Three new girls

I was so excited this morning to go and choose some new girls from Dave. I was open minded as to whether I would have two or three. I wanted them all to be different.

Dave has beautiful black cockerels and I asked if he had any black hens. I was disappointed that he said he doesn’t keep black ones as he doesn’t like the dark colours and they aren’t popular for selling. I would have loved one!

Most of his girls were a combination of similar colours to Rusty and Freckles. He had a gorgeous blue hen but said she wasn’t for sale as he only had one and wants to breed from her.

He had only one hen left that has what he calls srizzle feathers. She is a cross between silky and frizzle feathers. I said I would have her to give me a third feather type. She is a bit bald but it’s due to her moulting and her head is full of pins and so are her wings so she will look much better when fully feathered.

I then picked a brown straight feathered hen as she was the only brown one. When he checked her over he said she had a few red mite around her vent so he would rather not sell her to me. He said I could treat her but he was reluctant to let me take her. Instead I picked another straight feathered girl in a combination of orange and white feathers.

I wanted another silky and fell for a really pretty girl but he said she was the only one he wanted to keep for himself because she was the only one that always comes to him when he goes in. I must have looked disappointed because he then said that if I really wanted her I could have her. I was quite touched.

I asked how much I owed him. Last time he said £20 each or three for £50. He said £45. I said he must take £50 as he hadn’t wanted to give one of them up.

We started to drive away when I had second thoughts. I said I would really like the brown one rather than three with a similar colour combination. We had dealt with red mite in the past and could deal with it again. The girls will be separate for a while anyway and we will have these girls for as long as they live whereas red mite is something that comes and goes in a poultry keeper’s life. My lovely husband said I should make up my mind before we got any further away as it is an hour’s drive each way. I asked him to turn around but he already had, he knows me so well!

I asked Dave if I could change the straight feathered girl for the brown one. He said it was no problem. She was pretty and I felt tempted to keep her too but three is enough to add at the moment. He sprayed the brown one with a red mite spray and suggested I treat all three girls.

Three new girls in the cat box

The bigger girls are all interested

I decided to move the new girls from the cat box to their little coop and shut them in for ten minutes. I thought this might help them to know that they should return there at bedtime.

I start them off in the little coop

I carried on with my theme of descriptive names.

Apricot

Apricot is the silky feathered girl that Dave didn’t really want to part with. Because of her silky feathers she reminds us both of Rusty. She is the most friendly and would let me get  really close to her and pick her up easily. That’s why her photo is the only close up. I can already feel that she is going to be a favourite. Being silky feathered she is as usual, less mature, with the smallest comb.

Cinnamon

Cinnamon is the brown, straight feathered, girl and is the smallest of the three but has the biggest comb and may be laying. I had a chance to see their eggs at Dave’s, he had a pile of them on his bench. They are about half the size of our bigger girls so I now know what to expect.

Dandelion

Dandelion is the srizzle feathered girl and least likes me getting close to her. She is the most difficult to pick up.

Meanwhile Freckles was checking out the nest box

Freckles is definitely getting ready to lay as she squatted every time I got near her today. She was also investigating the nest box which really pleased me as it means she will know where to go when she is ready. Speckles had just laid her second egg which wasn’t quite as long as her first one.

Speckles checks in on her

Freckles makes her exit

What a shame Cinnamon left the shot before I clicked

I was so disappointed that because of the slowness of my camera I missed getting all three girls in a line. I thought I would keep it in as shows a comparison between them.

Rusty and freckles squared up to Dandelion

The bigger girls haven’t paid much attention to the new girls. I think they are small enough not to pose a threat to them. However Rusty and Freckles were raising ruffs and aiming pecks through the wire at Dandelion. The wire is double so they can’t land a peck. Dandelion was not backing down.

Cinnamon and Dandelion

Before bedtime I picked up each girl in turn and offered some water from the dropper as I hadn’t seen them drink. None of them were interested so they must be okay. They have a water dish and a water bottle. I had seen all of them go to the food. I then dusted each of them with red mite powder. I have also sprinkled it in the little coop.

Apricot was the first to go to bed

By five o’clock the original girls were all in bed and so was Apricot but not the other two. I really wanted them to find their own way in rather than me putting them in so I left them a while and just kept checking on them. By half past five I decided that I must put them in. They didn’t really like me picking them up but needs must.

Bedtime girls

One last shot of them at bedtime, that’s red mite powder at the base of Cinnamon’s tail. What gorgeous girls they are. I am so pleased with the new additions. I am sure there will be a few bumps along the way but the process has been started now and we are, for the first time, a flock of nine. Welcome little, Apricot, Cinnamon and Dandelion.