My favourite day of the year – bar none – is when we go to collect our new ex-commercial hens from the British Hen Welfare Trust and bring them home to enjoy a happy retirement. This July, we rehomed four gorgeous girls who we named after heroines from Shakespeare’s comedies in celebration of the 400th anniversary of the great man’s death. So let me introduce you to…

Hermia – who I hope is going to grow lots more feathers very soon.

Viola – who is very inquisitive and follows us around the garden.

Beatrice – the top hen of this little flock who keeps everyone in check.

And Rosalind – a very vocal hen who lays beautiful pale eggs.

Collectively known as The Shakespeare sisters!

Viola and Hermia are the little uns and have so many bare patches that I’ve been trying to pop a bit of sun cream on them as they are keen sun worshippers.

It’s wonderful to have the hen head count up to seven. The garden was looking a bit depleted with just three, but the old girls haven’t taken kindly to the new arrivals and I fear that further battles will be fought before the flock settles down!