Extremely hard. I still wobble occasionally. I got the, "well let me know if you change your mind" response when I said no.
One of the things that helped me to resist was watching the flock interest in the run the other day. They are much more unkind to Sydney and Phyllis when they are confined. They have tons of available space. Not counting the coop there is ~150 square feet of available run for them with multiple feeding and watering stations. But it seems like they go out of their way to keep Phyllis and Sydney from enjoying anything, from a drink of water to a simple bath. I had to fend them off so Phyllis could dust bathe in peace.
The whole thing gave me pause about adding anyone else to this environment. I know Ned and Lucky, who grew up with them, stayed on the porch, on top of things in the run, or in the coop so they would not be harassed by the Stygian Witches, Aurora, Lilly, and Sansa.
It all just gave me pause. While free ranging everything is much calmer and everyone seems to get along much better. I don't know if it will be snowy this winter, you never do going into it. It was not last winter when I integrated 3 new hens in February. If it is, they are going to have to coexist in that complex. I wonder how disappointed I will be with their behaviour should that come to pass.
Who are you calling witches!
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