Ebony is settling in beautifully

I am amazed at how easy it has been for Ebony to settle in to the flock. The first night she perched next to Emerald outside as I suspected she would and at dusk I lifted them down and put them in the chicken shed.

Last night my husband suggested that instead of this I should herd them into the shed at nine o’clock like I used to with Emerald and Speckles. That way she would learn the way in and learn to perch there without my help.

I thought this was a good idea. I herded Speckles in first and waited until she had settled on the back perch. I then set about herding Ebony in. This was quite easy but once in Ebony wanted the spot Emerald used to perch in, right in the corner. There is a long expanse of perch but she wanted the tiny space between Speckles and the side of the shed.

This was too close for comfort for Speckles and she would peck her down. She will tolerate Ebony next to her on the perch outside but not in such a close position inside.  I resisted intervening as I felt it was important that they sorted it out for themselves.

Eventually Ebony chose to perch on the end of Dandelion and Cinnamon’s perch. Just like when Speckles did this, I thought the narrower width of the little girls’ perch was probably less comfortable, but I thought it best to leave her to it for one night. At least she had chosen her position rather than having me putting her in place.

Ebony perches on Dandelion and Cinnamon’s perch

You can see how Ebony wanting the space between Speckles and the side of the shed was proving unacceptable to Speckles. There is loads of space on the other side of her but for some reason this wasn’t where Ebony wanted to go. I am sure in time they will sort it out.

I knew that the next problem would be Ebony finding the nest box. If she was anything like Emerald she would lay every other day and that meant today. I tried to herd her towards the patio to look at the nest boxes but it spooked her. I don’t want to move the nest box again as she needs to get used to the patio area being home to the nest boxes and the chicken shed.

As she had laid late afternoon last time I thought I could keep an eye on her when I got back from delivering my lunches.

My husband got back before me and said that she had been in both nest boxes and the chicken shed but he thought that the problem wasn’t so much the straw but the depth. The breeder had a really deep layer of straw in his barn and Ebony had made a huge well in the nest boxes and the shed and seemed dissatisfied.

I deepened up the pine shavings in the nest box. I don’t usually have them too deep because it encourages the girls to fling the shavings out. The shavings in the shed are pretty deep but I pushed them back to form a deeper ridge at the back of the shed.

Sure enough Ebony went into the chicken shed and settled down. She obviously likes to have a deep nest.

Ebony settled in the chicken shed to lay her egg

Ebony soon got her egg laid and it was slightly bigger than her last one. Her eggs are almost the size of a standard hens.

Now that she is aware of all the possible places to lay her egg I feel that she is settled and I don’t need to worry about anything else. I will do away with the straw and deepen the shavings in that nest box but I think she will probably be happier in the chicken shed  which is fine.

One of the things that is the most different between Ebony and Emerald is their position within the flock. Emerald had started out at the bottom but over time and with many girls leaving the flock she had risen to the position of top girl. This meant that she strode around the run with absolute confidence and of course was used to being in close contact with me.

Ebony is so shy and runs from all the girls other than the two chicks. The chicks are too young to face up to any other chickens but Dandelion and Cinnamon can just look at Ebony and she moves away. If they chase her she runs. She is also very nervous of me. I am hoping that over time she will gradually get used to me.

Ebony also digs really deep dust holes. She had dug one under the ladder and while she was in the shed laying her egg Speckles took over her dust hole.

The chicks dust bath together in their shallow dust hole

Speckles dust baths in Ebony’s deep dust hole

I feel that the flock has very quickly settled down once more and I am very happy with the way Ebony has settled in so smoothly.