All together again

Yesterday I got back from my deliveries at twelve o’clock and decided to put to the girls together again. This is the longest they have been together so far but I am still not comfortable enough to leave them together when I am out.

It’s working much better now that there is an escape route in the corner of the little girls area and they have soon worked out that they can run behind the bush then out through the escape hole and easily get away from Bluebell.

Bluebell unfortunately has not been as good as the day before. She chased them around a lot more yesterday and  sometimes managed to grab them by the feathers on their neck or back. I told her off and sprayed her with water and sometimes just a warning or holding out the spray stopped her but I can’t be there all the time.

The little girls are getting plenty of exercise and bounce back from her attentions. They are getting braver around Pepper and Dotty but know to stay out of Bluebells way. If it wasn’t so frustrating it would be funny because they do look comical the way they see her getting nearer and scoot away at top speed!

Another thing my husband pointed out was that sometimes when Bluebell went for Honey she would crouch in submission and Bluebell would then move away rather than grab at her. I realised that Bluebell probably grabs Amber because she doesn’t yet crouch so maybe when she starts to crouch this whole thing will get easier. Chickens pecking order (or dominance) is quite complex and just has to be played out before the flock can settle together.

The escape route

I had just dug over this little corner which is why they are all wanting to scratch here.

One of the really nice things was that when I went up the garden to visit the girls, I now had five girls run down to the fence to greet me, all on the same side. It was so nice to see the same enthusiasm from all five together as one flock (for a few moments anyway).

Later on in the day the big girls noticed the plastic egg that I have put in the bantys coop to encourage Honey to lay in there. She has laid five eggs so far and only managed to get one in the coop. They all had a good look at it and Bluebell had a peck at it.

We are intrigued by this plastic egg

We tap it but it seems quite hard!

Bookends

Meanwhile the bantys were doing their impression of bookends on the other side of the wire. Sometimes I call them ” Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum”, they are very alike and very together! Despite that there is no doubt that Amber, although the smaller of the two, is definitely top between these two. A couple of times they would be sharing a bit of apple or tomato when Amber would give Honey a quick peck.

The day before I put the girls back in their own areas when I went out to do my clean up chores after dinner. Last night I decided to delay my chores until just before bedtime to give them longer together. Again it was so nice that when I went in to clean up, all five flocked around my feet as one flock, disagreements forgotten for now. They are always more chilled at bedtime so I thought it would be good to give them this time together.

It was almost tempting to leave them together but I’m not ready yet to worry about the hour between five when the big girls come out and six when I go out to them (and at the moment let the little girls out), plus the little girls have got used their own coop and I am not quite ready for the next stage yet. I want to have longer with them together when I am around but am still wary of leaving together when I am not there. I know I must do this soon but feel I need a bit longer to be sure that the time is right.

I went back just before dusk and the little girls had returned to their area and the big girls were settled on the coop roof. As often happens if I go out before dusk the big girls jumped down and ran to greet me. I decided to have a last sweep of the patio area while I let them settle into position again.

This time Honey suddenly decided she wanted to join the big girls on the coop roof. Pepper wasn’t having this and pecked at her in the same way as she does to Bluebell at bedtime. I decided to intervene and picked Honey up. This was the first time I had been able to pick her up without a chase. She did squawk her protest but I stroked her and softly talked to her, then returned her to her area and closed the wire and shut the gate.

This has also been progress. I want to be able to handle the little girls eventually in case I need to check them over at any time. Since the early days of having to catch them at bedtime I have avoided trying to pick them up to let their confidence in me grow. Being able to pick Honey up is a big step forward and hopefully once Amber starts to squat I hope I will eventually be able to pick her up too. I feel this is really progressing at last!

It rained heavily all night and when I went out at six o’clock this morning, despite our best efforts, there were very few dry areas apart from the patio area, which has a solid roof. I decided to bite the bullet and put them all together. I put in six quarters of corn cob to give them something to peck at and left them to it. I have got to do this sometime.