Nest Eggs!

Last week we had some new girls move in with our current flock. They’re settling in well but haven’t quite worked out where to lay their eggs yet. Went out this morning to collect and found this lovely little pile of beauties waiting for me!

They’re scratching around and getting used to their new surroundings, but we still need to make sure they are in the coop at dusk before shutting the door. They need a bit of extra help to find the pop hole and to deal with the pecking order.

Learnings:

• The best time to introduce new hens is in the evening. When your flock has gone to roost, introduce the new girls into the coop while they are all drowsy. If you keep doing this each night, until the new ones know where the coop is, they will all merge together as one happy group. 
• If you have trouble with the pecking order, and the older birds won't let the new ones into the coop, try shutting the coop door and introducing the new girls through the nest box lid.
• Young chickens will not naturally lay eggs in the coop - you'll need to search out the eggs in the undergrowth! They will learn eventually...

Swallows in the Barn

 

Mrs Swallow sitting on her eggs

Meet Mrs Swallow. Sitting on eggs in her perfect nest on a ledge in the barn. We watched them building their nest, very precisely, with bits of grass and feathers, held together with mud from the pig pen. She's been sitting for about a week.

Nest Building at the end of May

Do Lambs Lay Eggs?

Think the lambs are needing their own enclosure now…