karen's chicken diary

[KarenE]

Sandy, they had lots of poorlies apparently, more than usual. Most had already gone but there were a couple in cages in a seperate room waiting to be taken somewhere.

Well I have never had such timid ex batts before! It took days before they even ventured into the upper part of their run, and they seem to only come out of the coop when I'm there. But they are settling in, slowly but surely. And today has been a very big day indeed as they have been out into the big wide world! What an adventure - I think they enjoyed it, apart from the occasional duffs up by Pokes and Dory (who haven't been too bad really). Dory has been using intimidation tactics all week, making a point of sleeping on the side of their nestbox. She is a fuller figured girl so must be quite imposing! She has spent today complaining and doing a bit of stalking. Pokey is a bit more beaks on and for some reason (she must be reminding me of her!) I keep calling her Nugget!

Still no names for the two newbies yet, but I am tempted to call the littly one Willow.

We had a bit of snow this week, Pokey and Dory kind of enjoyed it (I caught Dory snacking on the odd bit of ice) but Dory doesn't like to get her feet too wet and cold! Here they are:


And here's Marley, enjoying a bit of afternoon sun:


And our newbies! I do have more pics from today but these were yesterday:


The top 2 are of our slightly bigger (but still very sweet and friendly) girl, and the last 2 are of our litly bottom hen, very curious Willow.

I put a chair into the run so I could entice them out into it, and today I had both of them perched next to me on a branch. I think they will be very friendly little girls!

Finger is slowly healing although I am back on antibiotics as there's still some infection there. But all the crusted on blood and gunge is off, so we now have a (very unpretty) view of what the finger is like underneath. Slightly misshapen shall we say!

[KarenE]

Sorted! Mango and Willow. Hubby suggested Mango

[bikesandbirdsbob]

Hi, they seem well feathered hens . Colour on faces as well . My hens come so pale and featherless.
They always become friendly when they experience the world .
Seeing them grow is like watching children go through school .
They pick up some bad habits .
Have a good weekend.
Bob

[Cheshire Chick]

Loved your pics Karen. Sounds like they are going to be really friendly girls and will no doubt 'come out of their shells' with your love and attention. Willow is a lovely name. Glad your finger is improving too.

[sandy]

OMG Karen , Mango apart from the bendy comb is a spit for Gwen
Glad your finger is getting better even with your troubles you still can take such fantastic photos, Marley should be on a tin of cat food.

[HenPen]

Ah, those are lovely names for two very lovely girls - it will be great to hear about their adventures in the big wide garden!

I do hope Dory and Pokey cut them some slack.

Glad your poor finger is on the mend at last. What an awful time you have had of it. As Sandy says, it isn't affecting your brilliant photography - such gorgeous photos

[KarenE]

What a few days it's been, if not week! Willow and Mango are so timid and yet so friendly, and Willow is so inquisitive. Tried to get them firstly out of the coop, and then out of the run and they wouldn't! In the end we had to role reverse, get them out and shut D & P in the run. M & W absolutely loved it, they had a good root around our little mini wood and meanwhile D & P stuffed themselves on mash, reclaimed their dustbaths and made themselves at home again. Same again yesterday - Dory & Pokes get free reign in the mornings, then Mango and Willow get the afternoons.

Today was a big adventure. I left the run doors open and both sets were in the garden together!! It went well. Dory has assured her place through a week's worth of intimidation tactics (sleeping on the edge of their nestbox) so just does a bit of stalking and flapping, and Pokey has done some chasing and pecking but nothing too mean.

I absolutely adore all of my beautiful, well behaved girls!

Lots more pics to come as you can imagine

[sandy]

So far so good then intros are always a lottery arent they?
Good to hear your finger is on the mend....looking forward to those photos, cant post at the mo as not worked out how to get them on laptop

[KarenE]

Mango and Willow are now as happy as Larry running around the garden. They come down to the patio, although haven't quite managed to knock on the cat flap yet but have poked their beaks into the utility room while hubby was there. They are chased off prime spots by Pokey and Dory, but on the whole we have a settled flock.

They both love mealworms and Mango loves her fruit - any sort, including the last of the windfall apples, and oddly enough Pokey and Dory suddenly took an intense interest in the same windfall apple! Willow, or Little Will as I call her, also loves her food

Couple of photos from their first few days out


They need no coaxing out now and tumble out along with Pokes and Dory, and Little Will is the last to bed, eking out her day as long as she can. As soon as I show up they are both there, very friendly and inquisitive, although no lap sitting yet but I am hoping they do decide to.

Pokes and Dory are being quite good (it's all relative at intros) and Dory must be feeling out of sorts again as she's been on my knee again!

[bikesandbirdsbob]

Always good to get the intros over and a relative peace resume in the garden .
If you can imagine 20 hybrid hens all looking fot attention you can imagine me in the garden.
Bob

[Cheshire Chick]

Lovely photo's Karen of your two beautiful new girls. So glad that they are settling in well with Dory and Pokey. Sounds like they are having a great time.

[HenPen]

As CC says, lovely pictures as per.

How wonderful to have a ginger Queen of Fruits among the Henpals once again.

Hope your finger is completely healed now

[KarenE]

What a glorious weekend! I've been busy in the garden doing what I can with trimming and digging, weeding and tidying (all one handed, finger is not better!) and the girls have absolutely loved it! Four willing little helpers happy to get their beaks in the way of forks etc and scattering piles of trimmings, apart from Dory who is still convinced that everything in the garden will kill her if she doesn't flap out of the way.

Dory is laying again, and I think Pokey is too even though she is still moulting, and we are getting 3 eggs a day now - the other we think is Willow, as it's a very dark colour and she's our darkest girl. Mango bless her also seems to be moulting and I think has packed in laying for now.

Now that she is laying again, Dory seems to be in a permanent strop and erupts out of the coop positively incandescent with rage, and has decided she hasn't quite done enough to cement her top hen position so has been stomping about the garden and having goes at everyone (apart from Pokey). Poor Mango's comb is a mass of sores where I think Dory had a go at her for sitting in the nestbox when she wanted to lay an egg in it. This has of course a knock on effect of general stroppiness all round, so this weekend the squirty bottle has had to come out again! Dory interestingly enough has been almost angelic today - cooing and chatting and getting up on my knee, but Mango has had several squirts as she kept going into the greenhouse and pecking Willow, who was minding her own business having a dustbath. Pokes had a few squirts too, for pecking at Mango. Honestly, what a crew!

Hubby says Will was on his knee today at the back door! She's never done that before!

Marley also came out today - had to entice her out, she won't come out alone any more - and had a great time rolling round in the soil (!), climbing up the top of the tree, chasing insects and carefully watching the chickens. I expect she's collapsed in exhaustion on our bed now!

[KarenE]

Me & Marley have just got in from sitting in the garden with the girls. Dory appears to be chillin' (dude) - living the mantra of Wiggy Woo - and is less stompy and pecky than she was last week. She's givng us an egg every couple of days which is a good rate and usual for her. Pokes also appears to be back into the swing, and I do think the other layer is Will, although Mango has laid a softie. She laid it in the garden, looked at it for a few moments and only decided she wanted any of it when Pokes & Dory came over to gobble it up. She managed to get a bit of shell. So not sure whether the odd egg in the nestbox is hers.

Poor Little Will is still a bit skittish - not with me, but with the others. She's growing new feathers through, and still gets pecked by the others a fair bit so is tending to stay out of everyone's way. I try to sneak her treats on her own - esp mealworms for the protein - but not always successfully as the others can hear a mealworm rustle for miles!

I had my last ginormous pumpkin in the greenhouse and it was starting to go off, so I chopped it in half and put it on the grass for the girls. Honestly you would think it was a bomb the way they carried on! They bok-bokked for hours, literally, and 3 days later still won't go near it! Today they've started licking bits of it off my fingers but I can't stay out there all day handfeeding chickens bits of pumpkin!

Got to go and buy chicken food today, they (and the garden birds and probably rats) are eating me out of house and home

[sandy]

Girls just dont do pumpkin do they! Sure my older girls have eaten it in years gone by. You are very lucky with your newbies and i meant to say that black and white photo of Dory and Pokey would be an exactly christmas card frontage
Hows the thumb?