new chicks, lots of work, rain & a bit of pecking

Yess! The new pullets arrived on Saturday, with their new house and walk-in run, known as the cage.
Ste came and had a look at the cage instructions & parts to set us on the right course. Joe came to help with getting the henhouse into the back garden. Cos the only way was to lift it over a 8' fence and then a 5' one.
Praise the Lord for Joe as he helped us with what wasn't the safest of jobs! balancing a sturdy henhouse on a thin 8' fence... all in the freezing wind, rain & hail! And then he hung around to help screw on the mesh roof of the cage. We were freezing!

It all got done that afternoon, and in went some sawdust to the new nesting boxes, and in went our three new pullets.  They are identical replacements for Emmy, Galadriel and Beyonce. Their names have not been finalised, but they may be Janet (plain grey "Blue Ranger") Arwen (plain white Leghorn) and Megatron (! the Black Rock)

They stayed very quiet in their new home mostly.  Flora - suddenly the Biggest, Oldest, The Boss Hen! Had a look and a peck at the white one, who's the most inquisitive. There is some pecking to be expected as they get acquainted, Flora has to assert her dominance. We found quite a few white feathers in their enclosure.
The 3 new ones will not be exactly free range - they have to stay in their cage - which is plenty big enough. its 8x8 foot. Flora slept in with the new girls Saturday night, and it was lovely and warm on Sunday, so the little ones came out for a peck n scratch. But Flora was back in her old house last night (i guess it depends who's shutting them in - having read all about introducing new hens to the flock, I want to get it over & done with. But DH, who's much more sentimental about animals, wants to give them a leisurely introduction!

This morning I've put Flora in the cage & let's see what happens! She's pecking at the floor near the little hens, things seem calm.

It's really exciting! And we really do love having them. The new house and cage weren't cheap, but really I wish we'd got something this sturdy in the first place.  Our redneck-style fencing efforts never quite kept the birds as safe as we'd have have liked. ...And the new coop sleeps up to 8 hens... so we have scope for little ones hopefully this summer.

As soon as Flora gets friendly enough she will also become encaged permanently, so we can reclaim our lawn & patio area from their wanton destruction. !
Happy Times!