What do Chickens Like Best?

  

Never give chickens the first thing that comes into your head, without proper research.  They go crazy for things they should not have, ham, their own eggs, fine cheeses and even your chicken sandwich if you leave it in the wrong place.  I check the borage situation on google and discover its a Wonder Plant, perfect for treating chickens on their birthday and many other things.

• Making drugs. According to 300 year old rumours, it can ‘exhilerate and make the mind glad ….drive away all sadnesse, dulnesse and melancholy’
• Saving bees. Packed with pollen and nectar, it is the number one plant for attracting bees.
• Fertilising soil. Known as a green manure.  Borage will feed the soil with minerals and makes excellent compost.
• Health. The oil is a source of essential fatty acids and has anti inflammatory properties.
• Repelling garden pests.  Plant it next to a cabbage and attract wasps to eat the cabbage worms. At the same time watch the slugs get tangled up in those pretty hairs.
• Food. You can use the leaves in your salad, fry the stalks in batter, add it to a soup or a stew and even make beautiful ice cubes.

The birthday borage treat

The great moment arrived. Two sprigs of this precious plant were presented. It is always exciting experimenting on living creatures, if you do it nicely. I could not wait to see their faces. Would the borage ‘exhilerate and make the chicken mind glad?’

I have never seen a chicken look so disappointed.

One last disparaging look. They could not get off the birthday table fast enough.

The real treat

Fine. They don’t know if it’s really their birthday. Neither do I. It was a busy day and the compost needed turning. The bin was full and something needed to happen about it. It slipped off so nicely, revealing interesting layers.

• Summer at the bottom. Worms and black gold for the garden.
• Autumn in middle. Half rotted pumpkin and seeds. Egg shells, from the day I realised that they don’t deter slugs.
• Winter at the top. The last mow and yesterday’s banana.
• Then the chickens went bananas.

‘IT’S OUR BIRTHDAY CAKE’. If chickens could scream, that is what we would have heard. As fast as I could turn the compost back into the bin, they worked, to save every last worm and bug from the misery of living in the dark.

There is nothing happier than a chicken at the bottom of a compost heap.

It is not all good news.

If you notice there are only two chickens, that is because another one went and died.  This news is only for those who read more than half a post.  There is no point going on about chickens dying as some people don’t like it, even though chickens dying is inextricably linked with a lot of good recipes, and the demolition of rain forests in South America.  If you like rain forests, or chickens, don’t buy supermarket chicken.

And check your chicken food. 18 months of eating sanctimoniously free range happy eggs. Then this happened.

Time to find new chicken food.

Here they are eating up the last bit of rain forest. I am sorry about that.