Last night was a bit of a surprise. I went in to check on the girls about half an hour before I usually put to them to bed and it wasn’t what I had expected. At first I looked in the little triangle and saw no new girls. I thought that they must have gone into the little coop to bed which I thought was easier than I had expected. Wrong!
The first thing I saw when I entered the gate was this.
Much to my surprise Emerald was on top of the little coop
How had she got in this side? She must have got under the wire.
Toffee had found the highest point on their side in a plant pot!
These little girls were relegated to my little chair
Sparkle as usual was on top of the store cabinet
Topaz as always was in the nest box
My husband had come out with me and picked Emerald up off the coup roof and while I held open the gate he put her back on her side of the run.
I then put Honey, Amber and Sparkle in the main coop so that I could concentrate on the new girls.
Emerald was getting agitated as she wanted to get up high. I decided to use bribery and got the corn pot. I calmed her with some corn and laid a trail into the little coop and sprinkled some inside. It took patience but eventually she entered the coop for the corn and I closed it.
I then lifted Toffee down from the plant pot (under protest) and lifted the lid of the little coop and popped her in.
Job done for now but I think integration is going to happen faster than planned as the new girls obviously won’t go into the little coop at night. They want to roost high and it would be better to let them go to the main coop roof and then lift them in to the coop with the other girls.
The problem is we are out tonight at a function so I will have to come to up with a plan. I may let them choose their roost (there are a few perches to choose from) on their half of the run and lift them to bed when we get home then try integrating them the next day when I am at home to supervise them.
This morning I let the new girls out of the coop at half past five. They investigated the new part of their side of the run.
Emerald
Toffee
Emeralds green sheen
It’s difficult to get a photo of Emerald but her feathers shine with green and a touch of purple in the sunlight.
Later when I checked on the girls Emerald had found one of the perches and was snacking on the rose leaves.
Emerald has found a perch
While I was in with the girls Honey and Amber suddenly started fighting. I have caught them doing this before but this time it seemed really intense. I sprayed them with water which had no effect then I scattered some sunflower seeds to distract them. There were a few downy feathers floating around. I have no idea what causes them to do this.
I returned a little later and was horrified to see that Honey was pecking at Ambers comb and her comb and face had blood on it.
Poor little Amber
I have purple spray and wound powder but on reading the instructions it says it must not go in their eyes. Her face is so small and she is never still so I decided this was too risky to use. Her eye looks partly closed so I think she may have taken a peck close to her eye. I know from Honey’s recent poor eye how quickly they heal so decided it may be best to leave her alone.
A little later when we checked on them Honey and Amber were sat together again. They soon seem to get over their spats and behave as it had never happened.
It seems just as things are going well something happens to shake it up again. I hope this episode is over for now but I feel so sorry for Amber she always seems to come off worse.
Later in the afternoon Emerald become very agitated and was walking up and down the wire separation. I felt that she wanted to come out but it must wait until tomorrow as we have to go out at half past six. We are doing a steak pie supper for fifty people.
A little later she went into the nest box and started scratching around. I realised that this was why she had been agitated. She spent about an hour in and out of the nest box doing what I consider to be, practising, to lay an egg. I was surprised as her comb is still quite small. She calmed down after this so I felt happier about going out.
Tomorrow I will be here all day and will start to integrate them as I feel they are ready.
Click here to see the history of my flock.
It seems to be going really well. I loved toffee in the flower pot.
Poor amber she does seem to come off worse. Could it be that they know the pecking order is going to change again ?
Good luck tomorrow , it will be fine .
My husband said he thought Honey and Amber’s spat could be happening because they sense the pecking order is about to change again and they are re-establishing their order.
Watch out for tomorrows post as there were more surprises to come.
I find spraying the purple spray onto a cotton wool ball/bud and then applying to any areas on the face, stops any getting where it shouldn’t go. x
Thank you for that, it’s good advise. Amber bounced back and looked fine in the afternoon and didn’t get pecked at all so I thought I would leave her be. It’s amazing how Honey and Amber seem to bounce back from these episodes. Watch this space, it’s been an eventful day.