Another difficult decision

Mid morning today I went in to the girls and found some of Topaz’s tail feathers in their separated bit. My heart sank a bit more.

Topaz’s tail feathers

If I leave Topaz and Honey together Topaz is going to lose feathers but if I put Topaz back with the main girls Butterscotch will lose her pins before they open.

Butterscotch’s pin feathers are very tempting

I put a big dish of mash in the main flock’s side and a small dish of mash in the separated side as a treat and distraction. At lunch time both dishes were empty. I picked up the small dish from the separated side and put it on the wooden table while I secured the gate. In a nano second all the girls, apart from the slower Butterscotch, were up on the table to see what was in this dish. Not a lot, girls!

New feeding station

Yesterday I had been thinking about re homing Topaz and Honey on the farm where I had re homed Pepper and Dotty. I cried at the prospect of doing this again but after talking to my husband and Jackie about this I had decided to have a chat with the farmer. Both my husband and Jackie are in agreement that I must think of the rest of the flock and I can’t risk this habit spreading and ending up with a plucked flock once more.

If this happened I wouldn’t be able to add new girls and would be stuck with this problem. It is odd that Topaz and Honey were with the flock when this was happening last time and I wonder if it’s something remembered or some instinct from that time.

I tried calling the farmer yesterday but got no reply. After finding feathers from Topaz today I called again and left a message asking her to call me.

She called late this afternoon and was so lovely and said that it had worked out for Pepper and Dotty and she would be happy to do the same with these two girls. She said to bring them over straight away. She is going to keep them in her kitchen until dusk and then put them in the barn with her flock.

She will keep the flock in the barn for three days then let them all out together. She has always done it this way and says it works for her and worked well last time. As before she said that she will look after them to the best of her ability and I can visit them. She thought they were beautiful.

Topaz and Honey in the farmer’s kitchen

I did say something about hygiene and she said that she has had calves and all manner of farm animals in her kitchen.

My flock of six

When I gave out the pre bedtime corn my flock of six was lacking some colour and I felt so sad. I hate that I have had to do this again but I think it is the right thing for my flock.

Once settled Topaz and Honey will have a meadow to free range in and a cockerel to keep the flock in order. They will be reunited with Pepper and Dotty although I don’t know if they could possibly remember them.

Most of all though, my flock will get to keep their feathers and I can get back to enjoying them instead of stressing and getting tearful. I am sure this was the right thing to do.

Okay, I have just had a little weep but onwards and upwards.