The new girls have got the hang of everything really quickly. On the first night I put them to bed as they hadn’t yet worked out how to find their way in to their coop.
By the next day they had got the hang of getting in their coop and were in and out all day. They come out for food and water and a run around and then go back in.
They spend a lot of time scratching and pecking in the pine shavings and at one stage I looked in and they were “dust” bathing in the shavings. This is because it is what they have been used too and it will take time to learn that there is real dust to dust bath in.
I checked on them at at six o’clock and they had gone in the coop. I decided to leave it open in case they wanted a last top up of food before bedtime. This was a mistake. They came out again and once it had got a little bit darker they couldn’t find their way back in. I guided them in at half past six.
Last night when I checked on them at six o’clock and they were in the coop I closed it. I have decided it is better to close them earlier while they able to put themselves to bed. They were snuggled up to each other in the back corner.
When I open the coop in the mornings they now come out straight away and go straight to the food and water.
They are a very tight little pair and are always very close together. From past experience I know that these two will stay as a tight pair.
The good thing is that the other girls are taking no notice of the new girls. Occasionally one of them will look at them with curiosity but nothing more than that. There is no pacing the wire.
I think that these girls are so small that they don’t pose a threat to the other girls so hopefully the integration shouldn’t be too difficult. These two will go in at the bottom of the pecking order.
Shadow is slightly bigger than Sugar but there is already no doubt that Sugar is top girl of this pair. Sugar leads and Shadow follows and every now and then Sugar runs at Shadow to let her know she is boss.
They are incredibly cute!
Click here to see the history of my flock.
They are sooooo sweet! Nothing cuter than baby seramas! xx
You are quite right, baby seramas are so cute. xx
Routines are getting established. I have sometimes placed a small torch inside the hen house to encourage newbies in if it is getting dark – have had some success, but not always.
They will be shown who’s the boss by the other girls when eventually you integrate, but I suspect that, as they are still going to be sub-adult, it should be easier than many integrations.
My recent integrations have been much easier because as you say they are younger and are not a threat. The other girls have taken no notice of them at all whereas in the past there was pacing the wire and ruff raising at the wire. I have double wire to stop any pecking through it but nothing like this with these. Sometimes the new girls head for the water bottle then see Ebony looming and back away. She must appear very big to them.
They are a lovely little pair, they look as though they have grown a little already.
How nice that they have settled down and look so at home, in such a short time.
They are lovely and I think they will be very friendly because they are not bothered by me at all. They don’t move away from my hands and allow me to pick them up easily. They will have their heads in the food dish despite me standing next to them. They are not bothered by me at all which is really lovely.