Finally, the Girls have arrived.
On perhaps the hottest day of the year so far, we filled their waterers and feeder, put up a gazebo in their chook yard to provide some sorely needed shade, wiped off some of the sweat and went to fetch them.
We’d planned for Point of Lay pullets, but we wanted them this week because the Husband is on leave and we have time. Unfortunately, this week the supplier didn’t have 21/22 week pullets, only 15 week pullets, so we’ve brought the 5 of them home a little early, and will enjoy watching them grow for another 5-6 weeks before they start laying. We were charged less because they’re not full size yet. Bonus!
The cardboard boxes they travelled home in were liberally anointed with chook poo, and will be going on the garden to mulch the forthcoming potato patch in due course. Their chook house has a deep litter of pine shavings which will keep things fresh and discourage bugs and mites, and again, when it’s full of poo, I shall shovel it out and compost it for garden use. They will get garden and kitchen scraps in addition to their grain ration. I do like a self-sustaining system! Once they’re a bit more acclimatised, we’ll let them out on the grass, perhaps using the moveable, adjustable dog fence to ensure they graze the grass area by area and don’t create huge bald patches in one place and leave rank grass in another.
I’ve put the dummy eggs in the two nesting boxes to encourage them when the time comes. There’s a thinnish layer of sugar cane mulch in the chook yard for them to scratch in, which I’ve scattered with a handful of grain and vegetable scraps from the kitchen. So far, they’re ignoring everything except the water, the green weeds and the pumpkin vine, which is providing a shady spot to rest in. I must get some river sand and D.E. for a dust bath fairly soon, or they’ll be digging up the ground to make their own.
They’re pretty calm and docile, and very healthy looking. It’s so good to have Girls in the family again! We brought Mouse out into the garden after they were installed, and he glanced at them and then proceeded to ignore them completely. Perfect.
And yes, of course they’ve been named, although at this age it’s a little harder to tell them apart. They’re Eggatha, Eggnes, Egglantine, Eggnetha and Egglaia.