Oh dear, what have I done? After much soul (and chicken) searching, we realised we could not find a friend of similar age for our lonely chicken Sylvie and the closest we could get were five week old chicks. Not only do they need to feed on Grower's pellets instead of Layer's pellets but introducing such small chickens to much larger ones would be asking for trouble and trouble is what we don't want!
The next option was to rid ourselves of the loudmouth of the bunch, Luna. Now you will know I love all my hens and we had searched far and wide for a lavender bantam last year before finding this grey beauty. Whilst Buck Bucky is still the top of the pecking order which befits her great age and superiority, Luna was the bossiest and she has chased off all the others when it comes to treats. So, we decided that as long as we could find a good home for her we would pass her on and then try again to integrate Sylvie with the other three.
Putting Luna on a Preloved site seemed very callous but within hours we had found a farm that was interested in taking her. I scooped her up from the luxury of a dust bath in the greenhouse and before we could reconsider she was in a hen box and whisked away. She will be used to breed from and is going into a large run with a twelve week old cockerel so she will give him short thrift. I hope it all goes okay - I've asked that they bring her back if she can't settle but I doubt I will hear much now.
I feel like a rogue but it's all so that the family of hens can get along and we can start seeing an improvement in Sylvie. We've decided that Quails may be the way to go next if and when Sylvie settles in with the others - there is still a good long way to go yet!
Good luck, pretty Luna-bird. We've enjoyed your company.
The next option was to rid ourselves of the loudmouth of the bunch, Luna. Now you will know I love all my hens and we had searched far and wide for a lavender bantam last year before finding this grey beauty. Whilst Buck Bucky is still the top of the pecking order which befits her great age and superiority, Luna was the bossiest and she has chased off all the others when it comes to treats. So, we decided that as long as we could find a good home for her we would pass her on and then try again to integrate Sylvie with the other three.
Putting Luna on a Preloved site seemed very callous but within hours we had found a farm that was interested in taking her. I scooped her up from the luxury of a dust bath in the greenhouse and before we could reconsider she was in a hen box and whisked away. She will be used to breed from and is going into a large run with a twelve week old cockerel so she will give him short thrift. I hope it all goes okay - I've asked that they bring her back if she can't settle but I doubt I will hear much now.
I feel like a rogue but it's all so that the family of hens can get along and we can start seeing an improvement in Sylvie. We've decided that Quails may be the way to go next if and when Sylvie settles in with the others - there is still a good long way to go yet!
