🐾 La Ruche Animals – Old & New

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First published: August 2025

Last updated: May 2026

At La Ruche, right next to Ursula Gîte in Nicorps, animals aren’t just part of the scenery — they’re part of the family. Over the years, we’ve shared our home with dogs, cats, chickens, ducks, and even llamas. Many arrived after being rescued or rehomed from difficult pasts, and every single one has a story worth telling 🐶🐔🦙.

Guests staying here often tell us that meeting the animals becomes one of the highlights of their holiday. From feeding the llamas to collecting freshly laid eggs, it’s all part of what makes life at Holidays-Normandy feel a little different.

Some of the animals mentioned here are sadly no longer with us, but they remain a huge part of the story of La Ruche and Holidays-Normandy ❤️.

🐕 Our Rescue Dogs – Loyal Hearts from Two Countries

We moved from the UK to France with two beautiful border collies who taught us everything about loyalty and resilience:

• Kryten – A Welsh collie with epilepsy, who defied every prognosis and lived to the grand age of 16. His determination, joy and tail wag could brighten even a stormy Normandy day 🧡
• Hallie – An Irish collie born with cerebellar hypoplasia, a neurological condition more commonly seen in cats. She was wobbly, funny and full of spirit, living peacefully to 8 years old and passing in her favourite sunny spot in the garden 🌼

When we arrived in France, the rescues continued — because animals in need always seem to find their way to La Ruche.

• Brien – Rescued from the SPA in Cherbourg, this Austrian border collie is still going strong at 12+. Deaf but unstoppable, his obsession with tennis balls is legendary 🎾❤️
• Gipsi – Rescued from Brittany, wise and slightly grumpy in her later years, but loyal to the end. She made it to 14 💞
• Bubbles – A golden retriever found abandoned and 20kg underweight near La Ruche. After a bath, we realised he wasn’t brown — just muddy. He recovered quickly and became Robin’s not-so-secret favourite. Tragically, he later died after eating a poisoned rat, which remains one of the reasons we never use poison anywhere on the property 💔🐾

Every one of them brought laughter, muddy paw prints and a sense of purpose. Visitors often remark how calm and trusting our dogs are — gentle souls who reflect the quiet life they’ve found here.

🐈 The Cats of La Ruche – Mischief, Comfort & Character

Columbia and Magenta came from the Cats Protection League in London and travelled to France with us, where they quickly claimed the loft at La Ruche as their kingdom 🐱.

Sadly, we lost beautiful Magenta on 29 January 2024 after a battle with mouth cancer. It wasn’t an easy illness, and saying goodbye was heartbreaking, but she was incredibly brave right to the end. She is finally out of pain now — and very much missed.

Her sister Columbia, better known as “Lummy”, is still going strong. She has fully embraced retirement life, taking enough cuddles — and stealing enough food — for both of them. She’s also in an ongoing competition with Janet the llama for “largest belly at La Ruche”, and honestly it’s too close to call 🧡

Eddie is our latest arrival. She appeared after Storm Ciarán, bedraggled, shouting at us and absolutely determined to stay. We gave her a safe space in the barn — the same building that houses Ursula Gîte and a few other areas which may one day become another gîte 👀.

She is now queen of the house, and yes, she sleeps on Mum’s bed every night 😼.

If you find her sneaking into Ursula Gîte, please feel free to gently escort her back outside. She means no harm… but she absolutely will try to move in permanently, especially if snacks are involved.

🐓 Chickens, Ducks & the Everyday Farmyard Choir

We’ve rehomed hens through Poules pour Tous, a fantastic French organisation that gives rescued laying hens a second chance at a happy free-range life 🐔🥚.

Our hens now enjoy big open spaces, sunshine, dust baths and the occasional chat with a llama. Children staying at the gîte love collecting eggs in the morning — it’s one of those simple little moments people remember long after the holiday ends.

The ducks have had quite the history here over the years. We’ve raised dozens — many hand-reared from tiny ducklings after their mother vanished on day one. Some eventually flew off to start their own adventures, while others sadly fell victim to Mr Fox back before the llamas arrived and started patrolling the fields 🦆.

These days, we have seven boys left — all hand-reared, all ridiculous, and all very convinced they own the terrace. They still waddle up demanding snacks and attention, and the sound of their little feet on the patio somehow remains one of the nicest sounds in the world.

🐓 Roger the Rooster – Diplomat, Referee & Unexpected Local Legend

On 21 August 2024, we introduced Roger the rooster to the flock in the hope he’d help calm tensions between some of our more opinionated rescue hens. Rescue chickens, it turns out, can be surprisingly dramatic.

A friend told us that if we wanted a rooster with a good temperament, we should look for either a Sussex or a Brahma. Naturally, this led me straight to my favourite French app: Leboncoin 👀.

After a quick search for “coq”, there he was — right here in Nicorps. A Sussex-Brahma mix rooster being given away for free.

Honestly, at that point it felt less like shopping and more like fate quietly doing admin.

He was named Roger after Roger Miller, the voice of the rooster in Disney’s Robin Hood — which somehow suited him immediately. Slightly chaotic, oddly confident, and very convinced he’s in charge of everything (although he is scared of his own shadow).

Since arriving, Roger has taken his role as flock mediator extremely seriously. He patrols the garden like a tiny feathery security guard, keeps an eye on the hens, and announces every sunrise with maximum enthusiasm whether anyone requested it or not 🐓.

We seem to get a lot of these strange little “meant to be” moments here at La Ruche — and somehow, Leboncoin is involved in an alarming number of them.

🦙 The Llamas – Gentle, Quirky & Proudly Independent

Ursula, Pichou and Janet are our elegant field guardians. Rehomed from difficult situations, they’ve transformed here into calm, confident characters who fascinate guests.

Ursula is the matriarch — observant but kind. Pichou is shy, quiet and always watchful. Janet, Ursula’s daughter, is a diva. She’ll happily pose for photographs and accept carrots with great enthusiasm, but cuddles remain strictly optional 🥕.

The llamas live in spacious pastures overlooking Nicorps and the surrounding countryside. Guests often say watching them graze in the morning mist feels strangely calming — better than meditation, according to more than one visitor.

If you stay with us, you’re always welcome to come and meet them. Just ask, and we’ll happily introduce you safely and provide carrots.

🌿 Caring for Our Animals – The La Ruche Way

People often ask how we manage so many animals. The answer is simple: patience, routine, love, and an endless quantity of apple peelings 🍏.

All our animals are vaccinated, microchipped and given space to live naturally. We avoid poisons and harsh chemicals wherever possible, relying instead on careful land and pasture management to keep both the animals and the environment healthy.

We also support local rescue efforts across Normandy, from SPA shelters to smaller independent sanctuaries. If you’re considering adopting while in France, we’re always happy to share advice and contacts — there are many wonderful animals here still waiting for a second chance ❤️.

🏡 Meeting the Animals During Your Stay

Guests often say the animals completely change the atmosphere of their stay. Whether you’re visiting as a couple, with friends, or as a family, they bring warmth and life to the surroundings.

In the mornings you might hear hens clucking, ducks chatting or the llamas humming softly in the field. It’s all part of staying in the Normandy countryside.

Families often spend hours simply watching everything happening around them — or joining in. From brushing llamas to collecting eggs or throwing Brien his beloved tennis ball, it’s a peaceful antidote to modern life.

Our home isn’t a petting zoo — it’s simply a home shared with animals. But for people who love nature, kindness and slower living, the connection can feel very special.

💬 Why We Rescue – And What It Teaches Us

It was never some grand plan. Somehow, the animals simply keep finding us.

Every rescue starts the same way — a frightened face, a vet visit to check for a microchip, and a conversation that usually ends with “well… I suppose they live here now.”

Over time, we’ve realised caring for animals teaches patience, humility and perspective in ways nothing else really can. Every scar, wobble, limp and strange little habit tells a story of survival.

We often joke that we only seem to attract “the broken ones” — but to us they’ve always been perfect exactly as they are.

🌾 The Bigger Picture – Life with Animals in Normandy

Life in Normandy still moves alongside nature. Cows fill the fields, swallows dart through old barns, and tractors hum across the countryside at dawn.

Living among animals keeps us grounded and grateful. It’s part of what makes La Manche feel different — a slower rhythm that still respects the land and the creatures living on it.

Visitors often describe staying here as restorative. Maybe it’s the calm. Maybe it’s Eddie purring on a windowsill, Brien asleep in the sun, or the llamas watching the sunset from the field.

Whatever it is, the animals at La Ruche make this place feel alive, loved and very real 🐾.

🌟 Final Thought – Heart, Home & Second Chances

At La Ruche, every animal — past or present — has shaped this place in some way.

They remind us that healing takes time, kindness matters, and second chances can change everything.

So if you visit and want to meet them, just ask. We’ll introduce you to the llamas, show you where the hens hide their eggs, and probably tell you far too many stories along the way.

Because at Holidays-Normandy, it’s never just about where you stay — it’s about who you share it with 🐕🐈🦙❤️.

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