Madhouse Family Reviews: I now have my 2015 Cal-hen-dar !

A few weeks ago, I was welcomed into The Happy Egg Co's Taste 100 Blogger Network with a rather lovely hen cookie (or I wonder if that should be hen coop-kie?!). As the UK's leading free range egg brand, they believe the tastiest eggs come from the happiest hens and have worked hard to ensure their "girls" have everything they need, from pin-up cockerel calendars to sandpits and activity kits.

I admit it, I thought they were joking about the calendars but it turns out, they weren't ! On their website, they explain : "After reading a study which revealed that hens feel more relaxed and happy in the presence of a cockerel, we decided we’d give our girls some male eye candy. We can’t have cockerels on our farms, so we did the next best thing - and made them a calendar full of hunky heartthrobs - ‘Nice Pecks’ - and put copies up around the farms. The girls loved it, and the calendar was such a success in 2012 that we did it again in 2013."

Not only have they kept the tradition going, they also sent me through a sports-themed Nice Pecks 2015 calendar of my own to put on The Madhouse kitchen wall. I love it and couldn't help but giggle as I looked through the pictures of the sporty cockerels !

The unlikely pin-ups in this year’s high octane calendar include cockerels such as a Light Brahma, a Lincolnshire Buff and a Black Cemani. With a hunger for adventure and adrenalin highs, the cockerels can be seen in a range of sporting scenarios including jumping off slopes in January, riding huge waves in August and snowboarding in December.

The cute pictures were taken by renowned sports and celebrity photographer Ian Derry, who has famously snapped sporting stars including Usain Bolt, David Haye, Tom Daley and Frank Lampard.

Copies of the sporting elite calendar will be given to all happy egg producers, with hundreds available on their Facebook and Twitter pages for hens (and humans) nationwide to enjoy. Keep your eyes open - they've announced that they'll be telling you how to get your hands on one in the next few days.