Mrs

[Fur 'n' Feathers]

Got our newbies today after arriving back from Devon last night "Kota" (the Suffolk Blacktail) is greek for hen & "spiti" (the Mendlesham Blue) is greek for house - you can guess where we got them from!

 

 

 

 

[Egluntyne]

Lovely.

[Sandychick]

Lovely hens - they look very happy in their new home

[Plum]

Good to hear you got them. Beauties

[pips_pekins]

Congratulations. They are both beautiful. Kota is a wonderful colour.

[Fur 'n' Feathers]

Congratulations. They are both beautiful. Kota is a wonderful colour.

 

We found Ben at Hen house Poultry to be really helpful and were very impressed with his stock. We also noticed that many of his rangers (the warren types) were the same dark rufus colour. It is rather fetching.

 

Both the girls have very clearly marked hoods in colour & they were very handlable too. No wrestling in our arms. A child would not be frightened by them.

 

When we put them in the eglu & the other girls saw them there was a real racket....especially from Pitsi who is bottom hen...possibly feels threatened by the possibility of being even lower in the pecking order!

Edited September 20, 2011 by Guest

[Guest]

Yay!

 

Ben and Henhouse poultry!!!!!

That's where I go - I want his garden!!!!

 

Louise

x

[Fur 'n' Feathers]

Yay!

 

Ben and Henhouse poultry!!!!!

That's where I go - I want his garden!!!!

 

Louise

x

 

Absolutely! We wondered if we were going to leave the country before got to the runs It just seemed to go on forever!

[Heathers Hens]

Hi

I'm also looking to add to our flock of two with another two girls but a bit confused how to go about introducing them. Are your newbies separate from your other girls? I was hoping not to have to buy another house but obviously don't want to put the new additions at risk. I'd appreciate any advice

Thanks Heather

[Tweety]

Hi Heather, have a look in the FAQs about chickens for excellent advice about introductions

[Fur 'n' Feathers]

Hi

I'm also looking to add to our flock of two with another two girls but a bit confused how to go about introducing them. Are your newbies separate from your other girls? I was hoping not to have to buy another house but obviously don't want to put the new additions at risk. I'd appreciate any advice

Thanks Heather

 

As Tweety mentioned, there is a lot of info on the forum re. intros.

Personally we never put newbies straight in with an established flock. We take our time (and theirs) to get them accustomed to the "presence" of each other and then gradually put them together, starting with a little late free-ranging under watch or night time intros when they are sleepy and "in bed". Everyone gets to find their own method that they feel comfortable with. We did a running log of one of our intros about a year ago, which became a sharing/comparison log between a few of us that were doing the intros at the same time. You might find this helpful..

 

There are many good reasons for keeping newbies separate, including intial quarantining, enabling them to settle & find their feet in a new territory, aclimatising both "flocks" to reduce hostility (both initial and longer term). You can also spend a bit of time getting them used to being handled during this period.

 

We think the most important thing is that you feel comfortable with what you're doing - they see you as "rooster".

 

As the newbies come into lay they often settle in terms of initial flightiness and this can ease introduction also.

 

Hope this is helpful