…or should I say Cheeky Charlotte. But more of that later. It all started in May. We had bought a dozen roasties which we keep until they are about 11 weeks old, then they are given the chop. Usually they are pretty easy to catch so I end up killing two a day, plucking, hanging and freezing until they are all gone.

Unbeknown to me, Cheeky Charlie had managed to avoid my grasp until the last day and when it was his turn, he escaped. Not just just from me but also out of the chicken run and into a patch of impenetrable brambles.

Jackie thought that would be it, he would either get taken by a fox or by a mongoose. However he managed to survive for many weeks and then he started visiting the runs of the other chickens. Not a good move as they picked on him and viciously pecked him. It then became apparent that the reason for his ventures into the other chicken runs was because he, or rather she, wanted to lay an egg and this is exactly what she did in the nest box of the young hens! She was, after all, now 20 weeks old. Added to that she now wanted to roost on top of the young hens’ run.

I’m afraid that was the last straw and so she went the way of a normal roastie. I’ll spare the details but I was interested to find loads of eggs in varying states of development inside her. Anyway, she’s now in the freezer and we’ll have to look for Coq au Vin recipes as although she’ll be very tasty, she’ll probably need quite some cooking in order to tenderize.

Meanwhile, Jackie has been down the market and rather than coming back with a dozen young roasties, she came home with 9 roasties and 3 ducks! I wasn’t keen on getting ducks as we don’t have a pond but I’m sure they will taste good!