We have now had the three amigos for three months. It took a month to get them integrated which is the longest integration yet. Now after two months of being fully integrated I decided that the last stage needed completing.
I decided it’s time to remove the extra feeding station from the run and just have the patio area as the feeding station, which is how it has always been, before the arrival of the three amigos.
The three amigos have to cross the patio at bedtime and now have to come to the patio to get to the nest boxes, apart from Apricot, who isn’t laying yet. Sometimes when the bigger girls are out in the run they come to the patio for a peck at the afternoon apple.
It’s not ideal having a food station in the run. When it rains, it gets wet. Some food gets flicked into the dirt and I have to pick it up along with some of the soil. When I lifted the tiles that the dishes were on there was mould underneath which I removed.
It is time to get the three amigos used to coming to the patio for food and water. There are still the two water bottle above the ladders for back up water. There are two waters on the patio and two food dishes plus I added a dish of mash too.
I worry about whether the three amigos will get enough food but I have to move this on sometime. Surely they will come to the patio rather than go hungry. I will monitor the poop under their roost spots to check that they are eating enough as well as monitoring how often they come to the patio.
The patio is the feeding station
There is water and food on each side of the patio plus today a dish of mash in the middle as well one on one of the wooden blocks out in the run as a little back up for the first day of the new regime.
Proof that the three amigos do come to the patio
We have seen the three amigos on the patio when the other girls are out in the run so hopefully they will soon get used to having to come here for food.
This is the last step into being fully integrated and I am hopeful that the three amigos will soon get used to this.
Click here to see the history of my flock.
Looks as though things are getting back to normal.How is it going with the feather plucking?
Speckles head is worse. It started to look better then worse again. More feathers from her head have gone and it looked pink rather than white where the feathers have been pulled. I am still torn about Peaches and Barley. They have been going after the little girls, especially Cinnamon and it’s not just chasing or pecking. They pin her down on the ground. They also try to keep her out of the nest boxes. It’s hard to see.