Скачать или смотреть 20160130 "new" hens and "old" hens

Our existing flock was down to 3 hens and a rooster, so we had room for some new additions. These are 5 of 9 hens that were dropped off at the garden center as unwanted. Our neighbor brought these to us and kept the other 4. This is a bit of the "getting to know you" period, with some pecking order business. Unfortunately, we don't have a space to keep them separate during the initial introduction period.

The new hens look like an egg laying hybrid, very much like our Golden Comet hen. Unfortunately their beaks have been trimmed significantly and I don't think they're going to grow back much. Three of them are pretty small for their supposed age of 2-3yrs. Given the sad state of their back feathers, I'm guessing that they were pretty overcrowded previously.

Hopefully the new dynamic will settle quickly. The periods of calm are a decent length, so far. As a bonus, the new hens seems to understand the rat proof feeder that our old chickens found mystifying. Everyone's also enjoying a treat of bird seed and some chopped greens, so there are plenty of edible distractions.