have a clucking good month and remember to cherish the times you have with the people you love.

Val