Oh Happy Day!

Remember a couple of weeks ago in this post, I told you how we'd had some chicken trouble? Or rather, we'd had some other animal trouble, when I found a dead chicken in the garden and one missing?

Well yesterday I looked out of my office window and thought I saw this little lady. 'Can't be', I told myself, 'it must be one of the others with it's feathers a bit ruffled'

But I went out later to give the chickens their afternoon treat and there she was. Our little Frizzle!

She settled straight back in with the Buffs and when I checked the shed last night, there she was, cosied underneath them all with just her little red face peeking out

In case you weren't aware (and why would you be?) a Frizzle is a Pekin Bantam which has been selectively bred so that the feathers turn away from their body rather than towards it, giving them a 'frizzly' look. I used to think they're odd looking but now I find them cute, although they really suffer when it rains, having no feathery protection! Here she is with one of the normal Pekins for comparison 

I was sure she was the dead chicken I found on the grass but it must have been our old black banty and the Frizzle had made a run for it. I'd had a little niggling feeling that one might still be alive as we only found one body but I thought I was kidding myself. I'd only really taken to the Frizzle a few weeks before she disappeared and I was so sad to think she had been the one that got caught. I always seem to fall for the runt of the litter or the underdog and she was the littlest chicken we had and such a quirky little thing

And now, more than ever, I'm sure it wasn't a fox that killed the banty but a loose dog. It happened the week the pub across the road was taken over by a couple with a Jack Russell terrier and the only day I forgot to close the gates when I went to the office for the day. And there were no typical fox clues - now we know that one wasn't taken, plus the dead chicken looked as though it had been mauled rather than a quick foxy decapitation

Anyway, the little Frizzle is back and she looks pretty healthy so I think she must have joined someone else's flock for a while. Speaking of which, we appear to have gained a cockerel today

Which is bloody annoying considering we got rid of our own three, but he's only small and quite a handsome chap with his green feathers and dark eyes! He's not causing any trouble so I suppose he can stay for now

The main thing is the Frizzle is home. And life is good :-)