At last I feel my little flock are properly integrating. They seem much happier and more settled. There are still times when Bluebell goes after the little girls but it’s not nearly so bad now and I am feeling more relaxed and happy about them.
It’s lovely to have all five girls run to greet me now. Today I forked over some of their run to see if we could find some worms. All five girls were under my feet as soon as they saw the fork. The bantys have soon got the hang of seeing the fork, the white treat dishes, or the store cabinet door opening, or simply seeing me coming up the garden path.
The trays of grass that I was giving the girls last summer have not over wintered very well. The remaining grass is sparse and I may have to redo them or give up on them. I decided to put three trays in for the girls today as they may as well have what grass there is.
The grass soon disappeared
This afternoon while the big girls snoozed the little girls had a dust bath. Pepper soon decided to check out what they were up to.
Dust bath
Preening and dust bathing
I am finding that as the little girls are maturing I am able to tell them apart more easily. Honey has always been bigger than Amber and now has a more arched shape to her back, just before her tail. She has the peacock like spots on her back and a longer tail. Honey’s comb is also more ragged in shape, possibly due to having been pecked.
Honey
Amber’s comb is much smoother in shape and she has more small black dots on her back. Her tail is a different shape too but I’m not sure if she is not yet fully grown. I can easily tell them apart now, where as at first I could only tell them apart by size and Honey’s spots on her back.
Amber
Honey is on the left and Amber on the right
Pepper wants to pose with Amber
These two are very together, Amber is in front
Honey is in the foreground
Amber’s tail parts in the middle but it may just be that she isn’t mature yet and her comb is less ragged. I am loving getting to know these little girls and so happy now that they are one flock. I hope things run smoothly for a while now, it’s been lovely having a few good days. Long may it continue!
Click here to see the history of my flock.
It is going to be a lovely weekend so I can just see you making the most of it and being there for your little flock .I have something wrong with my email so can’t send you a photo of one of my girls eggs . Like your girls they never cease to amaze..It was I think from Clover who has not laid for 6 weeks due to age and weighed 130grams … Ouch ! I have had DY before but that is the biggest .
Ouch!!
We have a function today and another tomorrow but I will be with girls in between. hope the weather holds. We have curries today for forty and B.B.Q tomorrow for a hundred.
I am loving having the girls together. I have to say though, the feather plucking is still going on.