Carol's Chickens

Last night we decided to take the plunge and give the two sets of girls some time together before bedtime. We timed it to give them half an hour together then quarter of an hour to calm down on their own sides before going to bed.

I opened the gate and sprinkled some corn around to encourage the bantys out and keep everyone occupied. I sat on the wooden block with the water spray in one hand and the camera in the other.

At first they were all more interested in the corn but once the bantys came out Bluebell went for them pretty aggressively and I sprayed her with water. Amber, the smallest of the bantys, retreated to the coop on their side. At least she feels safe in her own coop. I was surprised that Honey was the bravest and came back out into the big girls side.

The behaviour of the three big girls was different according to their place in the pecking order. Bluebell, bottom girl, just wanted to attack, getting in pecks where she could. Dotty who is middle girl was next to make her move and did it all with display. She stood up tall and raised her neck feathers (if only she knew how ridiculous she looked with half her neck feathers missing!) and tried to intimidate by show. Pepper who is top girl just walked straight up to Honey and froze like a statue giving her a long stare. Once the stare was broken she gave a quick peck.

A little corn to entice the bantys out

Getting closer with the distraction of the corn

Honey bravely walks past Bluebell and Dotty

Bluebell is soon in pursuit

Pepper gives Honey a long stare

Honey voiced her alarm and Amber came out of the coop to check on her.  I found it all very hard to watch and intervened with the spray but my husband said that I should leave them to it a bit as it’s natural and they need to do this. I am too soft though and find it really hard to see the aggression. I decided this was enough for tonight and as the bantys returned to their side I shut the gate.

The big girls settled next to bantys on the other side of the wire and commenced to have a massive preening session. The bantys joined in with a bit of preening on their side. I am not sure if the preening was showmanship or because I had sprayed them with water, or perhaps a bit of both.

Pepper preening and one of the bantys preening in the background

Pepper preens while Bluebell keeps a close eye on the bantys

All the big girls preen

Bluebell can’t take her eyes off the bantys

Bluebell continued to watch the bantys every move even when Pepper and Dotty were settling on the coop roof ready for bed. I think if it was just the bantys and the dominiques, they would very soon be ready to integrate without too much trouble but it’s Bluebell who is going to be the problem. Bottom girl is determined to hold her position and so my most docile girl has turned into the most aggressive. I think this is going to take some time but we will keep on with this in the evenings for now.

Once the coop door started to close I lifted the big girls in and by then the bantys had gone into their coop so I closed the door. We have now got the first session behind us and will see what tomorrow brings. I guess it wasn’t too bad really!

Today my husband fitted the last supporting batons for the roof panels. The bantys corner perch should now stay dry which is good because this has become their favourite place to sit at the end of the day. Most of their area should now keep dry.

The last roof panel is in place

I have been been sitting in the run for a while each day to get the bantys used to me. They don’t run away when I ever I approach now and sometimes even come towards me as I walk up the garden towards the run.

I am also trying to get them used to the camera and they will let me get a bit closer to them.

Honey and Amber

Honey is on the right and Amber is sitting on the left. The easiest way to tell them apart is that Honey has a spot with a bit of cream on it (like the eye on a peacock feather) on her back just before her tail. It shows in the photo above. She is also slightly bigger and has a slightly longer tail. I know that if she loses her feathers the peacock spot may not come back and it will be even more difficult to tell them apart. Amber is more feisty than Honey and I think she is the leader of the two. I hope that as I get to know them better it will become easier to tell which one is which.

Since we have had the two bantys, Bluebell has been determined to prove she is no longer bottom girl. She has shown the most aggression to them and watches them all the time. She will run at the wire or stand with her beak to the wire giving them the look!

At bedtime the big girls like to roost on the coop roof even though I come along and spoil their fun by lifting them down and putting them to bed inside the coop. Pepper who is top girl would boc at Bluebells head to stop her joining them and Bluebell would usually slope off to the inside of the coop. Since the bantys arrival her confidence has grown. Recently instead of being put off by Pepper she moves round to the other side of Dotty and takes her place on the roof.

It’s a short lived victory because at bedtime I simply lift them all down and pop them in the coop. From time to time I look in through the nest box to check if they are in their usual positions. Pepper and Dotty are always on the bottom perch and when Treacle was with us she too would be on the perch. Bluebell has always slept on the floor. I was never sure if this was of her choosing or if the other girls wouldn’t let her perch in the same way as they wouldn’t let her on the roof with them but I had never yet seen her sleep anywhere but on the floor in front of them.

Last night I couldn’t resist a look in and to my surprise there was Bluebell on the perch next to the other two girls. Three girls in a row, such a sweet sight but the first time I have seen this. Has she a new confidence from having the banty girls below her!

I used to feel sorry for her being at the bottom and a bit left out. I did wonder if, with the bantys being such a close little pair, she would still be the odd one out. But I think her lot has improved. The bantys will no doubt be bottom of the pecking order but being bottom together, I doubt they will mind and Pepper followed by Dotty will remain at the top. The difference is Bluebell still in third place is now in the middle instead of the bottom and I am sure she is seeing that as promotion! It’s a fascinating thing, this pecking order!

Yesterday we almost finished fitting the roof panels. We had to do it after work and ended up running out of time and running out of screws so had to leave off the wooden batons for the last panel. Most of the run is now able to be covered though and we can finish off the last bit at the weekend.

Both panels fitted to the roof and in the open position

If we leave the panels at the veg plot end of the run when they are in the open position, they will give the bantys a bit of a dry area even if it suddenly rains while we are out. It also has the advantage of keeping the coop under cover.

We got this done just in time as when I went out this morning it was raining and I pulled the panels into the closed position.

The panels are almost finished and in the closed position

The remaining open square at the top is the unfinished bit. All it needs is the support batons to be added. We do have a permanent dry area over the patio but just wanted to stop the garden area becoming a muddy quagmire during wet weather. We are also leaving the plastic cover over the triangular area to the left of the panels. I dig this over regularly for the girls and they use it for dust bathing.

Last night the bantys went in to their coop as usual once the big girls had gone to bed so I feel happy with our routine now. Now that they have a nice, safe area with some dry cover and their own coop, I feel that there is no hurry to integrate and intend to take our time with it.

During the bedtime routine the bantys like to be in the corner nearest the big girls and they were all scratching together with just the wire between them.

All scratching together

The bantys also like having their own little perch in the corner.

Amber and Honey perching together

I am glad when the hebe died my husband suggested leaving the dead trunk in, it makes a perfect perch for the bantys.

All the girls seem fine with the wire between them but Bluebell, our bottom girl, is the one I can see being the most problematic. Bluebell watches the bantys all the time and sometimes runs at them, she also gives a quick peck through the wire occasionally. The other girls don’t take much notice of them but Bluebell doesn’t want to remain bottom girl.

Another advantage of this set up, is that if Bluebell does bully the bantys when they are integrated, we could put her in the separate part of the run for a while. I feel a lot happier now that we have several options and we can take everything slowly. I also hope that now I don’t need to handle the bantys they will gradually get used to me.

Yesterday we continued to make improvements. I put the bantys food dishes on an upturned pot to raise them off of the ground in the hope that they won’t get so many bits scratched into them. The big girls feeder is on the patio area so this has never been a problem with their food. The two dishes have pellets and pellet mash in them.

Feeding station

We also put the panels on one strip of the roof to help keep the run dry during wet weather. My husband came up with this idea. He has put three perspex panels between wooden batons. When it’s dry we can push the three panels on top of each other, either at the patio end or the veg plot end. This will leave the middle space open for sun and air flow. When its wet we will slide the panels out to fill the entire strip with the panels overlapping a bit to keep the rain out.

New roof panels

This shows the panels on top of each other ( in the open position) at the veg plot end. We now need to do the same thing with the strip to the right of this which is over the bantys area. We have all the pieces ready but are doing this in stages so as not to stress the bantys too much. The next panel is trickier because we need to assemble them from inside the bantys area and they get stressed when we go in there. If it is too stressful for them we have considered doing it by torch light once they have gone to bed.

We need to get this done fairly soon because wet weather is forecast later on in the week and the bantys don’t have a dry area at the moment.

The other major improvement is the bedtime routine. The bantys went to bed in their coop again last night. Just like the night before they looked like they wanted to join the big girls as the big girls settled on the coop roof. Thank goodness my big girls are so easy to handle. I just lift them down and put them in as the door is closing and they don’t make any fuss about this at all.

Once the big girls are in it seems to trigger the bantys and they went into their own coop. It is then really easy to just close the door.

I went out at half past five this morning and let the bantys out. I think the big coop is now opening at about five o’clock. It’s a good job I am good at getting up early!

Last night I spent a bit of time sweeping and cleaning up as usual and sitting with the big girls and just generally letting the bantys get used to the evening routine. I also dug over the corner of the run which the girls love as they get the odd worm and fresh soil to scratch in. I then dug a small patch for the bantys and they went straight to it for a scratch  around.

I went back in just as it was getting dark and the big girls went up on to the coop roof. The bantys were in the corner of the run nearest the big girls and looked as if they wanted to join them. I lifted the big girls down and put them in as the door was shutting, this seems to have become the current routine at the moment.

At that moment my husband had come up to check proceedings and Honey ran over to their coop and went in. Amber ran over and went in too, then popped back out a couple times and then went back in and settled. I crept in and closed the door. Job done! At last! Not yet nine o’clock and all the girls in bed with out me having to handle the bantys.

I felt elated. If they will go in themselves each night from now on, it won’t matter how long integration takes and the bantys can get used to me without stress or handling. Hurrah!

This morning I went out at six and let the bantys out of their coop. As usual Amber came straight out but Honey took a few minutes to come out. All was calm as they didn’t have to run the gauntlet of the big girls.

Today we decided that we would leave finishing the dry roofed area until tomorrow to give the bantys a stress free day. I spent a bit of time sitting in the big girls side of the run to get the bantys more used to me being in there. They seemed far less bothered by me today which is progress.

The bantys are a very tight little twosome.

The bantys sit together in a dust hollow

Bluebell and Dotty check on them

Pepper checks on them

The big girls check on them all the time, especially Bluebell. Bluebell did give one of them a peck through the wire but the banty didn’t seem bothered and didn’t move back from the wire. It amazes me that they sit against the wire even though the big girls will peck them given half a chance. Bluebell who was bottom girl is by far the worse one. She doesn’t want to be bottom girl any longer and looks as if she would love to get into the bantys side of the run.

I gave all the girls a treat of live yogurt today. I topped it with a little chopped tomato as this encourages the bantys to try something that is new to them (they love tomato). They ate a little of the yogurt. They don’t devour every last bit of the treats like the big girls do.

later this afternoon Amber wanted to practice laying an egg again. She makes a sort of churring sound and starts looking anxiously for somewhere to go. I was really pleased that she went into the coop. She spent a little time in there, came out then returned for a little while. Later in the afternoon my husband saw both Amber and Honey go into the coop for a while.

This is a really good sign because it means they now know the coop is there. I think last night they had no clue about the coop because they hadn’t yet been in it. I hope that now they have slept in it and investigated it during the day they may go into it tonight. I really do hope so. I am feeling much more positive about everything today.

The two bantys are quite difficult to tell apart. Honey had some white flecks on her collar but they have disappeared now, however Honey does have a white spot on her back near her tail and she is slightly bigger than Amber. Amber is the more feisty one of the two and is the first to come out in the mornings and was the most difficult to get in at night. Amber must be slightly more mature as she has been practising her egg laying. I wonder how long it will be before she actually lays. She practises every other day at the moment so is obviously not quite ready yet.

The bantys seem much more settled today and haven’t looked stressed or gone behind the bush at all today. I think it was definitely a good move getting them their own coop for now.

I went looking for a small coop today for the bantys as picking them up in the evening is too stressful for them and running the gauntlet of the big girls in the mornings can’t be good for them either.

I found a small animal house that I think will be ideal. It has a small wooden nest box inside and is weather proof. It did cost fifty pounds which was more then I wanted to pay but I felt we needed to do something quickly to make the bantys life better. I just really hope they will use it.

The bantys new coop

The new coop in the bantys area

I gave both lots of girls some fish in olive oil as a treat this afternoon.

Dotty seems to have pigeon toes

The big girls had finished their dish before the bantys even started theirs. The bantys weren’t impressed. They are much fussier than the big girls and don’t get excited by food in the same way, although they do like corn.

The bantys are always very close together

They are never far apart and when they sit they are usually virtually on top of each other.

My husband started work on fitting some perspex over the outside run that we will be able to slide out during wet weather. It was drizzling a little this morning and I was worried that the bantys don’t yet have a dry area. As a temporary measure I put an umbrella over the bush but need something more substantial. We will continue working on it tomorrow as we don’t want to stress them by doing too much at once. They really don’t like us being in the run and especially don’t like us being in their area.

I am hoping that once they are using their coop and I don’t have to pick them up, they will gradually start getting used to me. Tonight will be the testing time, to see if they will go in their own coop.

Well it didn’t go easily or  according to plan. At dusk the big girls were on top of the coop and the door was closing so I scooped them up one by one and popped them in. I hoped the bantys on the other side of the wire would see how easy they go in but of course it doesn’t work like that. The bantys were showing no sign of going in their coop so I left them until dark.

I went back and they were in the corner of their run so I tried to pick one up but she flew into the bush. I picked her up from the bush and put her in her coop. The second one is always the problem and it took a while to catch her. I felt awful because I know this is stressful for her.

I hope after a night in their coop maybe they will recognise it tomorrow and go in. If not I may have to leave them out as I think it’s too stressful to catch them each night. I don’t want to make a bad habit of them staying out but I don’t know what else to do. Maybe if one of them goes in to try to lay her egg she will get familiar with it (she seems to get the urge every other day). I am at my wits end with this. It was more difficult catching them tonight in their own area because they can get behind the bush.

I don’t want bedtime to be stressful and don’t really know where to go from here. The big girls are so easy in comparison. I can only hope we turn a corner soon.

If you didn’t see it with your own eyes you wouldn’t believe it! I thought we needed to come up with a more permanent and weather proof nest box for the bantys than a cardboard box. I bought a plastic pet carrier, it didn’t cost much plus I had a money off voucher and it would be handy if we ever needed a vet visit so win win!

When Amber decided she needed a nest box this afternoon she got very agitated like she did a few days ago. She marched up and down the fence making a vocal protest and looking for a way out. She ignored the pet carrier. I thought the air holes were perhaps letting in too much light so I covered it with a cloth. She didn’t like the cloth and looked even more stressed.

I looked for an alternative and put in a small wooden log box with pine shavings in it. I sprinkled corn around it and a little in it to draw her to it. She ate the corn and put her head in the box to take the corn from inside then continued with her stressed march around and kept looking up to see if she could get out anywhere.

I gave in and retrieved the cardboard box from the dustbin. I taped it back together and returned to to the same spot as before. Amber went straight in and settled herself happily. I wouldn’t mind so much but like before she came out half an hour later without laying an egg and happily carried on with her day.

All that stress to get into the correct box which she must have imprinted on already and yet she didn’t even need to lay yet. She would have been willing to risk the big girls to get out to where she knows the bedtime nest box is or she would except her cardboard box and yet no other box was going to do.

My husband says he will replicate the cardboard box in wood but I wonder if that will please her. They are such funny little things. She has only been here a few days and yet already has such strong attachments!

Just before dusk we went in and opened the gate to the bantys area. Again they tried to get on the coop roof with the big girls but were getting a few pecks. I lifted the big girls down and put them in leaving the separated off nest box open. One of the bantys went straight in. The other went in and I went to close it but she flew out again. I closed itanyway as I was afraid the other one would come out and we would two to catch.

I decided to retreat for a bit and see if she would settle somewhere. When I went back she was on the coop roof. I tried to pick her up but she flew off. I opened the nest box to see if she would join her mate but she again went to the coop roof and the other one was getting agitated. I shut the nest box again as I couldn’t risk having two to catch. I had to catch her and put her in.

This isn’t ideal as it is stressful each evening for both them and me. Tomorrow we will try a different approach. We will put the big girls in then leave the nest box open and retreat until after dark to see if they will go in on their own. I am not sure if it will work but this bedtime routine is not good either. If we could establish a habit of them putting themselves to bed it would make things easier on them and us.

This morning I went out at six o’clock to let the bantys out of the nest box and soon realised the flaw in my plan. I had forgotten that the lid of the nest box is attached to the coop so I couldn’t take the nest box off to let the bantys out in their area. I tried shielding the opening with my body but they are so small and so quick that they flew out.

They are clever little girls though and they went straight to the open gate and into their area. One of the big girls tried to give a quick peck at one them as she ran past and I squirted her with the water spray. The bantys were soon in their area and I closed the gate behind them. They didn’t seem too bothered and didn’t go behind the bush but just pottered about in their run.

I think perhaps I will just let them out like this each morning as I think they are less bothered by running the gauntlet with the other girls than they are by me picking them up and I now know they will very quickly go to their run.

I am really pleased with our separated run now as it means it doesn’t matter how long the integrating takes and also if ever we need to separate a hen for any other reason it will be really useful.

The feather pulling is still going on with the big girls and although all three do it, Pepper is the worse culprit. When the girls are fully integrated I may separate Pepper either alone or with the bantys to see if I can break her of this habit.

I have been fine tuning the feeding station for the bantys. I have put the water on a paving slab to try to stop it getting so many bits in it and I have switched the bantys food dish for smaller ramkin dishes. I have given them three, one with pellets, one with mash topped with some chopped tomato and one with grit. I think smaller dishes are more suitable for them and also I will be able to get a better idea of how much they are eating.

New feeding station

By the time I went back with my camera the bantys had eaten all of the chopped tomato and wandered off.

Another added bonus with the new girls is that it’s been quieter rather than noisier. This is because when Bluebell and Dotty go in to lay their eggs together every morning, Pepper doesn’t like being out on her own and used to shout the whole time they were in there. Now we have the new girls she doesn’t feel alone and no longer shouts. The bantys make a sound like a baby duck and are really quiet, so no problem there.

We have been lucky with this aspect of it as Bluebell only shouted on the first morning but there has been no shouting since so I don’t have to worry about noise disturbing the neighbours.

The other thing I have done is to change the cardboard box for a plastic pet carry box as the bantys nest box. I think that now we have five girls a second nest box will be useful plus if we ever need a trip to the vet the box can be used as a pet carrier again. I have put pine shavings in it and put it under the bush in the shade.

New nest box

It now remains to be seen how long it will take them to discover it and will they actually use it! I can but hope.

I forgot to update on the banty using the cardboard nest box the day before yesterday. She sat in the box for about an hour then gave up without an egg. From this I conclude that she is just about to start laying and not quite sure if she is ready yet. My big girls all went into the nest box for a few days before they actually laid an egg. Yesterday was probably too stressful as we were putting up the divider and gate. Neither has shown any interest today either.

The little mash dish was empty by lunch time so I am pleased to know that they are eating, I just couldn’t tell with a bigger dish. I refilled it for them and I think the pellets had gone down too. I also gave them some spinach leaves and a bit of apple.

So far so good! We will let the bantys out before dusk again tonight but about ten minutes earlier and see how that goes.