The girls have been mixed together for nearly a week now. It has gone really well and they have settled together with no more spats. There is just the occasional bit of chasing but nothing aggressive.
Unfortunately at bedtime Red and Snow have continued to settle on top of the nest box. I now have four girls to put in each night and all my efforts to guide the new girls in haven’t worked.
Sugar has come through her broody spell after a few nights in the broody crate. Sugar still spends the majority of her time sitting in the run but when she is up and about she looks perfectly normal.
Storm is now molting as well as Mango. Mango looks tatty but although I am picking up loads of Storm’s feathers from the chicken shed and run she still looks really good. She does have only a few tail feathers left though.
I don’t know if the moult means that’s the end of eggs this year from Mango and Storm or if they come through it quickly maybe they will come back into lay. We can never tell how short the game girls’ season will be.
I thought gold was coming back into lay after her two week break as for a couple of days she had a sit in the nest box. There was no egg though and today she hasn’t bothered sitting. She looks like she does every summer with a bit of an explosion of fluffy under feathers just before her tail.
We currently have Dot, Cloud and Snow laying. Snow has now sussed out all of the nest boxes and the chicken shed and mostly lays in the nest box by the gate as the other girls don’t bother her there.
Autumn still has a sit in the nest box every day but doesn’t lay which is most odd.
Before the portraits of the girls I couldn’t resist this photo of Dot, Storm and Mango sunbathing together. I have put the portrait photos on in the order that I took them.
Cloud has the most amazing red comb and big for her small size.
And there are all my beautiful girls. Even with a bit of molting going on I think they are a stunning flock.
Click here to see the history of my flock.
What a good looking flock, they all look lovely.
I know I am biased but I think they are beautiful. Gold came back into lay yesterday.
Hi, Carol
Sorry for late response – nose to grindstone, and my wife away with one of our sons and his family in Florida, having left me a list of tasks!
Anyhow, apologies for late response. You do indeed have a lovely flock, even though the moult is underway. Autumn is a real puzzle and increasingly reminds me of Topaz – looking in peak condition, but not producing. Strangely, I remember my grandfather, well over 50 years ago, telling me that he had a group of white wyandottes which were the worst layers he’d ever experienced. Haven’t thought about that conversation until just now! Thank you, Autumn, for bringing out memories from the annals of my poultry history!
Sometimes, birds do come back into lay after an early moult, but it’s not terribly common. Lacey, my adult light sussex, went from being broody (for the nth occasion this season) straight into a moult – white feathers everywhere for a good week. Oddly, however, she has started to lay again and stopped moulting – it’s like the mini moults Cotton used to do.
I am pleased that integration has been effected and that Snow is laying – I wonder if she’ll have a tendency to go broody. Lovely photo of the dust bathers. Given the horrendous rain of today, my run is totally mud, so no outside dust baths – only the cat litter tray with some sand, under shelter.
the last 2 photos you post are of extremes of design! The difference between Snow and Cloud is simply amazing.
No need to apologise. I value having you along as a long time reader and your comments. That’s interesting what you say about your grandfather. Maybe wyandottes are not always good layers.
It will be interesting to see if Snow goes broody and would be great if she didn’t. It will also be interesting to see when Red starts laying and will she lay through the winter. Dot has never gone broody and is a really good layer and her eggs are a good size too.
Snow and Red are also having their partial baby molt and having been dropping the odd feather for ages now.
Luckily despite the rain the centre parts of the run top and bottom stay dry even though there is quite a bit of the run wet too. I really hope we get summer back soon.