Still no eggs...

So far, still no sign of our first egg. Myrtle and both Marans have now got well developed combs and wattles and their faces are reddening, so it should hopefully not be long now. I am beginning to wonder however if the drawing in of the nights will mean that they go off lay before they've even begun!

Now that they have the run of a substantial part of the garden they're really getting used to it. If I choose to leave them in their run for a while in the morning - if the weather's bad for instance - when I return and open the door I'm almost knocked over in the rush! Birds emerge like parachutists from a troop plane, charging out in a flurry of flapping wings and racing legs - often they won't stop running or flying for 50 feet or more. Clearly, they really enjoy the freedom and I'd feel pangs of guilt if I had to confine them to the run all day now.