Cinnamon and Flame together and Cinnamon’s first egg this year

Cinnamon is the only girl that hasn’t started laying this year which is unusually late for her.

Yesterday she followed Flame into the chicken shed and I thought she may be ready to lay but she just seemed to want to keep Flame company.

Cinnamon joined Flame in the corner of the chicken shed

Cinnamon moves around Flame adjusting the pine shavings around her

Flame looks as if she is warning Cinnamon not to get any closer

Whereas I can reach underneath Ebony and remove any eggs from under her if I try to do this with Flame she pecks me. Yet she was remarkably tolerant of Cinnamon. I thought she looked as if she wanted to peck Cinnamon but she didn’t.

The odd thing with Cinnamon’s position in the flock is that after picking fights with the amigos and the silky girls she lost her position and they now chase her away and yet because she didn’t do this to Ebony and Flame she remains above them in the pecking order.

Ebony and Flame chase all the little girls away except for Dandelion and Cinnamon. It is quite cute to see this interaction between different sized girls. Since Cinnamon went down the pecking order she often seeks out the company of the three bigger girls. It’s as if she feels safe and protected around them.

In other news Speckles hasn’t laid another egg since her first one on 8th March, nearly a month ago. I am not sure if she will lay any more. She continues to drink loads of water and do sloppy poops but looks well in every other way.

Dandelion looks back to her usual perky self so that is a relief. For now the crises has passed once more and I really hope that that will be the last time this year.

Edit

Today, before I had got round to putting this post out, Cinnamon finally settled in a nest box.

Cinnamon in the nest box

A little later Cinnamon was back out in the run and when I checked the nest box she had laid her first egg of the year. It was her usual, quite large, size. That means all the girls are now laying, at least all except Speckles, because I am not sure she can really be counted.

I am glad to see that Cinnamon has laid without a problem as it has reassured me that she is okay.