We herded/guided the new girls towards the shed for the first two evenings. Last night was the third evening and I had a good feeling. Early evening Honey had grabbed Speckles by the back of her neck and Speckles had ran from Honey into the shed.
I felt that this was a good sign as she obviously saw the shed as a place of safety. She came out again once Topaz went in but popped in again a little later. She came out once more and all of the old flock settled in the shed on the top perch as usual at six o’clock.
The new girls had some pellets and some water and pecked around near the patio area.
At half past six Speckles went into the shed and Butterscotch followed her and pecked at the shavings inside the pop hole. A few minutes later Butterscotch went in. I peeked in and Speckles was on the top rung of the ladder and Butterscotch was on the bottom rung of the ladder. I closed the main door and could hear Butterscotch making her way up the ladder.
We went back out after our evening meal at about half past seven.
We were thrilled that once again by the third evening they had got the hang of it and gone in on their own. We really think we have cracked this already. We are feeling elated!
So you should feel elated.
That is great news.
I am chuffed to bits. Both the main flock and the new girls went in on their own by night three. I now have a flock that puts themselves to bed at last, like other people’s flocks. hurrah!
How many years have you been practicing ? 🙂
Just coming up four years now, not enough obviously! At last though, we are all getting the hang of it. The new girls went in even earlier tonight. They tried to go in with the old girls and got chased out but as soon as the old girls settled on the top perch they were straight in and on the top rung of the ladder. Hoorah! We finally have girls that go to bed. We are feeling so good about this.