Ribh's D'Coopage

[BY Bob]

I had put my big girls back in the coop & fed both lots before heading back inside where I said to the man: Do you hear that? The sound of silence.

I looked out the window.

All the Littlies were in the sandpit dust bathing frantically. The Bigs were snuggled in the leaf litter soaking up the last of the sun. It was very peaceful.
Roosting is still a little fraught as everyone jockeys for position but we are getting there.
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Morrigu & Mebh.​

You have yourself some understanding hens there. What a nice integration you are having.

 

[micstrachan]

I had been waiting for this for a while.
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Looks a lot better than yesterday. Not quite there yet.
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Now you don't get many post like this.

Is that Nolia? She looks good and poop doesn’t look so bad!

 

[micstrachan]

Alpia, Aoife & Wrold.
The new girls are all grooming & sun/dust bathing. Aoife was the only new girl to roost on the top bar last night & she wasn't moving for anybody. As she's quite lowly ranked I was surprised but she'd managed to wedge herself between Lottie & Ha'penny. Good choice if you're a Campine & want to stay where you are.
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My big girls don't seemed stressed by the change.
I had a senior moment this morning & left the run open. Everyone was out & heading down the path to the vegetable garden!

And then there are the eggs. Beatha & Mhari have laid consistently every day. Still has novelty value round here.

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Beautiful birds and eggs! Are these pullets the Campines?

 

[micstrachan]

I had put my big girls back in the coop & fed both lots before heading back inside where I said to the man: Do you hear that? The sound of silence.

I looked out the window.

All the Littlies were in the sandpit dust bathing frantically. The Bigs were snuggled in the leaf litter soaking up the last of the sun. It was very peaceful.
Roosting is still a little fraught as everyone jockeys for position but we are getting there.
View attachment 2032707
Morrigu & Mebh.​

You have some great chicken names, most of whjch I have no heard before.

 

[Shadrach]

They are the hardest to photograph of course. If I can catch them they can be handled though so I have high hopes of them settling soon. They aren't quite the screamers Tuppence & Ha'penny were when they arrived & they are nowhere near Ha'penny's size yet. While she wasn't quite game to eat from my hand Beatha [Araucana] did eat from the small tub I was holding this afternoon. Another small step in keeping everything as calm as possible & ensuring everyone gets enough to eat.

Do you want them human friendly as in lap sitters for example?

 

[Shadrach]

Is that Nolia? She looks good and poop doesn’t look so bad!

It is Nolia. Yep, we seem to be getting there.
She had a check over this morning. Got some more vitamins down her neck and much to her indignation I caught her five times over the day to do a bit of crop massage.
Had her in the house tonight for a better check over. Her vent has some colour in it now and she's eating much more. She's still first to roost but I don't know if that's making sure the others know she's got the senior spot, or not.

 

[Ribh]

Do you want them human friendly as in lap sitters for example?

No, but I do need to be able to handle them & preferably in daylight. It may be easier to lift a chicken off the roost after dark but it's not much good if I then can't see anything. These days I need very good light or my eyes let me down. And I don't need any ijits flying into the wire while I work in the coop. Even though I hand feed Ha'penny & Lottie they always choose to feed @ a tub once the bigger girls have moved on so it's more about convenience than cuddling. I have cats for that.

 

[Ribh]

It is Nolia. Yep, we seem to be getting there.
She had a check over this morning. Got some more vitamins down her neck and much to her indignation I caught her five times over the day to do a bit of crop massage.
Had her in the house tonight for a better check over. Her vent has some colour in it now and she's eating much more. She's still first to roost but I don't know if that's making sure the others know she's got the senior spot, or not.

I'm glad she's doing so well, Shad. Well done to her keeper!

 

[Ribh]

You have some great chicken names, most of whjch I have no heard before.

Thank you. I have borrowed from Celtic mythology & the Pictish annals for this lot.

 

[Ribh]

Beautiful birds and eggs! Are these pullets the Campines?

Alpia & Wrold are Wyandotte Bantams. Aoife is a silver Campine. I'm sorry. At the moment everyone is quite hard to tell apart due to size & colouring & my man is insisting I get some more gold Campines to add a little colour back into the flock. I don't object but I could be waiting a while.