Diana and Cherie -

Diana and Cherie were the first chickens to call Edgar’s Mission home. Although they are far removed from their wild ancestral cousins, the Red Junglefowl of Southeast Asia, they still know what it means to be a chicken! Spending much of their days scratching and pecking the ground and dust bathing. Arriving in December of 2005 Diana, somewhat larger and with darker feathers than Cherie, delighted us with her friendly nature, boldly coming to greet you, whilst the diminutive Cherie displayed a gentle and inquisitive manner. Diana and Cherie are from the Isa Brown family of chickens who are distinguished by their reddish brown feathers and are noted for their egg laying ability. Chickens with red/brown feathers lay brown eggs while chickens with white feathers lay white eggs.

One of the strongest instincts of a hen is to lay her egg in a nest. She will sit on her fertilized egg for 21 days keeping it warm with her body heat and turning it regularly, up to thirty times a day using her body, feet or beak to ensure that the developing embryo (young chicken) does not stick to the side of the shell. After 21 days the chicken will peck its way out of the egg and emerge to the world with all its feathers wet from the embryonic fluid. The feisty young chick’s feathers will quickly dry as it moves about in search of food.

Recent research has emerged pointing to the cognitive abilities of chickens as equivalent to those of mammals and even primates. In some tests their cognitive ability is beyond that of small children. Chickens have been shown to have memories which see them able to recognize the features of more than 100 other chickens and they are possessed with a complex social order along with around 30 types of vocalizations that can communicate a wealth of information. Moreover chickens, as Diana and Cherie have proven all have unique personalities!