"Water Belly" in Chickens

On Monday I brought my hen, Marlee, into the house because she was looking poorly.  Her comb was flopped over and her crop was full and squishy.  Checking her over a little more, I realized she had a big, soft belly.  I gently checked around, seeing if I could feel an egg that might be stuck.  There was nothing - just a squishy belly - I was more concerned about the belly, I've dealt with crop issues before but never belly issues.

By Tuesday morning she was still the same.  So I gave her an epsom salt soak, hoping that would make her feel better; and if there was a stuck egg, I'd heard that the soak would help.  Nothing.

Today I decided she must have "water belly", ascites.  I read everything I could about it (still reading).  I read about and watched videos of people who had drained the fluid from the water belly.  The fluid build up presses on the internal organs, making eating and breathing difficult.  I could drain the fluid - I could definitely do it - there was no time to get a vet appointment.  Besides, farm people doctor their animals all the time.  This was something I could do.

I still had many 18 gauge needles left over from when I was having to give my cat subcutaneous fluids (I move from giving fluids to a pet, to taking fluid out of a pet).  I had my husband stop at the TSC and bring home a 60cc syringe and some tubing for drainage.

I got Marlee as comfortable as she could be, cleaned the first area, then inserted the needle.  I slowly drew back on the plunger of the syringe and the fluid began flowing out.  With the syringe full, I pulled the needle out and emptied the fluid.  I inserted a clean needle and repeated the steps.  The third prick brought blood - oops!  That's enough.  I don't know what happened there but I quickly stopped the bleeding and put everything away.

For the next few hours, my poor little hen leaked fluid.  I don't know how much there was but she soaked three puppy pads.  At bedtime she was still leaking but not as much.  But her comb was definitely brighter and she was very alert.  I expect she'll be eating well tomorrow.  We'll see.  I hope I did right.

Her belly went from the size of a grapefruit to the size of a golf ball!!!

There's nothing to cure this, and she'll have to be drained periodically.  There are several reasons for water belly but, from everything I've read, I'd have to say her's is from a failing liver.  I'm now reading about how this could happen and on what I can give her to help the liver function better.  One such thing is Milk Thistle.  I'm going to read more about this in the morning.

Marlee is a four year old Blue Copper Marans.   Hoping and praying she's better in the morning.  Love my birdies!

R.I.P. SOFIA

Of all the years keeping chickens, my luck ran out today with a hawk.  Generally I just have little Sharp Shinned Hawks that prey on songbirds.  The one in the trees yesterday was bigger - I thought it was a Red-tail.  Today, when I got home, I saw it closer and took photos.  It's a Cooper's Hawk.  

The chickens were silent when I came home.  Golly was outside the back porch (where he and the girls usually hang out) but EVERYONE was silent.  They usually start fussing when I come home because it's dinner time.  Eerily quiet.  I fed the three chickens that are locked up.  Then I went back to Golly's coop - he followed me.  There were just two girls down there, the others were up under the back porch - no one was coming down for dinner.  I checked their water bowl and there was a good handful of fresh feathers in it.  Something was definitely wrong.  I knew, at that moment, my luck had run out with hawks.  

I started to count chickens, there were the two I saw by the coop and Golly. I looked in the coop and no one was there.  Then I looked under the coop.  Someone was laying dead in the back corner.  It was Sofia, one of my Salmon Faverolles.  Sofia was almost four years old.  A very, very gentle and sweet breed.  The other 10 girls wouldn't come out from under the back porch so I brought their dinner up to them and put it under the porch, no one spoke a word.  

At bed time, I took the lattice off the bottom of the porch and tried to coax them out.  It took about 20 minutes but they finally followed me - literally THREE at a time.  I'd get three down to the coop, then go halfway back and another three would follow, then one more time, then finally the last one.  Tomorrow I'm not letting them out of their coops - maybe for a couple days.  I hate to do that and to put food and water inside, but I want them to take a break and feel safe.  I'm also hoping after a couple days that the hawk will have found better hunting grounds.  

I know that crows keep hawks away and, darn it, WHERE are my crows, they're always out there.  I've been told you can play the sound of crows outside to encourage them to the area.  I might have to look in to that.  

R.I.P my Sofia, mama loves you, and I'm sorry. 

Here is the Hawk - he is beautiful but he is no longer welcome.

All Chickens Outside

Finally – everyone is back outside. 

Lexi has been inside for a long time, likely a whole month before Olivia.  I brought her in to give her a break from Duncan and the twins.  They were entirely too much for her and her back feathers were not growing back in.

Olivia came inside in mid-July because a raccoon had torn her side.  I read that it could take six months to heal.  It’s been less than two months and she’s perfect!  What darling angels these girls are.  They adored life in a people house, caged or not, they loved it!  I miss them inside.

A couple days ago I started taking them back outside into Golly’s yard – that’s actually the flock that Olivia belongs to.  Olivia would run and hide, cowering and get picked on.  Lexi would stay near me, I’d walk a little further away and she’d run to me, wanting me to pick her up.  I didn’t.  She kept one foot on my boot and leaned into my leg.  I pet her and reassured her.  I only let them out for about an hour each day, while I supervised.  Yesterday was the first day I left them out all day, unsupervised.  And last night Olivia went right into the coop and found a spot.  I had to put Lexi in because she had never been in that coop.  Hopefully tonight will go smoother.

Molting chickens all in for the night :)

They are fine.  Lexi even bullies some of the other girls.  Olivia is still skitterish, but she’s found her friends and hangs with them.

God, I love chickens ~ thank you, Creator!  How did I ever live without these entertaining, intelligent, independent, beautiful birds?

IT'S JULY not OCTOBER

While feeding the kids this morning I really noticed how much the leaves have fallen.  It has been sooooo dry in Ohio this year (at least where I live).  Pondering the fallen leaves, I felt I needed to video the chicken kids :D  Have a GREAT day!!

BOYS WILL EVENTUALLY FIGHT - Crazy Roosters

Are you ready for the next installment of "These chickens are driving me crazy!"?

Alright, so, it really isn't funny - I'm just trying to keep smiling.  Crockett, my big Ameraucana rooster is very kind but the "big house" is his and he's a strong boy.  This winter he allowed Duncan, my very feisty Salmon Faverolles/Cream Legbar cross rooster, and his girl, to stay in the big house.  Spring officially has sprung today in my backyard.  The roosters have gone mad!

I came home from work and looked out the back window to find Duncan chasing Crockett, and they were going really slow.  My first thought was "how weird, usually Crockett is the one who chases Duncan off" - then my focus sharpened, I dropped everything and barely got my boots on before running outside.  It was a death match - they were both covered in blood!

I don't know who started it, and even though Duncan was the one doing the chasing, he was the one who was just drenched in his own blood.  I separated them by slamming the rake on the ground near them.  That chased Duncan away and gave Crockett a chance to get away.  They were both whooped.

It took me a while walking around Duncan to wear him out further, to a point where I could grab his tail - that's the easiest way to catch chickens, kinda like grabbing a girl's pony tail.  

DUNCAN

Anyway, that little monster was a mess, he still is.  I took him inside and put him in the medium dog crate (I have a Cochin in the large one right now - that's another story but she's fine).  I got his bleeding to stop, for the most part, wiping him down with a wet wash rag.  Then I sprayed him down with Vetericyn spray gel.  I think he probably looks worse than he is.   

CROCKETT

Crockett seems to be just fine.  All the blood on him appears to be from Duncan.  His face may be a little puffy, maybe.  I'll check them over again in the morning.

I moved all the fencing (the kids in the big yard have about a half acre fenced to explore, I don't trust them to be completely free - but they're not wanting for space, that's for sure).  I split the yard in two.  When Duncan is healed, he'll go back into his old house and I'll just keep adjusting from there.

Never a dull moment.

A CLOSE CALL...

This has happened once before....I should have known better...  

Tubby is blind in one eye and gets spooked occasionally.  This type of fencing is dangerous for "special needs" chickens.  Granted, this is a bad example of the fence - it's not this droopy (this is an old picture before the fence was adjusted).

Today I came home from work and saw my Silkie outside the fence, hanging out in the front yard, I figured she just wiggled under the fence.  I went in the house and put my stuff down.  Then I thought...it's awful quiet out there, something is wrong.  As soon as I stepped onto the back porch I saw my rooster, Tubby, laying on the ground.  One wing was outstretched and his feet were hanging, tangled in the fence. Tubbs is my favorite boy, he his my special boy, my heart.

I rushed over and looked down at him "Tubby??"  He raised his head and made a little noise.  "I got you boy, hold on."  The fence was tangled around his feet, toes, ankles, and spurs.  I have no idea how long he'd been there.  I quickly freed him, scooped him up, hugging him and took him into the house.  He was fine.  Thank God!  

Tubby had been a completely free roaming chicken but, with his partial blindness and a bit of, well I think I want to call it dementia, he needs a fenced in area.  We just put him in this fenced area over the weekend and it only had about 10 feet of the the white fencing, temporarily - the rest is the green, plastic garden fence.  I will now move the green fencing and make the yard a smidge smaller till I can get more of the green.

Tubbs is in the house tonight, all fed and watered and comfy, cozy.  I brought Arabella back in to keep him company - she loves him.  I love my Tubby.

ICED SILKIE

Oh the cute little Silkie chicken!  An eternal ball of fluff.

The feathers of a Silkie stay like downy fluff, soft and fuzzy because they don't have the barbs of regular chicken feathers.  Their feathers are more of a "silk-like" fur; they are not waterproof!  

Contrary to what you'll read of Silkies, my little girl, Daizee, loves being outside in all kinds of weather and she's a feisty little critter.  She'll stand out in a soft rain for hours, pecking at the ground, pulling up worms, getting soaked to the bone.  She'll venture out, and all about in the snow.  But, this year she has experienced a new and unwelcome surprise: a frozen hairdo!

The past couple days have been in the single digits with windchills below zero.  She absolutely doesn't care.  She's one of the first out of the coop and the last to go in.  I think it's because she's not a confined chicken - she's used to being outside and roaming wherever she chooses.  She's smart enough to stay out of the wind though, under the coop.

Today has been sunshiny with zero wind - yay!  However, it's been in the single digits for most of the day.  Daizee must have been a little overzealous while drinking and got her face too far into her water trough.  I went outside this afternoon to see how everyone was enjoying the day, and found Daizee shaking her head.  I finally caught her and found the tips of her head feathers iced over and hanging heavy.  LOL ~ poor little funny girl.

She's doing just fine.  The ice wasn't even all the way to her head - just the first bit of her feathers, enough to make it annoying.  So, I brought her in the house to thaw out and dry off before she goes back outside.  

This should be the last of the super crappy weather.  We're looking ahead to 50°F on Friday!

BEST CHRISTMAS PRESENT EVER.....as a chicken mama ;)

Penny is a jet black Ameraucana/Marans mix.  Her feathers also have a gorgeous green irridescent sheen.  We knew she was a mix from the start - we got her out of a bargain bin and, boy is she a GREAT bargain!  As a chick, along with her fluffy cheeks, she also had black feathered legs.  Everyone thought she was a Black Copper Marans but I knew she was Ameraucana as well.  As she grew it was very obvious her face was getting a definite beard and muff, I was thrilled with this "Ameraucana" - but I kept forgetting about those feathered legs.  Until today.....

Penny laid her first egg today! I was stunned - it took me a second to figure out what I was looking at.  It is a perfect medium/deep OLIVE egg!  Then I remembered those feathered legs ;)

Not only am I happy that Penny has started laying but I'm thrilled with the surprise color.  That's because olive was the egg color I was hoping for when I bought my blue egg laying Cream Legbars to mate with my brown egg gene Salmon Faverolles rooster.  (After getting two boys out of that first try - I don't think I'm trying again.  And that was disappointing - not my boys, just that I wouldn't have olive egged girls - granted, those eggs would have been lighter than this one).  So - Penny's egg is very special to me.  I cannot tell you how excited and happy I am!

SILLY POLISH CHICKEN

Laelah makes me laugh!  I never wanted a Polish chicken, I was afraid they couldn't see well enough and that they'd be fragile and vulnerable, but I'm so glad I was given her (and the Silkie, Daizee, whom I had the same ideas about).

When I was closing up coops tonight, I found Laelah rolling around on the floor.....taking a dust bath!  Silly girl, she has dirt bath areas outside.  Oh well. I hope she found her way up to her roost in the dark.

Here's the video:

CHICKEN STRESS

Poor Veldi.  She's alright, just a little stressed.  Brought her inside for some R&R and extra attention.

These Barnevelders seem to be quite sensitive and gentle; and a young excited rooster can just depress them.  Comb and wattles are nice and bright, no crop or egg issues, no bugs, just depression it seems.  She's getting her regular organic layer mash with BOSS and oats, and accented with some cayenne pepper, meal worms, spinach and arugula.  Water is alternated with electrolytes and ACV.  She's eating and drinking well.

Going to attempt to integrate her with Tubby's crew, they're a little more laid back.  Her sister is still in with Crockett's crew and seems just fine.  There used to be three of them, but the other one passed away from, what I can only guess as, rooster fright.  That was back when Crockett was young and coming up.  Duncan and Golly are the issue now.  

The rest of the girls aren't having any problems at all - in fact my Columbian Wyandottes, Welsummer, and RIR give those young roosters what for!.  It's only Veldi and my sweet rooster, Kilwillie, who are being picked on.  So, Veldi is hanging out in hospital for a few days, just to boost her system.  I'll take her outside again at dinner time and let her free range with Tubby's crew.  

All's good.  

TROUBLE IN PARADISE - Chicken Life

Tonight, Pidgie and I had a pretty good conversation.  I found her roosting up in a tree.  I know why she was there.  

Crockett has been her main squeeze since the start, but there are three other roosters in the mix now; only one of those is active with the girls, the other two I don't think are "allowed" - looks that way anyway because Duncan keeps them in line.  Out of all the hens, Pidgie is the favorite of both Crockett and Duncan.  Whenever Duncan goes after Pidgie, Crockett and two of the older girls (those that rule the roost) knock Duncan away.  But Crockett and the two older girls aren't always around, and Pidgie is getting worn out from running away from Duncan.

So when I found Pidgie this evening, I scooped her up and took her for a walk.  Then we went over to Tubby's yard, I thought I'd see if she'd like to start living over there.  She was ok, but she really wanted to be back with Crockett.  Soon she was sitting with me again and we talked about what she might like to do.  She suggested getting rid of Duncan.  Well, I really didn't want to do that, so we talked some more.  We decided to split Crockett's yard in two.  But that leaves the three young roosters and their one sister in a yard together - I'm not sure Miss Lexie will do well with that situation eventually.  They haven't bothered her to date, maybe because they grew up together and have a house together, I don't know.

I spent an hour moving fencing.  Duncan, Kilwillie, MollyGolly, and Lexie now have their own yard.  We'll see how that goes tomorrow.  I'd like to get Lexie out of there and have her start living at Crockett's house but, she's perfectly content with her brothers, for the moment.  One day at a time.

If I knew of good homes for two of those gorgeous roosters I might consider rehoming them.  But, I guess I'll just have to raise a few more pullets in the Spring so the boys have their own family.  I'll just keep shifting and rearranging till everyone is happy.  Duncan's not going to be happy tomorrow - I can just hear him now!

A GOOD MORNING AT THE VET

HOORAY!  Belly girl is now able to eat!  Yay for Dr. Nathan, his patience, fortitude, and learning.  The cast did not break or crack.  As you can see, it is much shorter than before.  She lost two ounces since the other day BUT, I think she gained that back as soon as she was able to eat today.  Love this girl <3.  Fingers crossed for a full crop tonight!

A BEAK "CAST"

Here is my Arabella with a "cast" on her upper beak - until the keratin layer grows back.  She has not figured out how to eat with it - chickens generally pick food up straight on and, with this cast, she needs to eat from the side - that's just not happening.  I've tried to syringe feed her (food does not work with that - only liquid), I've tried to spoon feed her (very messy and still doesn't work much), and I've tried gently pushing her head down so the beak dives deeper into the food bowl.  NOTHING has helped.  And yet, she tries and tries.  This morning I'm taking her back to the vet so he can dremel down the cast as much as possible; he says there's a chance it might break.....ugh... We'll try it and see.  That long beak is not working.

THE TROUBLE WITH BEAKS

So - Thursday evening I discovered that Arabella (Bella; Belly) had broken part of her beak.  Bella is a white Cochin with a severe scissorbeak.

The more I looked at her beak, before her vet appointment on Friday, it looked less "broken" and more like the top part was torn back away from her nostril on the right side.  And that's basically what it was.

The doctor said the top layer (made of keratin, like a fingernail) had been pulled back, but the bone didn't appear broken and the beak itself was stable - it just looked "ugly" - LOL.  He didn't want to try to clean or trim it because she's most obviously sore.  He did send her home with some antibiotics for 5 days.

I had been - and continue to - rinse her beak good with saline and then spray on some Vetericyn gel (which the doctor looked surprised and impressed that I'd already been doing - yay me! - hahaha).

I put her back outside with her sisters because - in a safe situation - I find that there is no better medicine than being with the ones you love.  Oh, don't get me wrong, she knows I love her but, let's face it, I'm no chicken!  I bring her back inside at night, so I can clean her wound and keep an eye on it.  Otherwise, she's perfectly happy outside eating and free ranging with her feathered family.

Doctor says she should be just fine but, if it gets worse, there are other remedies.  They can even patch that piece just like the dentist rebuilt my tooth!  How about that?!  Amazing.  Or maybe I can just print her a new beak on a 3D printer?  Just kidding.  We'll let the professionals handle this ;)  BTW, birds can also live just fine even if the top of their beak were to be completely amputated.  We don't want that, but isn't that fascinating?

I'm always learning new things about chickens.

*Many thanks to Laura at the Medina Raptor Center who kindly gave me some recommendations on vets who could help Bella.  And also to Dr. Nathan at Sharon Center Veterinary Hospital - your time and knowledge are greatly appreciated!

THE MYSTERY OF MOLLY

MOLLY

UPDATE (091415):  Molly is now MollyGolly, a boy!

I really like having my hens hatch eggs, it's so cool when the little surprises break out of their shell here at home.  Hatching eggs from my "kids" is fun but, there is one drawback over buying them.....you never know what you're gonna get - boy or girl.  Ugh...I guess that's part of the surprise.

This year three out of the 5 eggs hatched.  I knew one, within the first couple weeks, was for sure a boy because his parents are the same breed and the coloring between male and female is drastically different.  The other two have the same father as the boy but a different breed mother - I had no idea what to expect.

Later on, it was clear that one of the two mystery genders was indeed a boy - there was no denying his neck feathering, colors, and stature.  The other appeared to be a girl....until today.

Over the past few days I've been questioning Molly.  This morning I felt that little weight of disappointment down in my gut.  Molly's neck feathers seemed longer and thinner shaped, tail a bit curved - and was that some iridescent green I saw on one?  Then my eye was drawn to her wing.  The wing has longer, stark white feathers reaching backward with a covering of black feathers (yeah, that's her father's wing color - not a trait of the mother).  The picture above isn't the greatest but, it's kinda good because, at first glance, she really looks like a SHE - :)

DUNCAN, KILWILLIE, and MOLLY

You know I'm hoping I'm wrong but, I'm not going to kid myself, this morning Molly definitely looks like a boy.

Duncan (Molly's full brother) is the only one who is crowing, he started a few weeks back.  Still waiting for Kilwillie to crow.  Hoping Molly doesn't crow - LOL!  Oh well, I'll love her/him just as much.  What's one more rooster??  As long as they all get along it'll be fine - fingers crossed!

WING SEXING

***UPDATE: I was right!  (Top L-R: female, male; Bottom L-R: male, female)  Second UPDATE...I was WRONG!!  Bottom right turned out to be a male as well. 

A VERY popular question: How do I know if my chicks are boys or girls?

At this point of my chicken adventure I'm not too concerned.  I technically would just wait and see how fast their combs grow, what their neck and saddle feathers come in like, or if I hear a crow (I can usually, visually tell before the crow though).  I'm not into vent sexing but you can Google it if you need to.  What I'm paying attention to this year is wings.  

They say wing sexing can only be done within the first couple days after the chick hatches. Hens' wing feathers will be two different lengths while roosters' are the same length. This is accurate in some breeds but not all.  I've never had to do this before but, because I have a few homegrown chicks this year, I'm definitely curious.

These photos are from week old chicks - so they're older than the recommended.  But, here's what I can tell you about my chicks, in particular...

• The top left photo is a female that I purchased.  You can see several layers of feathers and they came in fast.  
• The top right photo clearly has only a single row of feathers and are very slow to come in.  I'm fairly confident that this is a cockerel.  It is a pure Salmon Faverolles and looks just like his father did as a chick.  Also, the wing color is black and white like the father - the mother's wings came in brown as a chick.
• The bottom two photos are the same mixed breed Salmon Faverolles father and Cream Legbar mother.  I suspect the left may be a boy and the right a girl (hoping for two girls though).  Not only are their wings different but one is overall a lighter color than the other.  Because they are a new mix, I don't know what they typically should look like as chicks.  

So, any bets?  LOL ;)

CHICKENS: Little Fancies and Tubby's Crew Combined

Well, Saturday I combined the yards of the fancy girls and Tubby's crew.  I decided to try it again because Gherdi kept flying over into Tubby's yard.  The Cream Legbars are finally accepting her.  All seems well.

Sometimes the Cream Legbars snip at the fancy girls, and sometimes Tubby tries to get on top of poor little teeny tiny Daizee - my little Silkie tumbleweed - but she gets away; it helps that Tubbs is blind in one eye and Daizee is fast.  But yes, everyone seems to be friends.

Gherdi snuggling in between two big girls

Gherdi has been laying eggs in Tubby's coop and trying to sleep in there at night.  I'd been making her go back to her coop and sleep with Daizee and Lailah but, tonight I gave in.  The six big girls and Tubby have no problem with Gherdi roosting with them so, I let her sleep there tonight.  I'm just a wee bit concerned that they might fight in the morning but, we'll see.  I'll get out there a.s.a.p. and let everyone out.

Gherdi wishing I'd quit using the camera flash in the dark

*UPDATE:  Gherdi made it through the night just fine!  No fights :)

BROODY TALK

This video is one that you DON'T need to WATCH but DO LISTEN.  

This is the second year I've let my broody hen hatch eggs.  Yesterday, when I took her off the nest to eat (she's only 2 days on eggs right now), I recognized something I'd forgotten I'd heard her do last year - TALK to her eggs.  Whenever she's off the nest, she makes this little cluck noise the whole time she's away!  She is TALKING to her eggs!  She lets them know that mama is near and will be right back.  She does this anytime she's away from the eggs and even when the chicks were too little to leave the nest.  Ms. Luna is a great mama! :)

CRACKED THE BIG EGG

Every now and then we'll get a BIG egg from one, or another, of the girls.  Don't know who, but it's a Wyandotte egg (Blue Laced Red or Columbian).  I usually surprise one of my customers with it but today, I decided I wanted it ~ I'd never kept one for myself before.  It was awesome!

The three eggs in the photo below are in an attempt to show size difference.  Just doesn't do justice.  The white one weighed Medium, the dark one weighed Large, and the light brown one weighed.....see next photo, as it weighed OFF THE CHARTS!  LOL!  Needless to say, it was a double yolker.  Way cool :)

Make sure you check out this article: "7 Reasons You Need to Eat More Eggs" - it's a good one!!

FANCY CHICKENS' TEMPORARY SLEEPING ARRANGEMENTS

Well, my fancy girls got to sleep in Tubby's house last night.  They still aren't integrated because the Cream Legbars continue to give them a hard time ~ I don't know what their problem is.  Tubby and his two Salmon Faverolles girls, along with Catherine the Blue Ameraucana, don't have a problem with the fancies at all; although, Catherine won't let them eat or drink with her - LOL!  The Legbars have gotten better though.  None of them, thankfully have bothered the Silkie, they've only went after the Polish and the Spitzhauben - I think it's their fancy "headdresses".  

Anyhoo...weather next week is predicted in the teens during the day and below 0 at night so I didn't want to keep them in their little coop.  I know people keep them in those all the time but I've never had smaller birds before and the Polish is not supposed to be very good in cold weather.  I was talking to Kim, up at the hatchery, and we were discussing options of how to shelter the fancies in Tubby's coop while keeping them safe from the Legbars.  She reminded me I could put a dog crate in there.  I tried the small crate but it just didn't fit anywhere that I was satisfied with.  Then I saw the nesting box and got an idea.  Tubby's girls don't use their nesting box, only once in a great while; they prefer a corner on the floor.  The fancy girls, in their little coop, do not roost - no matter how I've encouraged them, they prefer to huddle in a nesting box to sleep.

I put new bedding into the nesting box in Tubby's house and found a framed window screen, that wasn't in use, to use as a "door".  At bed time, I scooped up my little girls and put them in their new box, closing the front with the screen.  The screen gives them the ability to see out into the coop while protecting them from the mean girls.  They didn't like the new environment, for a brief minute, but quickly settled in comfortably - they seemed to like it.  I put them back into their coop and run during the day.

After full integration I'm gonna work on getting them to roost.  Their roost is low but I wonder if it's because the Silkie and Polish have difficulty seeing with all those head feathers?  Anyway, one step at a time. 

Sorry Laela (the Polish) has such a ratty tail, she is molting and just woke up so she hasn't had a chance to make herself presentable.  Shhh...don't tell her I posted this picture! ;)