Lavenders_Blue Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 (edited) Well, due to the sad loss of two of my girls in the last few weeks, we are now down to 3 hens. So methinks some new arrivals are in order! I've had two lots of ex batts in the past, but am going for 'posh girls' this time for some more reliable egg laying. Ex batts again next time maybe? So, hubby has given permission to go chicken shopping... unsupervised ... Will be a huge decision what to get, I've never been presented with a choice before! Will update later when I've returned from my expedition. Edited September 29, 2012 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
good_egg Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 So exciting! Look forward to hearing what you got. Enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavenders_Blue Posted September 29, 2012 Author Share Posted September 29, 2012 I'm back! I went to get 4 little brown hens and came back with a bluebell, a coral, a speckledy and a rhode rock All as yet unnamed apart from the little coral who I think will be called Pearl. All at point of lay, but two already laying and two yet to start. I'm looking forward to getting some eggs again! I had a fun experience putting them into the pen. Hubby and I spent quite some time this morning dividing the hen pen in two to separate the new girls from the old girls. I put the new girls into their half of the pen, only for the bluebell to immediately flap over the divide in with the old girls and the speckledy to launch herself out of the pen into the garden (where she refused to be caught ). I eventually managed to corner her by the chicken pen fence - which she obligingly flapped over.... into the old girls' side. So at this point, with two hens in the wrong side of the pen and so sign of squabbling, I figured it would be easier to take the divide down and let them get on with it. The old girls have spent the last hour scurrying round trying to avoid the new girls - wimps! I think wings will be clipped after they have gone to bed tonight and I can get hold of them (if I still have them by then!). Photos to follow once they have settled down a bit and stopped being so jumpy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavenders_Blue Posted September 29, 2012 Author Share Posted September 29, 2012 Photos added! (And chickens named) And the original girls wondering what all the fuss is about... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charly1979 Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 Ahh they are so LUSH !! I wanted a Bluebell last time I went chook shopping. Hope thay settle well x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coppers Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 Gorgeous. xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheeky Chooky Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 Congratulations! Lovely girls Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mollyripkim Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 Congrats too, what a lovely group of girls and a brilliant way to spend a Saturday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 Congratulations on your new girls, they're all gorgeous . Quartz and Onyx are the spitting image of my new girls, Susie and Sophie . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavenders_Blue Posted September 29, 2012 Author Share Posted September 29, 2012 Thanks everyone. They seem to have settled down a bit - no more escaping anyway! The Speckledy is VERY shouty though - not sure if that's a breed thing as I think they are a Marans cross and my neighbours has a couple of Marans which are also very shouty! Bye bye lie-ins if that is the case Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coppers Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 My speckledy, Lupin, is as quiet as a mouse, apart from when I turf her out of the nest box when she is broody (frequent occurrence) then she is very 'bokky' indeed! xxx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charly1979 Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 Tullah my cukcko marran was VERY vocal anything would set her off. Did laugh at our cat Eyore who decided to have a peck in the hen house only to be driven out by Tullah, took her ages to calm down Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LottyJ1 Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 They are all lovely! Congratulations My Maran is vocal when she knows we are in and she wants to free range but is quite a gentle low noise she makes that doesn't seem to travel very far! When she thinks we are out at work she is quiet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auntielizzie Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 Ahh, your Pearl looks like such baby I have a speckeldy called Betsy who is such a sweet girl but at the moment does get picked on a bit by the old girls (still doing intros), but she can be quite shouty She has got a really sticky up tail and really bushy Dennis Healy "eyebrows" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparkysmum Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 All gorgeous but love little Pearl, such a baby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvachicken Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 All gorgeous but love little Pearl, such a baby Me too, she is very sweet, and I love the names by the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zakjon-98 Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 Great girls Another Pearl fan here too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyclonetog Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 Our Marans barely makes a sound! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavenders_Blue Posted September 30, 2012 Author Share Posted September 30, 2012 Thanks for the lovely comments everyone, the new girls are all so lovely but I think Pearl is a real sweetie - I've developed a real soft spot for her already. Unlike Opal (Speckledy) who was found parading round the garden a short while ago after having jumped the fence again Hubby and I have just gone out armed with scissors and clipped her wing - cue much shouting!!! She's a feisty one, that girl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hopingforchickens Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 They're gorgeous! Quartz is my favourite! Well done you x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavenders_Blue Posted September 30, 2012 Author Share Posted September 30, 2012 Well, what an entertaining day we have had today Despite having a wing clipped, Opal has escaped from the pen 8 times today We were fairly certain she was looking for somewhere to lay an egg, so did at one point scoop her up and shove her in the nest box. She sat there for a few minutes until being apparently buzzed off by Quartz (despite there being 2 nest boxes!) where she then took up the escaping routine again. Eventually, at around 6pm she headed up to the nest box by herself - we thought she must have been bursting by then! When she eventually emerged I galloped out in eggcitement to find.... absolutely nothing! Clearly she was experiencing the hen equivalent of braxton hicks Thankfully she settled down after her little nest box adventure. Quartz, on the other hand, DID lay an egg which caused me to perform the egg-dance (well done girlie!). Then, come bedtime, Pearl escaped twice from the run looking for somewhere to roost Thankfully they are now all safely tucked up in bed and I have flopped, exhausted, onto the settee with a large glass of wine! (Definitely having ex-batts again next time, so much easier!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimnpaula Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 Sounds like you need a lid on the run! Have you got any netting? Edit: lovely girls by the way! I have an Onyx and used to have a Pearl too. P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavenders_Blue Posted September 30, 2012 Author Share Posted September 30, 2012 Ideally a lid on the run would be the best solution. Unfortunately it's just not practical as the run is the bottom 1/4 or so of our garden fenced off. As long as they are only hopping over the run fence into our garden and not over the neighbours' fences into their gardens then I can live with it for the time being. I'm fairly sure that they won't hop into the neighbours' gardens as we have 6ft fencing and we have made sure there aren't any launch pads for them to use... but watch this space. Will have to come up with a Plan B if they do go adventuring too far! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saronne Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 They are lovely hens, LB. Where did you get them? Wing, by any chance? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavenders_Blue Posted October 1, 2012 Author Share Posted October 1, 2012 They are lovely hens, LB. Where did you get them? Wing, by any chance? How did you guess?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
