now, i know that chicken keeping on a domestic scale was never declared a financially viable proposition, but honestly! 1 egg from 16 chix - what kind of return is that?

we are having yo-yo production for some reason only known to my feathered friends.

according to the media, those of us over 50 are becomming 'grey power' - using our 'grey pounds' to swan off on gap years, having retired from our well paid jobs on enormous pensions - that presumably allow us to continue to run a house in england as well as counting turtles in costa rica. this tendancy to retire from meaningful employmeny at an indecently early age appears to have extended into my chicken community. girls who were happily laying 6 months ago have decided, apparently overnight, to pack up providing and to take up 'grey beaking'.

this change in career has resulted in them taking up prolonged sun bathing in the grasses around the pond, counting the recently purchased younger chickens who live in the (new) costa del fortune chicken house and inordinate gorging on the cake that my neighbour keeps chucking over the fence.

like the government, i conclude that the figures do not add up. the tax payers among the flock (those deeming to lay eggs) are increasingly outnumbered by the 'spongers' ( all benefits without contributions). though i am unlikely to take action to redress the balance by culling any grey-beakers, i may have to resort to government-like proceedings and open my borders to more 'incommers' whilst waiting for the 'spongers' to die of laziness and hardened arteries resulting from an over consumption of chocolate swiss roll.

l