The bedtime routine has been unchanged for a long time and works like clockwork with no aggravation. My girls are such creatures of habit.
The bigger girls have always perched at the back of the shed. When we got Rusty and Freckles we installed a slightly lower perch on the left side of the shed. We used a broom handle so it was narrower. I had read that this is a comfortable size for the seramas smaller feet. They soon got used to their own perch.
When we added the three amigos to the flock I felt certain that Rusty and Freckles would not share their perch as they gave the new girls such a hard time to start with. We decided to install another perch on the right side of the shed. This is left and right as I face the shed.
I put the new girls on their perch, on the first night sleeping together, after the other girls were in. They stayed put. I watched them the next night and as good as gold they went to their own perch. The beauty of this system is that I knew they were far away enough from each other not be pecked and that’s why there is no aggravation.
After a few weeks I was surprised to see that Cinnamon was perching on the end of the back, bigger girl’s, perch. I worried that she would be lonely and lifted her on to the perch with Dandelion and Apricot. After a week of doing this I decided that Cinnamon obviously wanted to perch there and I have left her to it ever since. She is actually always the first one in so this is her chosen spot.
I think she likes this perch because it is higher and because she has the biggest feet of the seramas she seems comfortable on the wider perch. When I check the girls each night I always know exactly where they will be.
The bedtime positions
You can see why I thought that cinnamon would be lonely.
Speckles and Emerald at the back and Rusty and Freckles at the front
Cinnamon at the back and Dandelion and Apricot at the front
The bedtime routine is the easiest it has ever been. I am well aware though, that if we add new girls, there will probably be chaos. I don’t know where new girls would sleep. We will cross that bridge when we come to it.
Click here to see the history of my flock.
Good to see them all happy, with their own places
They make me smile at how habitual they are. I always know what I will find each evening.
Does Cinnamon perch on her own in winter when it’s cold? Snowy now perches on her own on the seperate perch and I wondered how it’d work out when it’s cold.
We only got the three amigos in February so I haven’t had them through winter yet. I am a bit worried that she might be cold on her own in winter. I wonder if she will revert back to perching with Dandelion and Apricot. I think on cold nights I may move her if not.