Cat among the Pigeons (or in this case chickens and not really among, more like anywhere but)

I'm not very popular today. The girls haven't been allowed out of their run today and I keep getting pleading looks from them. Now before you go complaining that I should let them out there are a couple of reasons why I haven't.

1. My Fraidy Cat
Sophie is very scared of the chickens, if she comes back from being out on the town and they are out in the garden, she won't come in. She'll just sit the other side of the fence meowing pitifully - a noise that I cannot bear to hear from her! So I am trying to encourage her to be a bit braver and have got her halfway down the garden (we played with some grass) until the girls made a noise and then she ran off again. She has woken me up in the middle of the night for the past two nights meowing at me so I am determined that she's not going to be in sleeping all day (therefore up all night), hence why she needs to be able to go out in her garden.

2. Yesterday I was sick. Proper sick. Sick where I couldn't even keep water down. I came home from work early and let the girls out and laid on the sofa waiting for death (I was really sick - honest). I heard the scraping and scrabbling about in the gravel and went out to find that they'd dug up all the gravel right down to the membrane underneath (to stop the weeds) and then they were trying to get the membrane up to get to the earth underneath. Of course, when one started to do it, they all had to have a go so there were several ditches in the border and I could have done without have to tell them off and put them away as punishment.

Last night, Yoko had gone to bed by 8pm as usual and Mabel put herself to bed at around 9 or so, Omelette was last up (again) and just before we were off to bed she made another bid to get in the house, this time attempting to fly in, except her wings are clipped and she can't fly, so she attempted to flap her way in, which of course doesn't work! Stupid chicken.

Anyway, the eggs seem to be coming well, two yesterday and two again today, one really big one and one smaller one, both laid before 10am! I think these girls are morning layers but still only two between the three of them - not sure who's not laying but that doesn't matter, we enjoy having them (well the gorgeous one doesn't enjoy his poo duties) and would keep them if they never laid another egg.