Finally getting our ex-bats today!

[Hashette]

How am I supposed to sleep??? I'm bouncing off the walls here, after being on the waiting list for months we're collecting our first ever chooks from the ex-batt rescue at 1pm. Just think, the actual rescue is probably starting about now.

7 hours 15 minutes to go.....

***drums fingers***

[vicky]

You're not excited then??
Don't be too early! You know, when you get there they don't mind if you change your mind and want a few more than you originally said....
Enjoy today!

[Hashette]

Oooooh I will! Thanks Vicky. 5 hours 20 minutes.......

[Comfreyfan]

Hashette, I'm not in to chooks, but even I'm getting excited for you!! 5 hours and 5 mins...!

[Hashette]

Thanks Comfreyfan

Thank goodness it's a dry and relatively warm day. It's the first time I've watched the weather forecast and thought "great, cloudy overnight". I'm really conscious of how cold it's going to be for them, coming out of their heated helll hole. Although let's face it, it's the only thing about their new home that isn't a million times better.

4 hours 30 minutes......

[HayleyB]

Hi Hashette

Where are you getting them from is it the Essex branch?

[Hashette]

Yep. Off to a place near Bishop's Stortford in an hour!

[shirlthegirl43]

I bet you are getting really, really excited now!! Just been out checking ours (seem to have done that lots of times already) and they seem quite happy even though it is raining and their new home is about quarter the size of the shed they used to live in.

[Hashette]

We became a family of 6 this afternoon. The family now consists of me and hubby, Ginger (the brains and obviously destined to be top of the pecking order), Hopsy (has a bruised foot so walks with a limp. Also she's bald, and we have a bald friend called Hopsy who hopefully will never find out he has a namesake!), Attila the Hen (bad attitude.....) and Clarissa Chickenson-Wright.

They're amazing, in the space of three hours they went from standing around looking shell-shocked to finding the food container and laying waste to it, wandering around looking interested in everything and making gorgeous contented clucking noises. One even had a go at flying up onto a perch, but that's a bit difficult when you haven't got any feathers on your wings and you've never even had enough space to spread them properly until now. She landed with a horrible thud, but thankfully seems unharmed.

We put them to bed when it started to get dark, and have shut off the nest boxes on the advice of the wonderful Thorns Poultry Centre in Letchworth. Tomorrow morning I'll open up the pop hole when it gets light, and open up the nest boxes containing rubber eggs, but I think I'll leave them to make their own way down the ramp into the run (the chook house is a couple of feet off the ground). Unless anyone thinks that's a bad idea? I've never done this before, so any advice would be very gratefully received.

[Bephlam]

Your pics are great! They look so happy...as does your hubby & yourself!

I had to help my three down the ladder this morning, because they seemed to be utterly perplexed at the whole 'off the ground' thing! I also had to help them back up to bed...lol...as soon as it got dark they started squawking full force whilst staring in the living room window...lol. I took it as a huge hint that they wanted me to explain the 'ladder' again!

Hopefully they'll get it this time!

Keep us all posted on your girlies progress...it's always exciting!

[Jay Bee]

They look lovely and I am ever so slightly jealous!

Have to say though............ am a trifle worried about the totally bald stiff looking fella with the red head thats leaning up against the fence. Think there isn't much hope for that one

[Hashette]

He's off lay as well....

[Comfreyfan]

Congratulations Hashette. It all looks really exciting and rather worryingly tempting! Perhaps next year I'll have to think about it again! Keep us posted on their progress won't you?

[vicky]

Well done, they look great - as does your set up!
To think that's the first time they've ever felt the warmth of the sun of their feathers....You've done a good thing, feel very pleased with yourselves!
How did they get on with the ramp?
Give them a couple of weeks and they'll be out trashing the garden and pecking on the back door to come in...

[Hashette]

Morning

Two of them have managed it Vicky, the other two are still in there so for now I'm just leaving them be. I opened the pop hole when it got light, and not for an hour nothing happened. We'd decided we'd leave it until at least mid-morning, as we really wanted them to work out the relationship between the place they'd spent the night and where they were yesterday where the food is.

No surprisingly it was Ginger who stuck her head out first, and after looking around for a good few minutes, took a few steps down the ramp. And guess what - whilst we were standing around watching her there was an odd clunk sound and to our absolute delight and amazement, she produced our first egg right in front of us! It landed on one of the concrete slabs supporting the legs of the chook house, but thankfully it didn't break. We're both grinning like lunatics!