Surfnirvana Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 I'm delighted to share with you that I now have 4 new lovely chooks, who arrived on Sunday! 2 x Columbian Black Tails (Bess & Mary - very friendly) and 2 x Sussex Stars (Polly (Top Hen) & Ivy - rather flighty) They are gorgeous! As soon as I have worked out how to up load piccies I will! However...... I originally wanted to have some Buff Orpingtons and I found a "hobbyist" breeder not far from me, who had Buff and Blue Orps available at £25 each! I went to have a look at them last Friday. They were in a large area with about 100 other chooks of all sizes and shapes. The hen houses looked reasonably clean but the breeder said they were due to clean them out that day. The Orps, were bright eyed and seemed really well so I agreed to collect them the following evening. When we went to collect them, I picked them up and had a good look over them. They were covered in lice!! The breeder seemed shocked too, poor little things, but this obviously meant the rest of the flock was infested too. I decided to back away from taking them, which the breeder understood. It was all very disppointing, but the next day we went to another reputable breeder, who had some lovely hybrids in and we took home 4 of them. Had our first egg yesterday! My current older lady chooks are utterly disgusted at the new arrivals. I am keeping them apart at the moment as I have been lucky enough to borrow my friend's spare eglu which has been very handy. I am going to attempt putting them together tonight at dark in the cube and keep my fingers crossed. Rose is so frail now that if Polly picks on her I'm worried she will get flattened. (I'm having to lift Rose up into the cube every night now as she tumbled down the steps yesterday - love her). I'll keep you posted! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scarlettohara Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Congralutions on your new girls - where are the photos If you have a weaker chicken I would do proper intros for at least 3 weeks until you put them together. Have a look at the FAQs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teacake Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 congrats on your new girls, and an egg already, hurray! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Good move, checking those girls over . I never had the nerve when picking up my girls . Looking forward to the photos . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plum Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Yes I'm so excited I usually forget, what a numpty after all the posts on here Congratulations and good luck with the intros. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Congratulations. Love the idea of your older hens being 'utterly disgusted'. A shame about your earlier disappointment, but I'm sure you were wise not to take them on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin B Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Congratulations! Shame about the Orpington's but I hope your new hens bring you lots of smiles...AND EGGS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluffy chick Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Would love to see pics! Good on you for not taking the ones with lice. To be fair on the breeder lice can happen even with very clean coops, esp if they fr and can mix with wild birds etc. They should look again at how they are treating their birds though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jess1merlin Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 Hi Lynne Glad to hear you managed to get some new girls, hope all goes well with the introductions. Are you still going to get some orpingtons in the future? Sue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chucky Mama Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 Well done for checking them over first. I gave both of my batches of girls a complete check over before I bought them - and their living conditions. Needless to say they were in great shape so there was not a problem. I bet it was a bit embarrassing for both of you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
