The Boy has arrived!

rick

rick

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Thanks Chickenfan for your efforts bringing him all this way. He took to scratching around in his area as soon as he got in but was a bit puzzled by the tables with the food and water on that we go in for here. I put it on the floor for now.
His call went through the girls like an electric shock! They were still running around in the near dark and giving it their all - particularly Teabag. He must think he's arrived at the loony bin!
Anyway - very early days and we’ve yet to get the dawn chorus but he was crowing in the car as we got home and it really isn’t that loud in the scheme of things. Here's the picture I took this evening of the King stone at the Rollrights. A great place to meet!
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Heres hoping that your neighbours don't think its that loud either and that your girls take to him.
 
Here he is.
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He's a handsome little chap. As you can see in the last photo, I’ve been experimenting with some muffling for the mornings. I don’t think it will be a problem but I want an answer ready just in case.
He's keen to get out into the rest of the coop and it'll maybe a be a bit boring in his roost area all day but going to give it a while longer.
 
What have you been doing to raise his hackles then Rick?, (pic3). He's a really handsome lad.
 
Nothing, I don't think. He just had a bit of a shake.
I discovered, not having looked closely at a booted bird before, that he doesn't have claws on his outer toes. I guess that's common with feathered feet?
I know it seems like I've been ignoring your warnings dinosaw. I am a little nervous how the introductions will go - he is very diddy! None of the girls, including Blaze, are doing that weaving around and charging on the opposite side of the fence like the hybrids did to the younger newcomers. There's a different sort of thing going on I think although one did take the opportunity to run in when the door was open, nick his grape and run off with it!
 
Is he a traditional Belgian booted bantam?, I thought I saw chickenfan mention something about Speckled Sussex on the original thread.

rick said:
know it seems like I've been ignoring your warnings dinosaw. I am a little nervous how the introductions will go - he is very diddy!
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Nothing ventured nothing gained Rick, you can't always just blindly follow what other people say on forums or you would learn nothing. We've done plenty of seemingly daft things with chickens, some have worked some haven't, but always came away wiser. Because all chickens are different and there are always different flock dynamics at play you can never predict 100% what will happen, I would imagine he will get his arse kicked but if he has a bit of steel to him or your girls are quite placid it could work out nicely, hopefully it will be the latter.
 
With enormous relief I can report that he has taken middle rung in the pecking order and is in the coop without further incident.
I suspected, rightly as it turned out, that Brownie was going to beat him so decided to level him up instead. Betty just assumed he was boss without question, bless her. Aerial put up a much better contest but backed down. Blaze, who bosses Aerial and Betty around all the time went out immediately! Teabag was interesting - it was like she couldn’t be bothered with the nonsense and just went about her business with the situation unresolved. Finally Brownie and Linden (he's got a name now) sparred for a couple of minuets but he got a good pull on the comb and backed down.
I guess there might be some more squabbles but at the moment he is wandering around the coop without challenge.
Phew. Just got to make him a door for soundproofing first thing in the morning. 5.15am is a bit early even though most people around here have double glazing which is helping.

....yep, spoke a little too soon. No bloodshed but not as easy as I thought.
 
It seems much too early for them to be integrated Rick - they will have hardly got to know each other in one day..Could he not be somewhere he can show off his charms, and where he can size up their characters for a little while longer. He's a great little bird but it was a long journey, and he's only just left his brother he was devoted to and the Marans with whom he was besotted. I hate to think of him having to hold his own so soon...
 
Although the posts went under my speckled sussex bantam one, Linden is a Silver Millefleur Booted Bantam (Sablepoot). I hadn't noticed him having any extra toes - could that be part of his boots?
 
I don’t think it would have any different outcome a week later. He was as strong as he was going to be and did really well. I am inexperienced but know now what Brownie looks like when she has something to prove and he would have had to have been bigger than he is to knock her off the top. Teabag was keeping her powder dry too.
I have been working all day to improve the coop so that there are lots of places he can go to get out of trouble - mostly shelves level with the roosting shelf and good for those who fly well (like Aerial and Betty too). I’ve put up a screen with a food/water table each side and on the shelves too so he wont go short.
They have all had some brown rice with cucumber yoghurt and wheat sprouts for tea.
 
Just saw your second post Chickenfan. Not extra toes - His outer toes don’t have claws which I guess is just part of the booted thing.
 
Thought he was a Sablepoot chickenfan and was scratching my head as Speckled Sussex are the other way round with the colouring and don't have feathered feet but I do like to try to be tactful so thought I'd pose it as a question :) . Keep us updated with how he is getting on Rick, very interested to see how it works out.
 
The boy is a Sabelpoot cockerel, isn't he?

I had a lemon Sabelpoot girl a few years ago, great little bird that flew. Your boy is lovely.
 
I'm really not happy you've put them together so soon to fight things out Rick. Quite unnecessary. If you waited there would be no issues at all as they would already know each other in a week or two. I never have any issues introducing birds this way. As mentioned, he had a huge journey to bring him to you, has never left his siblings, he's in completley new surroundings, is probably eating new food and will not have built up any natural immunity to any supressed illnesses in your flock (each flock has its own immunities based on local environment) It is madness to put them together so soon and unfair to such a small bird - please separate him!

Sablepoots are the same as booted bantams. According to the Breed Club, which I belong to, 'Booted Bantam' is the correct name but sablepoot sounds more fun.
 
Linden is fine and in his own space for the night. I'm swapping the ventilated, but otherwise solid, night time door for the mesh screen tomorrow and he will be in there while I’m at work.
 
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