the girls_1

Comment by Una Bee on June 4, 2011 at 7:26

Awww, what lovely babies! Are they laying yet?

Comment by Graham Gnome on June 4, 2011 at 8:07

Yes I have had them a year now and we do quite nicely. We normally get 2 eggs per day, so one clever girl is more productive. Not worked out which one yet though!

Comment by Una Bee on June 4, 2011 at 9:00

I thought they were only young, I got mine at POL in October looking much like yours and now they're equipped with huge combs and wattles. :)

 

My Bella looks a bit like the one on the left, is she a Bluebelle? If she is, her eggs are probably the palest ones. If the second one is a Speckledy hers might be a bit smaller and slightly darker, sometimes with speckles on them. If the third one is a Warren (just guessing here) her eggs should be the largest of the lot and she would probably be your star layer (although I get two a day most days from my Bluebelle and Speckledy, so go figure). Of course, I could be totally wrong! :)

Comment by Graham Gnome on June 4, 2011 at 10:08

Yes you are pretty good at this :-) Daphne is my Bluebell, Guetrude my Speckledy and Geraldine is a Goldline. The eggs I get are just as you decribe, so clearly Geraldine doesn't lay as much as the other two. Not sure if the feather pecking she has been enduring from the other two is the reason. She had quite a lot of feathers missing around her bottom but seems well otherwise. She eats fine and is not frightened away by the others. I have sprayed Antipeck, and the soothing spray and add cider vinegar to their water, so fingers crossed she will be okay?

Comment by Una Bee on June 4, 2011 at 14:57

Yay, I got lucky! :) My Bluebelle had a red spot on the base of her 'tail feathers' when she arrived and my other chicken kept pecking her. I think they go for anything red and can't help but peck. I sprayed the spot with purple spray and the pecking stopped straight away. I hope your antipeck will have similar results.

Comment by Graham Gnome on June 4, 2011 at 15:59

Me too! off to give them some greens and lay some more bark in their run :-)

Comment by Una Bee on June 4, 2011 at 17:50

How are you finding the bark? I use hemp bedding in my covered run and I rake (or in the winter dig) it out once a month or so and replace it with fresh stuff. It makes a good material for the compost.

Comment by Graham Gnome on June 12, 2011 at 11:46

The bark is okay, the run is covered now so it doesn't get boggy and they break it down nicely to make lovely composting material. I have paving slabs underneath so it is easy to clear away as and when it needs. Is hemp bedding better?

Comment by Una Bee on June 12, 2011 at 14:09

No idea as I've never used it. My run is covered as well, but it still gets a bit boggy when it rains a lot (nothing to do with the hemp bedding, our garden just happens to be a bit of a swamp). We're waiting for a long stretch of nice weather so that we can put slabs or concrete down, hopefully that helps to keep the girls dry. :)

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