Some #chicken news:

My oldest hen, who will be four this month, was my only blue egg layer until I got back one of the chicks we hatched last year.

The youngest I just got 2 weeks ago looks almost identical to the sister of the oldest (whom I lost when I got my second dog. ) I'm wondering if the oldest recognizes that? They're related: same breed, and they came from the same farm.

Yesterday I watched as the oldest and the youngest were mirroring each other along the side of the small pen that I have the youngest in out in the chicken yard. It. Was. So. Cute!

They would walk the same direction, stop, peck the ground at the same time, turn, walk the other direction, peck the ground at the same time, crane their necks upward at the same time, peck the ground at the same time, etc. Somehow they were mirroring each other, pantomiming each other -- and not fighting!

That bodes well for them getting along in the yard once I release the youngest one from her current pen.

I'll need to be very mindful and careful to do that on a day when I can hang out in the yard all morning to make sure that she's not getting pecked to hell by the other girls.

That's what chickens do. They're very mean to newcomers, and even mean to fellow flock members who have had to be in the house for a while for medical treatment or whatever. This is why the youngest is now in a pen in the chicken yard where they can see and interact with her but can't reach her to beat her up.

I will take her out out of her isolation pen and put her in the nest box one night when everybody else is sleeping. That usually works. They wake up the next day and oh, there's just another hen. No biggie.

A wrinkle: I went to collect eggs at lunchtime, and the eldest had carried all the other eggs laid today into the nest box with the wooden eggs in it. (They scoop the eggs up with the underside of their wing and carry them across the nest box. It's amazing!)

When I tried to collect the fresh eggs out from under her, she puffed up and growled and bit me.

I put the wooden eggs in a nest box a couple of weeks ago because I really wanted to encourage somebody to go broody early. It may have worked!

Oldest is on broody watch now. If she's still sitting those wooden eggs tomorrow, and still stealing everybody else's eggs, I will go get a clutch for her to hatch.

The timing is good, because I can move the youngest hen out of captivity and move the oldest into that pen with a box to brood in.

I let the oldest sit on a few eggs two years previous, but one of the chicks hatched and she squashed it and killed it, so I took the other eggs I had given her away and put them under my other broody, who successfully hatched the rest of them.

So, I don't actually know if she can successfully sit a clutch. I've broken her two years in a row now. That sounds worse than it is; it's repeatedly taking away the eggs she steals so that she doesn't have anything to sit on, and sometimes picking her up out of the nest box and throwing her out into the yard so she can eat and drink.

If I do let her brood, I'll have to be very careful around the 21-day mark to make sure she isn't killing the chicks as they hatch.

Perhaps by then I'll have another broody and another clutch going.

I'm willing to sit two hens this year now that I know what it takes. I have the equipment and fencing. If we sit early, we will still be able to receive our yearly "guest chickens" in May.

Never dull moment! I do want to get somebody sitting on a clutch soon, because I have friends who want blue and green egg layers. They will also take roosters, so they'll all be easy to rehome with them.

Lebanese Lemon Garlic Chicken

Ingredients:

500g/ 1lb chicken tenderloin (or breast), cut into 4cm / 1.5" squares, large vein cut out (Note 1)
Lemon garlic marinade:
4 tbsp Greek or plain yogurt
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp garlic , finely grated or crushed using garlic press (~4 big cloves)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt (1/2 tsp table salt, 1 1/4 tsp flakes)
Lemon garlic yogurt sauce:
1 cup Greek or plain yogurt
3/4 tsp garlic , finely grated or crushed using garlic press (~1 clove)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp tahini (hulled), or extra 1 tbsp olive oil (Note 3)
1 tbsp+ water
1 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt (1/2 tsp table salt, 1 1/4 tsp flakes)
Cooking & serving:
2 tbsp olive oil , for cooking
1 tsp parsley , roughly chopped (or equal amounts mint and parsley)
Lemon wedges and extra virgin olive oil , for garnish
Lebanese bread for sauce mopping (recommended)

Instructions:

ABBREVIATED RECIPE:
Marinade chicken 12 - 24 hrs. Cook in 2 batches. Whisk sauce, rest 1 hr, warm just before serving. Smother chicken, serve!
FULL RECIPE:
Marinade - Mix the marinade ingredients in a bowl. Add the chicken, toss to coat then refrigerate to marinate for 12 - 24 hours (Note 2).
Sauce - Put the sauce ingredients in a microwaveable bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside for 1 hour + (garlic flavour melds). Just before serving, microwave for 40 seconds to warm (but not hot) then give it a good whisk. Taste and add more lemon for tangier, or more water to loosen (some yogurts are thicker than others).
Cooking - Drain off excess marinade from the chicken. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large non stick pan over high heat. Place half the chicken in and cook for 1 1/2 - 2 minutes on each side until golden. Remove onto a plate.
Repeat - Scrape out / quickly wipe loose black bits out of the pan. Reheat remaining oil and cook remaining chicken. Rest for 2 minutes.
Serving - Spread half the sauce in a shallow bowl. Use a spatula to transfer the chicken onto the yogurt. Spoon over remaining sauce, finish with a swish of olive oil and sprinkle of parsley. Serve!