We have two new girls. At the beginning of August I put my name on the list with my serama breeder for new girls. She was selling them so fast that they were going out from a few days old to a week old and nothing was staying with her beyond a week. She takes back any that turn out to be boys.
I don’t want to do that and after my experience with little chicks and having Blue turn out to be a boy so I now go on her waiting list instead. This means that at the end of the year if she has any unsold that have reached about three months she lets me know.
Yesterday the breeder e-mailed me to say that she had a few older girls. I arranged to go over to her after lunch. I had put my name on her list for silkie girls too but she only had a few silkie feathered girls and someone else was in front of me on the list. She is keeping me on the list so I may get some later in the year.
There was a lovely brown and white frizzle but I have promised myself never to have another frizzle after Dandelion as I don’t think the frizzle feathered girls are hardy enough for winters outside.
There were only a few to choose from but I was happy as they were pretty colours. I chose a white one and a pale grey and white one. By the end of the day I had named them Sugar and Shadow.
The breeder sold me some chick crumb and I will keep the new girls separated until the few remaining laying girls stop laying. Then I will put all the girls on growers pellets until the new girls are ready to start laying and will gradually start integrating.
I closed off the triangular part of the run and put a nest box in there for them. I set up a dish of chick crumb and of water on some tiles as a feeding station and added two water bottles as well.
Shadow was crying out because she couldn’t find Sugar. Sugar appeared to have vanished. Eventually I lifted the nest box and found her underneath. As soon as they were together again they were quiet. I have now heaped the soil around the edge of the nest box so that they can’t get underneath. These two girls are already bonded and can’t bear to be out of sight of each other.
I had put them in the nest box and closed it for five minutes in the hope that they would then know that this is where to go at bedtime. It didn’t work and at near dusk they were still outside. I put them in and closed it.
I went out at seven o’clock this morning and opened the nest box. I went back at eight o’clock and they were still inside. I guided them down the ramp. They have since returned to the nest box a few times so I am hoping that tonight they will be able to find their way in on their own.
They soon got the hang of both the dishes of chick crumb and water and the water bottle too.
When we got back home yesterday there was a surprise for us. Speckles went into the nest box the day before and I wondered why she was in the nest box but didn’t think any more of it.
Yesterday afternoon when we got back there was a large white egg just inside the pop hole of the chicken shed. I know this is Speckles egg because Flame stopped laying a week ago and her eggs always have little clusters of calcium bubbles on. Ebony’s eggs are smaller and are beige and at the moment dusty as she had suddenly taken to laying them in the shelter instead of the nest box.
Now that the new girls have this area it will stop Ebony from laying her eggs in there. This egg was larger in size, more oval in shape and was smooth and white. There is no doubt that it is Speckles egg. It is her first egg of this year.
Well done Speckles! That was so unexpected and I can’t believe that she waited until we were out to lay it.
Only Ebony and Spangle were laying until this egg. I wonder if that will be her only one this year or if she will lay another.
I will report back tomorrow with news of whether the new girls find their own way in tonight. They have cottoned on to the food and water very quickly so I am sure that they will soon get the hang of it.
The other girls have taken no notice at all of the new arrivals so that bodes well too.
Click here to see the history of my flock.
You have the perfect facilities to be able to separate them from the rest of the flock right now! -Jenn
Our run splits into three separate parts. There is a gate to each part which is usually left open but closed when needed and a hatch between two parts. We made the run like this at our first integration and decided to leave it like this as it gives the girls lots of different parts and also separations for new girls to run behind when integrating. I usually progress to the new girls having two parts to get them used to the bigger space then eventually switch old and new girls over so the new girls get used to all the parts. It does work really well. The smaller triangle part is good for these little girls that have only been used to a very small space. Sorry, that was a bit long winded!
Oh they’re BEAUTIFUL Carol!! Is Sugar pure white? They look about the same age as Bubble who’s now 14 weeks!
xx
I’m not sure that Sugar will be pure white. She has very tiny brown dots on her wings at the end of them. She also has the yellow head which I now know always changes. I think they are about three months old so very similar age to Bubble. I am really pleased with them. The hamburgs did’t come to anything so I decided to stick with seramas. Catrin only had one colour and then it turned out that she only had two girls and couldn’t let them go so we decided to leave it until next year anyway. I am now really happy to have more seramas. I e-mailed today and took my name off the list for silkies until next year because I decided that as we are now up to nine girls I shouldn’t really go up to eleven girls, it was just that longing for a silkie. Trying to keep hold of a bit of sense!
They are so cute, I bet you are over the moon, I know how much you wanted
s0me more. They are sweet little girls, looking forward to seeing them grow.
Well done Speckles.
I am really thrilled with them. Even Richard is finding them so cute and that was a surprise from Speckles.
Very cute little cheepers
They are and they are cheeping constantly. Didn’t get round to a follow up post today so will do one tomorrow.
How absolutely beautiful: I’ve never seen more attractive youngsters. May they be heathy always and we all know how well they’ll be looked after.
How lovely to get an egg from Speckles – it’s always a good indication that a hen is in good condition. 🙂
I note that you mention hamburgs: my first-ever chickens, as a boy of about 10, were a trio of golden spangled hamburgs.
That was such a surprise from Speckles. I forgot that I hadn’t mentioned the hamburgs here but talked to mum and Sophie about them. I had decided that it might be nice to have another vorwerk. In the mean time I discovered hamburgs on google and loved all the different colours. Looked for a local breeder and couldn’t find one. Catrin had changed her number so we paid her a visit. Turned out she no longer breeds vorwerks but hamburgs instead. Seemed like fate. They were only just hatched though so she said call her in a couple months time. Turned out she only had silver spangled and only got two girls so couldn’t part with them. I decided to leave it until next year and put my name on the waiting list for serama instead. I am so glad I did now as they are so lovely. I loved the golden spangled ones. What a coincidence that they were your first chickens, how lovely.