The New Flock 2021: Back to Basics

[speckledhen]

Here are the pics I took yesterday.

 

[speckledhen]

Mace and Iris are turning 11 weeks old in two days. Almost time to let them sink or swim in the flock. When Hector is gone, I believe that Mace will be the new flock rooster for those four remaining Barred Rock hens in that group.
Last picture is nosy Cricket looking into that pen to see if she can get some of what I'm giving them, which was nothing. She is having a hard time getting back into the swing of things in her group, but she doesn't want those two youngsters near her any longer.

 

[speckledhen]

Considering that Mace has such a lovely comb, I think Gunnar must be his sire. Bodie's comb is not great, but Gunnar's is stunning. He has the most beautiful head of all the little guys and such kind, soft eyes.

 

[speckledhen]

Mace and Iris will be 13 weeks on Monday. They are fully integrated with the flock now. They seem to pal around with Forrest more than anyone else. Guess he's happy someone else is finally lower on the totem pole than he is, LOL. Bee and Luna give them more grief than anyone other than Cricket (who is broody again); one of those is Mace's mother. The EE hens ignore them most of the time.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

They are gorgeous.

 

[speckledhen]

They are pretty adorable, aren't they? Soon, if things go well, this group will be even larger. Hector's four hens are going to be integrated with this flock and the process began today. No blood was shed. They all avoided each other like the plague. If I can add those four big hens to this group of 15, formerly 13, but now Mace and Iris are added, then I don't have to remove Mace from the flock and separate him from Iris. We'll see how it goes.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Hopefully it goes easy Cynthia. Less groups is less work.

 

[speckledhen]

Hopefully it goes easy Cynthia. Less groups is less work.

Yes and it means both groups can stay out longer since they're out together, don't have to divide up their time. If it doesn't work out, I guess I can give Hector's hens to Mace, but I would rather they be one big group. Fewer groups, definitely less work! Now, if Cricket would stop this broody nonsense...

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I just broke a bunch of 8 broody bantam hens. They just keep going and going. I now wait until I have a group and break them all together by moving them to a pen in my other shed for about 5 days. They are persistent.

 

[speckledhen]

I can't imagine having that many at once. Cricket sure is crazy persistent! She is the only one of that entire group of bantam Cochins and EEs who has ever gone broody and this is about 5 or 6 times in her year and a half of life. No way I want to do this again going into cold weather and trying to integrate two groups before it gets super frosty. If I'm successful in doing that, I will have 19 birds in one group with 5 bantam Cochin roosters (but Forrest doesn't really count since he cannot breed, though he can pull feathers-bless his heart).

Yesterday, there was a dog at our pasture gate watching my birds. I had just let that young group out for the second time in late afternoon and was standing in the pen wiht them since the Barred Rocks were also out; I don't want to leave them alone until I'm reasonably sure they will get along. I looked up and saw this dog. Thankfully, I had not let them out to free range because Mace and Iris are still of a size that they can easily pass through the livestock fencing openings and I want to be there if they're outside the big barn pen. I know I've seen that dog before on my game camera, a pretty big brown one with Doberman-like markings. I yelled to my husband to bring a "dog deterrent" because I thought it was inside the fence at first and in a few minutes, heard someone at the next neighbor's house calling the dog. I guess it was a visitor or they had let the mutt out. The former owner died a couple of years ago and his son inherited the place, don't know who lives there with him now. I adore dogs, but if it comes to a choice between my birds and said mutt, you know who wins if I have a say in it. I really want my own dog again as a protector for us and our animals, but our fences on two sides are compromised and need replacing so I can't get one at this point in time.