My two newbies are doing great!

[silkeysandra]

Just wanted to say I have added two new Mille Fleurs to our flock--actually they are being kept seperate until they are clucky--still a little chirpy--so they will be treated more as pals. My Millie hen was interested a time or two, but the newbies immediately wanted her to be Mommy and she was not interested. Oh well... there is always time.
Gerty, my oldest Silkey, gets upset and yells if the newbies get upset. I can here her from the house! She's got a set of pipe!!! This evening, I have been trying to get the new girls to follow me to their night quarters and they did this time, but got all anxious once they got inside and began to holler (it's chickey loud noises, but everything hollers! ha!) and she came out of her house and went right to the little ones and talked to them. Who knows what she said, but they stopped making noise and let me pick them up to go in their night house. Gerty went back in her house after i filled her cup with food and the rest of the evening chores went well.
I will be glad when I can turn them out with the others--I'm sure sometime this summer. One has already quit making chirpies and is semi-clucky, though a little rusty. ha!
They are fun to watch as they stay in the protected pen in the afternoon when the big girls get to go play in the back yard. Such sweeties.

 

[silkeysandra]

Well, they all got put into the morning protected pen this last monday, the 27th with one exception. I left Gerty in her cage--against her protest, she likes to be first--to see if that would help her quit her pecking the new girls. Guess what!? I let her in the pen about 10 minutes afterwards and she behaved herself! I think that lowered her on the pecking shelf, maybe. I have witnessed the three new girls lined up to get their (rather weak) peck from Gerty--homage to her greatness??--from time to time. Wierd, huh?! Anyway, they all seem to have no anger toward anybody now and I have seen Gerty and Hilda side by side hunting insects. Hilda wants to be friends with Gerty very much and is such a sweet girl. She's the buff silkie in the photo album. I got a confirmed egg from Twinkle today, who I was worried might be a boy (had a more prominent comb than the others) and am happy. I would hate to have to find him a home away from his friends.

 

[SimplyForties]

Nice to have such a good integration!