The new girls have now been with us for five and a half days. Their space is quite small so I decided to separate off the rest of their half of the run and give them more space.
I did this in the morning and once I had opened the hatch I left them to it and waited to see if they would explore. By lunch time they still hadn’t stepped over the threshold.
After lunch I decided to encourage the new girls to go out into the new space. I wafted them through the hatch with my hands. I took a couple of photos through the hatch then went through the gate to take a couple more.
At this point I went back through the gate and the new girls went straight back to their space. For the rest of the day they stayed in their space.
I have decided to leave them too it and wait until they get braver and venture out by themselves. They obviously feel safe and comfortable in their smaller space for now.
Edit
The next morning when I let the new girls out they went straight out into their new space. They have been spending half their time out there ever since and are often next to the rest of the flock on the other side of the wire.
They have also started drinking from the water dish so I have now removed the water bottle. They seem to be coming on really well.
Click here to see the history of my flock.
I suppose they’ll move once they feel ready. They do look like Little and Large! Lovely birds.
I agree, they just need longer to feel ready. They are very together despite their difference in size. Size never seems to matter. They are quite bonded.
Don’t they look really pleased and happy together and it looks like they are really enjoying their new space
They are enjoying their new space. It gets much more sun than their top bit so they have been laying in the sun most days.