Windy hill chickens - first flock(s) of my own

[kattabelly]

Oh dear. Barely 24 hours later and I've just been sent a video of A (I think, couldn't zoom in on my phone) strutting his stuff, surrounded by a load of Buff Orpington pullets and some others. I've been in those pens and there shouldn't have been any way for him to escape but clearly those girls were all the motivation he needed

 

[kattabelly]

I think they call this "living his best life"

Lucky he's such a gentleman. I'm not sure my older girls had fully clobbered the rudeness out of B yet.

 

[kattabelly]

Keep meaning to make a note of this, so while I remember - roosting time tipped over to being after sunset some time in the last week or so. I can mind happening to look at the time 15 days ago when sunset was 18:51 and they went in at that time exactly. It probably wibbled around being slightly earlier or later depending on the weather and what they were doing for another week or so after that, but they're definitely starting to hang around into dusk now.

Need to make an effort to get up there at the right time to see when they're getting up in the mornings at the moment too.

 

[kattabelly]

Had to drag those poor rock girls off the roost this morning, they're so feart of everything that they just stayed huddled there even when I pulled the whole side of their house away so they had a better view of outside. I think I'd forgotten that most chickens aren't used to the chaos and constant change that mine tend to grow up with, so this was unexpected but I know they'll be fine soon enough. They'd already started dust bathing by this afternoon. I'm making a point of handling my tamer birds and hand-feeding everyone by the fence so they can see the other chickens trust me.

They really want to be with the others when they can see them through the fence, and get agitated when they're not visible, but they're used to being in a big group of pullets the same age and meeting the slightly older birds is going to be a bit of a shock. The two Hylines have been chatting to them through the fence a lot and most of the others have shown at least some interest, apart from the older rock pullet who's refused to even acknowledge their existence so far. The new two seem more keen on flying than most of my current lot, so I think I'm going to have to open up the internal doors between runs but keep them locked in for a bit when I do first let them mix, if I want to avoid them going over the plot fence and disappearing off through the fields. Might try putting just the littles in with them at first since they're so much less intimidating but already pretty confident about mixing with the big chickens.

Confirmed both the Hylines are laying now, and Yellow Legs has taken to laying what looks like a huge duck egg every other day, but no more soft shells from the other Light Sussex unless she's laying very early or late and they're getting eaten. Nothing to indicate she's about to start laying and I'm not expecting it yet but I heard the Norfolk Grey making actual chicken noises for the first time the other day. She's usually pretty silent.

 

[kattabelly]

Sunset 18:06 yesterday and three minutes earlier today. Both nights they were more or less roosting (one or two just heading in and the others still rearranging themselves) by 18:30.

Got a green egg, one from one of the Hylines - possibly my Good Lady Chickenwife as I suspect the heavy, white speckledy bloom is a new starter thing and Lady Muck is now laying darker brown - and another giant one from this silly goose, for the second day running.

One of the Shetlands needed another trim, and I'm still giving the wheaten some mash and scrambled egg with added vitamins once a week because she often looks slightly twitchy and twisty even when she can definitely see properly. Easier to separate them for that, so they came in with the new girls for a short while without any drama. Since they're already interacting through the fence and not being quarantined in any real way I decided to bring the older Rock pullet in after. She sat on my shoulder and ate from my hand for a bit, then one of them tried squaring up to her when she got down. Couple of quick pecks was all it took to learn that lesson and she didn't chase them at all once the point was made. Tonight they eventually got up the nerve to snatch some boiled egg from my hand and then run away to eat it.