My first little flock!

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Thank you so much to everyone for the warm welcome (or welcome back, I suppose)! This is such a fabulous forum. I have not posted much but I read here almost every day. So much great information!

TwoCrows said:
Hello there and welcome to BYC! :frow

Aww...I am glad you got her some friends. It takes time to mix birds together. You might cage the new ones for a while so they can get to know each other from behind wire at first. After a couple weeks of seeing one another, they should all get along ok. Watch them all closely at first to make sure everybody is eating and drinking.

Enjoy your birds and welcome to our group! :)
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Thank you! For the few days I had Bobette, I used a covered x-pen during the day so she could be outside. I'm going to use that again so that my current girls can see her but not hurt her. Then I just need to decide whether I want to try putting her in the coop with them at night once they're sleeping, or bringing her inside in a carrier. We shall see how they all respond to each other!

chuckachucka said:
It's lovely that you've taken in the older hens, particularly Agatha. I hope when Bobette joins them they all get on well.
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Thank you! I feel really lucky to have Agatha. The seniors (of all animals) always get me; they have so much to offer but are often overlooked. She was apparently raised as a pet until the family's chicken keeping really took off, and then she was one of 35. She seemed to miss the human contact so her mum was happy to have her go to a smaller flock where she could be more of a pet again.

rjohns39 said:
Hi and welcome again to BYC :frow It just wasn't in the cards for you to wait for spring;)
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Hahaha, so true!! I really doubted at times, though. My husband and I had so many build plans that just never happened due to work or school or family commitments. When I found my coop builder, it was a godsend! I have thrown myself into it since then so I could bring my Bobette home.
 
GemmaA said:
Hello, lovely chicken people!

Some of you might remember me from my first post here. I had found a chicken in downtown Akron while out buying groceries. No one claimed her and, based on her breed and cut beak, the general consensus was that she fell off the back of a truck on the way to processing. Well, I am very fortunate because I found a lady willing to foster Bobette (as she was quickly named). There was a time where I thought I wasn't going to be able to bring Bobette home but I happened to find a local couple who build chicken coops as a side business. With the craziness of the holidays, it took a while to be made but I finally received it last Sunday.

Once I had the delivery date confirmed, I reached out to a few people on Facebook and asked if they had some docile, smaller hens who might need a new home. Older girls who have stopped laying were fine. Well, apparently that is the magic phrase because I was inundated in offers! I finally settled on an elderly (but still sprightly) ISA brown from a young lady in Middlefield, and then 2 other ISA browns from someone who lives just down the road from me. They all came home on Friday, and I am watching them for signs of RIs or diarrhea. If all are doing well by next Friday, Bobette is finally coming home!

Here is the coop as it was delivered. It's about 4x8ft.

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It needed predator proofing and some winter prep. Sadly for me, our temps dropped sharply and it started snowing so I spent Monday working outside in absolutely frigid conditions. I also got scratches all over my hands from the hardware cloth! But it got done. :)

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The hardware cloth covers 2ft all around the base of the coop, and 1ft out along the ground like an apron. I couldn't bury it as the ground was frozen so I used steel tent pegs to secure it, as well as bricks, rocks, and wood stumps to hold it to the ground. The corners were carefully covered with hardware cloth as well. The door to the run was also covered, as was the vent at the top of the coop. I also placed a large, heavy cement slab in front of the door to prevent a predator digging in. The tarp is a heavy duty, winter tarp to provide a wind block and cover. I also added heavy locks to both access points so no tricksy raccoons can just open the doors.

The first hen I picked up on Friday is also the oldest. She's about 7-8 years old and still active and happy! I named her Agatha. She's easy to identify since she's a little darker than the others. She is not laying eggs, unsurprisingly!

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I then picked up the two younger girls. They're about 2 years old and have slowed down with egg production, although I was told they do still lay. The larger one is Meatbutt (named by a 3 year old boy, LOL!) and the smaller one is Peckington. I was going to change their names to something more dignified but, alas, they kind of stuck in my head! Also, my husband thinks it's hilarious.

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So these are my girls! I am hopeful I can integrate Bobette into this little flock. Agatha was the queen for a night but Meatbutt now rules the roost. Agatha is second and Peckington is on the bottom of the pecking order, currently. All are eating and drinking well.

In the Spring, I will be building a walk-in run so they have more space and I can hang with them. I might also build a smaller coop so I can raise some pullets. We shall see!

Thanks for looking. :)[/QUOTE
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Hello Gemma and welcome to BYC!! It’s so nice to have you join us. welcome.gif
It's great to hear how things are working out. Lovely introduction!

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If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask one of us. :)
 

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