Bird's Eye View - The other half speaks out
                                             
Let me introduce myself. Yes, I really do exist. I am Luke's girlfried, Su, and he asked me to write a few words. Initially I was sceptical about getting chickens and after ten weeks of sharing my garden with them here are my views on the birds.
                                             
 

As I sit here, the breeze of a mid June afternoon on my back, warming myself on the timber deck and dangling my toes in the cold water of our little pond, I feel like we've achieved the first part of our goal to reach the good life. Certainly we have far to go; a mortgage to pay off and full time work to rid ourselves of but for now, in this little oasis we've created, I feel at peace.

Well, almost at peace – there is still the sight of the chickens, as I type, pecking away at the plants I spent more money than I care to admit on. My phone rings and it is Fran from two streets away accepting my offer of a cup of tea in the garden – this isn't a half bad way to live, is it?

Yesterday we found our first chicken egg, well two in fact! Buck Bucky laid two miniature but absolutely perfect eggs side by side. We blew one for posterity and it now resides in our oversized (for it) egg cup. It just so happened she laid exactly six weeks to the day we'd bought her and, happily for Luke, on the afternoon of Father's Day. Today I've let them out for a wander in the garden and what does Buck Bucky do again? She lays another egg, hidden from view, for Luke to find when he returns home from work – it weighs 2 grams more than yesterday's.

So, how have the last six weeks been? Have my concerns about how the chickens would spoil my garden, create a mess, encourage vermin and cause a stink been realised? Fortunately not.
                       
 
Buck Bucky's egg compared to a standard egg
 
                       
                                             
Whilst they have eaten their way through a few valuable plants and totally massacred one particular favourite, dive-bombed a lily, caused us a few skipped heartbeats when they've flown onto the wall and we haven't known if we'd need to rescue them from the neighbour's garden there have been many more times when we've watched them strut up the pathway, heard them chatter to us when it's food time or delighted at them hopping for the broccoli hanging slightly out of reach.
 

We were concerned that our cat, Socks, would not like them or that the chickens wouldn't like the cat. However, they co-exist beautifully together. Everything appears cordial in the garden paradise we have created.

My one concession was rather vain; that we had pretty chickens to enhance the garden rather than detract from it and we're both glad we went with that idea as they are lovely to look at. We are onto another chapter now. Enjoying collecting and eating the eggs they lay. They ask for very little yet we gain a great deal of pleasure from them and they have brought the garden alive in a way we never expected. When I'm sitting on the deck, watching them interacting with one another I can't help but grin at how sweet they are. Whilst I don't think everybody would be converted to keeping chickens all I can say is that they give far more than beautifully fresh eggs.

One week later and Buck Bucky has presented us with seven eggs, each slightly larger than the other. Before we cracked them open Luke took some photos and then we had our first omelette. We spent the entire meal oohing and aahing over it– golden yolked omelette, simple boiled new potatoes with rock salt, cracked pepper, butter and mint and ever so briefly cooked, just podded peas. A feast fit for a King! Not only that but since she's been laying Buck Bucky has not gone off (like a headless chicken) when we've tried to handle her but instead allows us to pick her up. I just hope the same happens when the others start laying.
 
Coco and Socks say hello to one another