I took away two of Suede's four girls and two of Scout's three girls. Yep, and they weren't happy to see their women on the outside of the fence with the entire laying flock and Hawkeye. Charlotte, my blue Ameraucana, kept wanting to be picked up and carried around and even Nelda, my shy Speckled Sussex girl, flew up to my DH's arm to get away from the pecking hordes below. Scout is very upset that they're gone. The two Brahmas, Miranda and Caroline, have been with the flock before, so they are not completely in the dark about where everything is in the main coop. A good sign is that Nelda laid her egg in the new (to her) coop today. So, hopefully, I will be able to keep them with the layers. Hawkeye is very gentle and sweet and does not mate new girls right away, so they'll be safe from his attentions for a couple of days, most likely. So they will get to mesh with the flock a little before having to contend with a new rooster's attentions.
One reason I did it today is that both Charlotte and Nelda are favored by Scout over Silver and were wearing saddles. Poor Nelda is practically bald, too! Now, they're free of the saddles. The saddles were washed, dried and are now on Skye and Velvet, who are beginning to lose feathers in their saddle areas. Also, I was beginning to occasionally have a difficult time telling Miranda's egg from Velvet's and I didn't want to accidentally put hers in a hatching egg order of Blue Orps. Scout and Silver will be gone by the end of this weekend to their new owner, along with the extra Ameraucana chicks, leaving only Gabriel, my Barred Rock cockerel, his little sister, Zoe,(at least I sure hope Zoe isn't a late-blooming Zachary!) and Kate's Ameraucana pullet I'm keeping for her for another week or so. I may put them in the Ameraucana's little coop by themselves temporarily till Zoe is a little larger. Gabriel is absolutely large enough to go in with the main flock, but I don't want Zoe to be alone. So my game of Musical Chickens begins...
One reason I did it today is that both Charlotte and Nelda are favored by Scout over Silver and were wearing saddles. Poor Nelda is practically bald, too! Now, they're free of the saddles. The saddles were washed, dried and are now on Skye and Velvet, who are beginning to lose feathers in their saddle areas. Also, I was beginning to occasionally have a difficult time telling Miranda's egg from Velvet's and I didn't want to accidentally put hers in a hatching egg order of Blue Orps. Scout and Silver will be gone by the end of this weekend to their new owner, along with the extra Ameraucana chicks, leaving only Gabriel, my Barred Rock cockerel, his little sister, Zoe,(at least I sure hope Zoe isn't a late-blooming Zachary!) and Kate's Ameraucana pullet I'm keeping for her for another week or so. I may put them in the Ameraucana's little coop by themselves temporarily till Zoe is a little larger. Gabriel is absolutely large enough to go in with the main flock, but I don't want Zoe to be alone. So my game of Musical Chickens begins...
