We collected our second group of birds on 9th December, 2009 … three Light Sussex POL hens.
- The Virtues in the greenhouse
I had planned to keep them in for a week, to free range them on their own in the garden for a week and then together with the ex-batts for a week before even thinking about putting them together … but they had their own timetable and it was only about two weeks when we found a pale egg in the nest box of the ark … I think it was Verity. So at that point we put them in together.
There is a clear hierarchy, but it’s all good natured. Unless there are treats involved … it took the Virtues a while to trust that I wasn’t throwing nasties at them, but after only a week or so, they realised that seeing me often meant good things to eat and now they coming running at the slightest hint of the back door opening. There’s a deal of pecking then … at each other, as well as at the food, so I spread the corn or mealworms or rice as wide as possible so they all have opportunity. But oh my goodness, you should see them when it’s spaghetti! It’s every hen for herself!
It took me a while to get some decent portraits …
Charity
Verity
Patience
Sadly, only a day or two after taking these, Patience became ill and rapidly lost weight. It soon became clear that she was suffering, so rather than prolong the situation, she was put to sleep. We had had her only four weeks, and she had already become my favourite hen.
Ex-batts | Light Sussex | Rhode Rocks | Welsummers | Online Album
Edited January 2010
