Meet Thelma and Louise

[phelpcd1]

Got our 2 pullets today YAYYYY - a barred rock and buff orpington. I had decided on the name prior, but once I had the pleasure of watching them all day, the barred is definately Thelma!!! She is very dominant and much more noisy.....Louise seems to be a docile sweet type of bird.

They explored their coop today, but when it started getting dark, they were running around squaking like crazy....seemed confused and nervous. They both finally made it up the ladder and just sat at the coop door like they didn't know what to do.....I figured they were ready for bed and just confused on what the deal was - I put them inside while hubby closed the door and they both went over and huddled together under the window, not on the perch tho. Is this pretty normal to start off with??

They quieted down and seem to be settled in. Very interesting....I love them already!!

 

[speckledhen]

They'll settle in and calm down soon. Congrats! You have two wonderful breeds. Barred Rocks are my favorite and I have had and still have some beautiful Buff Orpington hens with my blue Orp rooster in my avatar.


I noticed the chicken wire in your picture. You may want to back that with hardware wire. Chicken wire won't keep out predators and wouldn't want you to lose those lovely new girls.

 

[b.hromada]

I agree with Cyn, I just love the Barred Rocks!

I too, also have a couple Buff's, and love them too! Enjoy!!

 

[phelpcd1]

Thanks! And speckled.......yes, we have typical chicken wire except the coop windows are hardware cloth. We are in the middle of town and have a 6' fence surrounding us.........they should be pretty safe. The coop is very secured for night which is when something MIGHT come lurking. I am also home during the day.........they are just neat. My hubby got a kick out of me just watching them today.......my dogs went nuts too!!! They are fenced in so can't get to the coop/run at all. Can't wait to see what transpires tomorrow!!

 

[speckledhen]

Good to know you have hardware cloth on the windows! That should keep out wily raccoons that prowl at night. Enjoy your beautiful new girls!

 

[christineavatar]

There is also:
http://www.niteguard.com/
and
http://www.solarniteeyes.com/

I use the NiteGuard and I went from nightly raids dropped down to nothing. I put up four of them, one in each direction.

 

[Mzkynd]

What cutie pies, your names made me smile

 

[phelpcd1]

I tell you what.............those names are PERFECT for these 2!!! Thelma (barred rock) is so dominant and noisy........she will peck at Louise (buff) if she is grazing a spot that Thelma wants. Louise follows Thelma around like a lost puppy dog and seems to kinda bow down to her (not think on her own or anything - if chickens "think" at all).....I've only had them 2 days now and I've spent a good amount of time watching them....Thelma is kind of a "bi*ch" to Louise if you know what I mean!!! I'm sure they are going to provide us much entertainment.

I do have a question for anyone tho - how long would you let them settle in before allowing them out to roam around the yard freely? I am doubting they could/would fly over our fence, but I don't want to take chances.......was thinking they needed to get settled and feel secure first.