I once had four lovely and healthy layer hens.

One morning in the garden, I found an insidious murder had been committed, as I counted the bodies of three red hens. I figured it wasn't a fox, so it must have been yet another dog-attack. But where was the fourth little black hen?

Fluffy spots of black feathers littered the lawn, and there was no sign of her body. Maybe the murderer was a hungry fox after all?

The next evening, she appeared from right down the back-corner, shaken and bleeding on the shoulder.

I applied sliced Aloe vera leaves to patch-up her injuries. Then I watched as she pecked it all off and gobbled it all up instead! Luckily, some of the gel remained to help soothe and cleanse the wounds.

The black hen, affectionately known as Zoomie, fully recovered and still lays one beautiful egg for me each day.