Today I switched the main flock and the new girls to each other’s sides of the run. As there are three sections it’s easy to do as I get the main flock in one section and then let the new girls into the other side and then open the two sections for the main flock and reverse this when I want to put them back again.
The new girls wanted to get back to their side with the big girls at first but soon settled to exploring the other side.
It didn’t take them long to find the food and water. These girls are more adventurous than previous newbies.
After an afternoon on the other side I switched the girls back again. Tomorrow I will put a fourth feeding station at the bottom end of the main flock’s half and then give both lots some time together. The new girls are dictating the pace and they seem keen to mix.
They will have some supervised time to mix and we will see how they get on.
As predicted Red has now gone broody. She has laid eight eggs in thirteen days which is exactly the same as last time she went broody. These girls are so predictable.
Having been a bit grumpy this year about the lack of eggs I am now happy with the situation. It’s turned out to be really good timing. This will probably mean Red will go on to moult and that will be the end of egg laying for this year for the main flock. If if she doesn’t moult and comes back into lay again it won’t be for a while yet.
This means I can put the whole flock on growers pellets and get straight on with integrating the new girls. When it looks like the new girls are getting near to laying I will move them on to half growers and half layers and then gradually make the switch to layers pellets.
This whole process is happening much faster than I thought it would but that’s really good. I will let the new girls dictate how quickly we move forward now as it doesn’t matter if it happens sooner or a little later.
Click here to see the history of my flock.