The hens are anywhere from 48 weeks (Hermie) to 44 weeks old now and laying OK. We’ve gotten 370 eggs since March 7th. They’ve started going broody (except Emma and Enola) and have slowed down their laying because of the heat. Hermie is going into her third broody period! Her breast feathers have just grown in and she’s going broody again. Sigh… but she lays big beautiful brown eggs when she isn’t broody. Vin still isn’t laying but she is acting broody and has lost some breast feathers so maybe a broody period can bring her back into lay?? One can hope! And then…
The pullets are now 17 weeks old and someone laid a beautiful, tiny, green egg in the barn! That the others ate! Boo! It is a little early to lay but getting close and one of the Easter Eggers, (Esmeralda- bright green legs) has semi squatted a couple times so it might be her. The others should still be a month out but it is long day length right now and they are definitely going through puberty, so it might move them to lay faster. Plus with all the gorgeous food they get, they are all well fed. So we decided it was time to meld the groups and move the “not so little” girls from the barn to being with the hens in the mobile coop and plastic fencing. Matt had moved them close where they shared a netted fence between them for a couple weeks and they had already done a little showing off so we hoped it would go well. And it went ok- the pullets weren’t too sure about going past the netting and of course the big girls had to come check out what was going on (scaring the littles) but eventually we got them mixed together. Well…in the same 600 square feet inside the fence, but definitely segregated! And it turns out that Vin is the dominant hen. They all tried to avoid her.
I sat out there for about an hour (once there was some shade) and just watched to make sure none of them decided to really get into a fight. Charlotte and Cordelia ganged up on the pullets a couple times but it was maybe 15 seconds of squawking and posturing by the hens and the pullets fled. Big Orpingtons can puff up pretty big! Hermie also tried to eat all the pullet crumbles and keep them away, but some dried mealworms fixed that. Hermie loves her treats! The pullets do not yet understand I am the treat lady but they are already learning. Emma still comes running and talking to me when I go out there. She is one of the more reliable layers and such a funny bird!
Then came time to go into the coop for the night. The hens all know what “going in” means (by help of several treats!) and apparently so did the pullets. Only they wanted to go into the barn. It took Dave and I about 40 minutes to get them into the mobile coop. I had to physically catch half of them (good thing I had been doing that for a couple weeks) one at a time and throw them into the coop. The first couple in the coop were not happy and neither were the hens. Then we just sort of chased the others toward the open door and they panic ran in. Emma and Hermie thought they should come out and help but at least I knew they would go back in! The poor last Welsummer was so scared at being alone and being herded back and forth, and I think she simply, accidentally, flew in the door. Hopefully tonight they figure out this is the pattern and that treats are involved and go in a little easier. All looked good this morning- no obvious injuries or limping- so it looks positive. Maybe they will start to roost also. It seems like most of the pullets just slept on the ground.
