Well after months of thinking about it, we have elected to get a couple of Chickens. A wonderful chat with the very helpful (and multi-award winning) breeder just outside Milford Haven: Ray Evans of Fairlawns Foul, suggested we go for the Salmon Faverolles breed, noted for it's docile, easy to hand nature, together with being a 'rare breed'.

They also look simply lovely. They will lay around 4-5 eggs each per week so we're be in ample supply of fresh home laid eggs, and most importantly, they will eat slugs! -Readers will know that slugs are the mortal enemy of my gardening life!

We have four chickens, two each, Mine are called: Mafanwy and Jemima, while the other half's are called Chardonnay and Slipper. (I have no idea why).

There are some photos of the chooks to the right for you, at present they are aged around 6 weeks, at 21 weeks or thereabouts they will be matured and start to lay eggs.

I'm rather proud of the wobbly chicken run, as it was made by myself in a rare and adventurous attempt at DIY. However we did purchase a 'fox and badger proof' home to lock them up in at night.

It seems after a bit of looking around on the internet, that Chicken keeping is fast coming back as a domestic joy in the UK after many years of absence.

Pre world war two, almost every home kept chickens at home for eggs and some for meat. But with the introduction of the Battery Hen to speed up food production this 'convenience' stuck with us and we forgot the poor creatures that lay the eggs.

Now it seems is time for a turn around, in exchange for feeding, a bit of caring and the occasional chat. -Mafanwy love to debate post-modernist painting, they provide us with love and eggs. -Fresh eggs that are actually vastly better than the supermarket offerings!

Obviously not everyone can keep hens at home, and so for those i'd say make friends with people that do or look for Free Range or Barn Laid eggs as an ethical alternative.

We opted for the easy option with our initial hens, going for breeder advice and suggestions, but once we have got used to chickens more we may well be tempted to take on some wonderful ex-Battery Hens from the Battery Hen Welfare Trust. (link to the right of this article) They have a center in Carmarthernshire which covers this area and their focus is to provide hens previously used as Battery hens out to individuals to re-habilitate and care for them. It is a good solution both for the farmers, (who do want a change for the better) and the hens.