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The Hen Woman Francine Raymond loves chickens. In fact she's so keen on her Buff Orpingtons that she's opened the house to them as she told Melissa Viney...  Francine |
Francine has always loved birds, and never wanted to keep them in cages. So when the family moved from South London to Suffolk, keeping chickens was one of the joys opened to her. Hester's grand daughters |
Francine says that six is about the right number to keep. Hester is one of the original batch, and she has had children and grand children. She's now about six - which is a pretty good age for a hen.
Cockerels can be a problem. They are very good at looking after 'their girls', but are 'rampant'. In fact a piece of cloth called an Orpington Saddle has been produced to protect the hens feathers from being ruffled into oblivion.
Francine lives at her shop, The Kitchen Garden and has become known as 'the hen woman' around her village. Each Easter she has a 'hen party' and last year around 700 people came along for the show, demonstrations and egg hunt.
Francine's sons, Max and James are fine about the hens, though pleased that they have so far restricted their domain to the ground floor of the house. Max and his friends, who play drum 'n bass until the early hours, have found going to bed just as the cock is waking inconvenient.
 Hester |
MORE INFORMATION:
All you've ever wanted to know about Buff Orpintons
The Kitchen Garden is at: Church Lane, Troston
Bury St. Edmunds
Suffolk
The Kitchen Garden's website includes details of Francine's books, including "Keeping a Few Hens in the Garden".
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