My flock of three

After losing Treacle, I felt I needed to spend more time with the three girls. I suddenly realised how healthy and vibrant they look. They have bright red combs, fluffy bottoms and are very active. Maybe while trying to build up Treacle, I got these girls to their peak. It also made me realise that whatever was wrong was in Treacle, because these girls couldn’t look more healthy.

Dotty

Bluebell and Pepper

It was the first sunny day in while so after sweeping the shavings from under the coop, I threw them out into the patch of sun with a few grapes, to give the girls some fun scratching.

Pepper

Unfortunately I couldn’t catch Pepper facing me, but she is a huge ball of fluffy feathers.

Fluffy bottoms

I think the girls are missing Treacle as I have noticed changes in their behaviour. This morning when I cleaned out the coop all three girls kept coming in the coop. At first I thought that they surely couldn’t all want to lay at once. Then I realised that they seem to want to stick close to me. They would go in through the coop door and out the side panel where I was kneeling while cleaning. They stuck by me the whole time where as they usually wander off into the garden area.

Later when I went in and stood by the coop they all jumped onto the coop roof and were milling around me. By this time Bluebell and Pepper had laid an egg but they still all three kept going into the coop. I think that because they can’t find Treacle, and she spent time on her last day in the nest box, they are looking in there for her. Bluebell who was closest to her was going in the most.

Bluebell keeps looking in the coop

Bluebell never usually goes in the coop if she doesn’t need to lay. I think this is a time of adjustment for us all.

While doing my weekly clean and sweeping out the shavings from underneath the coop I went through them to see if my earring may have dropped under the coop but no sign of it, so it looks like Dotty definitely ate it!

By late afternoon, after much scratching about in the nest box, Dotty laid her third egg in a row, giving us a three egg day! Way to go Dotty!