A couple of hours together

Yesterday afternoon I mixed the girls for a couple of hours. I intended to leave them together all afternoon, until bedtime, to try to move the process on but Cinnamon became stressed so I ended the session.

Cinnamon is such a tiny girl and since we first had her she has become very easily stressed. I thought things were going really well and left the girls to it while I answered some work e-mails. I went back out with my husband to check on them and the new girls were on the ladder. Cinnamon was at the top and was closing her eyes and breathing with her beak open. I felt that she must be stressed.

I immediately separated the run once more and put her back in, her home section, with a dish of mash. She soon tucked into the mash and returned to normal. She seems to get stressed easily and each time once she has some food she recovers. It made me realise that I need to continue slowly with this. I think the other two girls are robust enough to move the process on but Cinnamon is fragile and I can’t risk stressing her so we will continue to go slowly.

When I opened up all the gates and escape routes the main girls were straight in to their favourite dust bathing bit.

Dust bathing in the favourite spot

While Emerald dust baths in the shelter

Here is my new dust bathing spot

This is the second time Emerald has chosen the shelter for a dust bath. I am surprised as it’s not very deep. She seems to like it though.

The three new girls perching

This was how they were when we came back out and decided that Cinnamon had had enough. I think her fear of the other girls causes her to go right to the top.

Dandelion has now learned how to perch

Dandelion’s head feathers are filling in nicely.

It’s easy to pick the girls up while they are perching so I picked up Cinnamon and put her on the patio by a dish of mash. I thought that while the other girls were distracted with dust bathing it would be a good time to get the new girls on the patio.

Cinnamon has some mash on the patio

I then collected Dandelion and then Apricot.

All three girls on the patio

Meanwhile Rusty and Freckles had joined the dust bathing girls and the, almost brave, Cinnamon strolled by them.

Rusty and Freckles join the dust bath and Cinnamon is nearby

Rusty and Freckles peck around Peaches and Barley

Dandelion braves the patio while I am on it

Dandelion popped back onto the patio while I was there rather than while I was in the run. I thought that was a good sign.

It all seemed to be going really well so it was at this point that I felt it was safe to leave them to it for a bit. Having decided to give them the whole afternoon together I felt that I couldn’t stay in the run the entire time.

When we returned the three girls were positioned, as in the previous photo on the ladder, with Cinnamon right at the top. That was when we decided she was looking stressed. My husband did remark that it’s hardly surprising she is stressed if she is being chased around and has to escape to the top of the ladder.

I know that they all have to get used to each other eventually but I just can’t bare seeing Cinnamon stressed and worry for her as she looks so tiny and fragile. I think that I will have to just keep following my instincts.