I've reached another urban smallholding milestone today. I talked my lovely husband into taking me to Henley in Arden market today, knowing full well that there was a poultry auction... I had never been to one and really, I just wanted to know what it was like. My husband suggested that he get us a card to wave at the auctioneer and went off to register us at the office. It was very like I had seen on the television in that I had difficulty understanding what the auctioneer was saying. There were some tall men in front of me so I had trouble seeing what bird was being held up to view and with not understanding the auctioneer very well - it was difficult. I astonished my husband by bidding on a Light Sussex with 12 chicks. I bid £24 for her and her babies and then took fright and stopped. The auctioneer said, "Don't say 'no' madam, say 'yes' ". I suddenly thought that it would just be my luck that all the babies would survive to adulthood and would be all female and then where would I house so many? Or even worse, they would all be male and would have to "go" and then I would be left with one solitary hen. I should have risked it because they were beautiful and sold for £25. Light Sussex point of lay are nearly that each. After a while I bid on 4 Light Sussex "growers" - which astonished my husband even more. He assumed "growers" were male birds destined for the freezer/table. From all the reading I've done about hens, I assumed that term meant birds which were too large to be called chicks but were too small to be pullets/point of lay. So I've now bought 4 birds (for £10) and I don't know whether they are male or female, layers or, gulp, for the freezer.

If they are male, then that is a second milestone passed, the first being to bid at an auction.

The animals have increased in number again: 3 cats, 3 rabbits and 12 assorted poultry.