Although we put some extra perches in the chicken’s shed the girls always perch on the main back perch. I think the side perches were used at first by the lower ranking girls because it got them away from being pecked at but as the flock have settled down and also perhaps with the colder weather they have all taken to perching together on the back perch.
Butterscotch always goes in last and often quite a while after the other girls but she is a confident girl and once in she quickly pushes her way to a spot around the middle of the perch.
Peaches and Barley are the only girls that choose to perch next to each other and if they can’t manage to find a space next to each other they do a lot of jumping up and down from the perches and they make a sound that sounds like they are crying.
Last night I could hear this whimpering sound that they make and I looked in and saw that Topaz was so close to Peaches that Barley couldn’t find a space to get in. I thought that she stood no chance of moving the formidable Topaz along.
A few minutes later the shed was quiet and I looked in again. Barley had managed to squeeze herself next to Peaches and Topaz had a stern look on her face but all the girls were settled.
This is the usual bedtime line up
Peaches and Barley are together and Topaz looks stern
Their combs are looking lovely and red and I keep thinking that we may get some eggs soon. Last year Topaz started laying half way through January and Peaches and Barley at the end of January. Honey and Emerald started in March and Toffee in April. Speckles is the unknown quantity so it will be interesting to see how she does.
I can only imagine the chaos when all the girls are either laying or going broody (you two know who you are). I am sure it will be interesting!
Click here to see the history of my flock.
I was interested to see that they face different ways . Do they all face the same way each night.?
It seems to be completely random which way they face except that Peaches and Barley always face the same way as each other.
Don’t mess w/ the sleeping line up. My girls sleep in the exact same spots every night. I’m almost hesitant to get more chicks in the spring because of the drama it will cause when they are finally old enough to roost w/ the big girls.
I sort of feel the same in that I thought the side perches would be good for new girls but why would I want to add new girls to the mix. The difference is how many girls we have. I have decided that I don’t want more than eight but not less than six. You have room for more and I think you will want to add more soon. It will sort itself out as it always does in the end. You know you have to have the drama, it can’t run smoothly all of the time but will be worth it in the end. I will be watching your space!