Hen Paradise!

I went with a fellow coop member to get new hens today! I shall call her The Intense One! She is very well informed about so much and throws herself body, heart and soul into things that concern and interest her - she's helped cook for refugees in Bordeaux and Greece, runs courses in making Kimchi, sour dough and has just finished cooking at a Shamans retreat where she did an Ayahuasca ceremony which she said was transforming, and she didn't throw up as is normal! 
So the hens - oh my, down a country lane and in someones very large garden all manner of beautiful hens and ducks! If I am madchickenwoman  then she is madderchickenwoman and has gone stratospheric as you can see from her garden! She was very particular about the hens , some had to be bought as a pair or group as they were used to each other and she wouldn't split them! I liked that! Me and The Intense One were just in seventh heaven! Everywhere we looked more amazing hens so that we were reduced to squealing and pointing! We both knew which breed of hen we wanted before going - which helped in concentrating our attention on them! I wanted Buff Orpingtons as they are big, beautifully  contured and soft - oh my when I held one soooo soft! What I hadn't realised was that they come indifferent colours - so as well as the normal buff she had Blue and Splash! Well I fell in love with these! The Splash ( last extra) reminded me of a pearlescent ghost! The Blue is actually a tricolour as you can see in the third extra! 
Next was for The Intense One to make up her mind between the Vorlocks and the Swedish Flowers! Once we had checked the price we realised the previous quote we had was for pairs not each hen! So we got 2 pairs of each! You can see them in the 4th extra! The two tan and black are the Vorlocks! 
Before the hens were put in their carriers they were expertly dusted for red mite. By now we were both feeling rather wet as the rain had started and I had left my mac in the car and just didn't want to go back and get it and miss a minute of being with the hens! 
On the way back to the plot we stopped for Growers pellets - the Orpingtons are 15 and 17 months old and the others younger so need a high protein diet to grow. No mash or corn as they will eat that which won't help them grow! We did buy some mealworms as treats! 
Once on the plot we had to section off one part of the plot with a spare fence, clear the smaller coop of nettles and raspberries and line the coop with newspaper and hay. Then the exciting moment of releasing the hens! The Orpingtons were quite relaxed but the others were quite skittish and kept pushing their heads through the wire fence! But fortunatly were too big to get through! The other hens were quite put out by the arrival of the new hens and were making a right old rumpus on the far side of the plot! We gave them some corn then had a photo session with our new favourites!! I also photographed the procedure for getting into their area and closing the coop as the door has fallen off and its a metal tray and large breeze block securing them in! We were both loathe to leave them but we were both hungry and my anxiety had been plaguing me the whole morning making me feel peculiar.  I am pushing through these feelings and trying to convince myself that after all tests have been done there is nothing physically wrong with me! I almost took the anti- anxiety pills the Dr gave me a while ago - but having read the side effects took Kalms instead! They still have possible side efffets but at least being valerian they are  natural!
Come the eve I headed back to put them to bed - It was Colourful Mai's closing but she had a works do so would have been back late and we were not sure how easily they would go in! As it was they didn't dive under the raspberry and blackberry bushes and I was able to catch them and pop them in one by one! The Orpingtons are scaring the smaller birds and they wouldn't venture in the coop with the Splash and Blue already in! 
For the rest of the eve  The Intense One and I discussed names! I decided on Charlotte for the Blue as her dusky colouring reminds me of the dresses of Jane Austens ladies! Rather than calling the Splash ghost we settled on Aurora! The Intense One named the Vorlocks Morrigan and Macha after Arthurian crow shape shifter chracters and the Swedish Flowers Asa and Aya after Nordic/ Viking legends!!
If you want to see more of the beautiful hens we saw see here!