Togetherness

Despite a bit of pecking over the treats, afterwards the chickens settle really close together to preen and snooze. All disputes are soon forgotten and they just can’t get close enough. Pepper and Dotty are especially close as they have been together since less than a month old. Even when trying to get at the same treats, I have never once seen them peck at each other and find it hard to imagine that they ever would. They are completely tolerant of each other and are always together.

Dotty on the left and Pepper on the right

I love the way after a feed they all preen and snooze together.

They snooze

So close

Dotty is a month younger than the other girls and the only one who still has her baby twitter. Yesterday for the first time I heard her go “boc, boc boc”. She is finally getting her grown up voice.

Last night when I sat with the girls as they were ready to go to bed, my next door neighbour started mowing the lawn with his electric mower. It was pretty loud and really unsettled the girls. I think if it wasn’t bed time they wouldn’t have taken much notice but they kept going in, then coming out again when the noise was loudest.

At one point they all went in and I decided to retreat so as not to distract them further, and then half an hour later I decided to check on them to make sure they were all in okay. I am so glad I did, there was Dotty still wandering around the garden area of the enclosure after the coop door had shut.

I crouched by the coop and held the door open while calling her name and she casually came over to me and stepped in. I shut the door and retreated. She must have popped out again just before the door shut but she wasn’t panicked. I was quite pleased that she responded to being called though, she didn’t rush as if worried at all but did come when called which was a relief.

This is the first time this has happened but I will be checking on them each evening to see if the door closer needs adjusting or if this was just a one off. Dotty is quite a little character!