Life with Hens Part II

Reuniting the hens with Finlay II went according to plan – though it did take a little longer than anticipated. The day after the demise of Finlay III the white hen was firmly nestled into her – er – nest, Finlay II was hovering on the edge of the byre afraid to come too close to the hen house in case Finlay III attacked, and the brown hen continued to look startled for the same reason. However by the end of the day the brown hen and Finlay II were happily scratching about together so that was a start.

Next I wondered what would happen at roosting time. Would Finlay persuade Brown Hen to roost outdoors with him, or would she persuade him into the hen house to her perch – a kind of “your place or mine” scenario!! I went out about 7pm but both were still happily scratching away and wouldn’t be tempted into the hen house, not even with the promise of extra-special scraps! So I had to leave them till it was dark. I was therefore really delighted to find that the Brown Hen got her way and she and Finlay were nestled together on the perch in the hen house. I wasn’t keen on trying to find two roosting birdies in the dark!

Next part of the plan was to remove the White Hen from her nest and dispose of the eggs. This too went very smoothly – it’s easier to move chickens around after dark as they become very quiescent. So I plonked her next to the Brown Hen on the perch and left them making soft chook-chook noises to each other (which was no doubt chicken for “turn the blooming light out so I can sleep”!

Anyway several days later and all three chickens are happy together. Finlay II looks quite proud to have his hens back, though as I suspected he no longer crows and doesn’t seem to “bother” them as before. So all seems well in the hen house today!

Now I just need to find two or three more hens to keep them company…… I’m worried only three on a perch means they will get cold in the winter as the hen house is quite a large stone building…… Should I order thermal blankets for them I wonder…… or bring them in to roost on top of the boiler – then I could get up to ready boiled eggs for breakfast – tee hee!