Afternoon Tea with the Ladies

I have to admit, I have pampered poultry.
I give them lots of greens in the winter, in the form of alfalfa hay and whatever veggie scraps we have from the kitchen.
I also let them free range as much as I can, with our dry winter so far they have gotten to do a lot of that lately.
But it isn’t all one sided.
They provide us with an abundance of luscious, rich flavored eggs.

Not only are they yummy but they are quite pretty too.
Almost as pretty as the ladies themselves.
Tuesday after a long day in the studio I walked in the garden (barren as it is) with an afternoon cup of Rose Scented tea. 
With something colorful in my hand the Ladies knew for sure I had a treat for them and followed me around expectantly.
I set my cup down so I could get them some scratch grains and they figured their treat was in the cup.
They finally let me have it back after I tossed the grain to them.

This beauty is a Swedish Flower Hen. 
I have two, the other has the fluffy top knot.

I have a variety of chickens.
A gorgeous collection of different breeds.
Here are just a few.
They were perfect ladies and made sure to take turns with the cup.

I also have Black Copper Marans, Speckled Sussex (actually you can see the back end of the Speckled Sussex in the photo with the Flower Hen), Black Star and a Wellsummer.
The eggs they lay are as varied in looks as they are.

I have more rare breeds on my “wish” list.
I hope you enjoyed our tea.
Come again and I shall share the treat I had for myself.

It has some of these in it.

Until next time…