After a three month wait today was the day we bought our new girls home. We are really impressed with “Chickens To Your Door”. We had an email from them a month ago confirming Tuesday 12th August as our pick up day. Another e-mail a week ago confirming that 11.30 in the morning was our pick up time. Then another e-mail yesterday with lots of information so we knew exactly how it all worked and a phone number to call if we had any problems at all with our new girls.
We arrived a little early this morning at 11.15. There was a sign telling us where to park. Immediately a young lad asked for our surname. He disappeared into a shed and returned a minute later with a box with our two girls in. He gave us a chicken treat ball and a sachet of powder to go in the water which is a hydration supplement and electrolytes to be used for the first few weeks.
The journey was fifty minutes each way and we had the windows open to keep it as cool as possible.
Once home I popped the new girls in their little coup and kept them closed in for five minutes. I always hope this will mean they will know where to go at bedtime although it is hit and miss whether it actually works.
Going with my usual tradition of descriptive names I am calling the Dutch bantam Silver and the citron sebright Ginger. They are beautiful girls.
After five minutes I opened the ramp and waited with my camera. Nothing happened for five or ten minutes. Eventually a beak appeared and Silver ventured out. After another five minutes I opened up the lid of the coup. Ginger then ventured out.
Not long after that we saw them both go to the water and have a good drink. They then went to the food. This makes me very happy. I always feel happier when I have seen new girls eat and especially drink.
They are four months old so they are on growers pellets whereas the main flock are on layers pellets. This means they will have to be separate for up to two months or until they look like they are getting ready to lay. Leading up to mixing time I will start the integration process but that’s a little way of yet.
It will be interesting to see if they put themselves to bed tonight or if I will have to put them in.
I am very happy with the way they have settled on their first day with us. They soon found the food and water and have explored their area and have been in and out of the shelter which very often new girls avoid. They look very happy and settled already. It’s been a very good start.
Click here to see the history of my flock.
I am glad that it all went well. They are beautiful looking girls.
It couldn’t have gone better. They are beautiful. Sebright has been on my wish list for a very long time because of their beautiful feather pattern and colour. I have opened up beyond the hatch this morning so that they have a bigger space as I could see that Silver in particular needed more space, she was doing zoomies yesterday like dogs do, little spurts of running very fast.
They are absolute beauties, Carol. Fingers crossed that your expertise at integration persists. 🙂
They are beautiful. I think integration may be sooner than I thought. Silver clearly wants to join the flock.
I haven’t dropped in to see what you and your girls are up to for ages. Your new girls are lovely!! I’ve always wanted a Sebright but my girls free range when we’re at home and I’m worried they’d fly away! I do have Dutch bantams and they’re lovely.
I’ve also had new girls this year – and they were also from Chickens to your Door! Their main site is only an hour from me so I was able to go and collect them. A blue and a gold laced Wyandotte.
Hope your girls settle in quickly 🙂
It’s lovely to hear from you. Sebrights are very flighty. What colour are your Dutch bantams? I have seen other colours but they only had one colour. That’s handy that you are not too far from Chickens To Your Door. Interesting that we have both had chickens from them, finding a good breeder is such a big issue and I thought they seemed very caring.
I’d say my Dutch bantams are closest to lemon millefleur (I’ve never seen any others that colour – it’s usually a Sablepoot colour). There were 3 – Snap, Crackle and Pop – but sadly we lost Crackle last winter.
My partner bought them for me for my birthday. We got them at auction which was very exciting and they’ve been brilliant, but I definitely wouldn’t do it again. Of the 6 ‘girls’ we bought that day 1 died of a respiratory illness within a week, and 1 turned out to be a cockerel!
I have just googled lemon millefleur and they are beautiful. I would love that colour and would have sablepoot if it weren’t for the feathered feet. I love the black dutch bantam and white is pretty too. I see now that mine is silver, ironically I named her Silver before I knew this. When I asked what colour she was they said just dutch bantam and sent me a photo of her as they weren’t yet on the web site. I remember you mentioning Snap, Crackle and Pop in the past.