wendywoggles
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- Oct 2, 2011
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Hi every-one
I am new to keeping chickens having picked up my first 5 girls on 20th Aug. These ladies are rescues from a commercial freerange unit. They were in quite good condition right from the start, and we believe they were 18 months old.
Having then fallen under their spell we found our-selves one day, quite by chance
in the pens of a local breeder. We now have, the rescue 5 Shavers in one coop and run and 2x17wk old Speckled Sussex, 1x20 wk old Bluebelle and 1x20 wk old Salmon Faverolle in a second run and coop. If it had been left to me we would have had another SF and a Barnevelder but OH has decided he wants a bantam Welsummer cockerel and there just wouldn't be enough room in the coops for more hens.
We are gradually intergrating what we have come to call the A Team and the B Team. Firstly they could see each other but not touch. Lots of verbal abuse came out of the A Teams run and also lots of eye-balling and posturing. The second week we moved the runs together and more eyballing went on but the verbal stopped.
To-day start of week 3 we will open the gate between the two runs and have some socialising time when we give them their corn later and if all goes well(ish) we'll leave them to it till bed time and hope all will be well.We hope to be able to do it like this for a week and then take down the dividing fence next week. Fingers and toes are crossed.
Well I'm sorry I've got carried away here a bit, I'm sure you didn't want to know all this, but once I get started on my girls I just don't know when to stop. :roll:
all the best Woggles.
I am new to keeping chickens having picked up my first 5 girls on 20th Aug. These ladies are rescues from a commercial freerange unit. They were in quite good condition right from the start, and we believe they were 18 months old.
Having then fallen under their spell we found our-selves one day, quite by chance
in the pens of a local breeder. We now have, the rescue 5 Shavers in one coop and run and 2x17wk old Speckled Sussex, 1x20 wk old Bluebelle and 1x20 wk old Salmon Faverolle in a second run and coop. If it had been left to me we would have had another SF and a Barnevelder but OH has decided he wants a bantam Welsummer cockerel and there just wouldn't be enough room in the coops for more hens.We are gradually intergrating what we have come to call the A Team and the B Team. Firstly they could see each other but not touch. Lots of verbal abuse came out of the A Teams run and also lots of eye-balling and posturing. The second week we moved the runs together and more eyballing went on but the verbal stopped.
To-day start of week 3 we will open the gate between the two runs and have some socialising time when we give them their corn later and if all goes well(ish) we'll leave them to it till bed time and hope all will be well.We hope to be able to do it like this for a week and then take down the dividing fence next week. Fingers and toes are crossed.
Well I'm sorry I've got carried away here a bit, I'm sure you didn't want to know all this, but once I get started on my girls I just don't know when to stop. :roll:
all the best Woggles.
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