An update on the new girls

I love this photo of the girls and Spot checking each other out. It’s so unusual to get all the girls in focus at once.

The new girls have settled in really well. Having said that they were easy to handle I soon realised that wasn’t strictly true. Gold and Storm are very easy to handle. Snowflake isn’t at all. She lives up to her name and I could call her The Snowflake. She is the only one that is nervous and doesn’t like me to get too close.

I discovered this at bedtime on the first evening of the first full day with us. Getting new girls to go in at bedtime is always the first hurdle. I wondered if they would make their own way in.

The first night I was pleased that Snowflake was in as I knew she would be the difficult one to catch. Gold was perched by the hatch so I knew she would be easy to pick up. Unfortunately when I put Gold in Snowflake shot out. I easily picked up Storm and put her in but spent a bit of time chasing Snowflake from corner to corner before I was able to catch her in the corner.

Snowflake screamed when I picked her up as if I was trying to murder her. Not great at all.

The next day Storm discovered the coup during the day and was in and out. I knew this was good as once familiar with the coup during the day there was more of a chance she would go in at bedtime.

Sure enough Storm was in the coup at bedtime. Gold was perched above the hatch this time. Again easy to pick up and put in. Once again I chased Snowflake around the corners until I could pick her up. She didn’t make a sound this time so that was an improvement.

Last night I left it a little later in the hope that the new girls might be in the coup. The first thing I saw when I went into the run was Storm on the main flock’s side of the run. I was puzzled as to how she had escaped as there were no gaps.

I then looked up and saw that Gold was perched on the chicken wire divider just under the roof. I realised that storm must have followed her and then dropped down on the other side

We have had girls dig underneath before but have never had them come over the top. Luckily Storm is so easy to pick up that I picked her up and put her in the coup. I then stood on tip toes and lifted Gold down and put her in the coup.

I then started chasing Snowflake round but luckily as she went round the coup she went straight in the coup on her own. Progress.

This morning when I went out it had been raining all night and the new girls’ area near the hatch was wet where it drips in at that part where the original part of the run joins the later part of the run.

I had a light bulb moment. I decided to move their coup and feeding station into the corner of their space next to the large wooden shelter. This will give them a bigger dry area.

This also has the advantage that instead of chasing Snowflake into that corner I will be able to chase her straight into the coup. This should make bedtime a lot easier.

Originally we had a bush in that corner and when it died it left a stump that I left for the girls to perch on. I think that was why I had always put the little coup in front of the shelter.

The stump eventually fell over and I removed it but just hadn’t thought of putting the coup in it’s place until now. The coup is now in the corner that the girls are in in the first photo. As you can see it should be easier to guide Snowflake towards the open coup at bedtime.

I am hoping that over the next few evenings the girls will get the hang of going in at bedtime.

I am amazed how much these girls eat and Gold is permanently in the food dish. She is definitely the top girl of the three.

I am very happy with how it is going and am hopeful that bedtime will soon sort itself. It usually takes about a week.

Postscript

I have now updated all the pages that appear under the heading of my blog. I had got a bit behind with them recently. If anyone would like some information on my newer breeds you could click on “Some information about my bantam breeds”. You would need to scroll down to almost the bottom where I have now given information first on Spot and then on the three new girls.