I didn’t think I’d be writing this again quite so soon, but we’ve added three new chickens to our flock. Another three Rhode Rangers, which have proved such a success for us. Poor things are out there now getting pecked as the flock of eight establishes itself a new pecking order.

Normally we’d shut them in the greenhouse for the day and then drop them into the coop when the rest of the hens had gone to bed, but there’s no chance of doing that now. The temperatures outside are pushing mid-thirties and it’s even higher in the greenhouse. Besides, it’s full of tomato plants.

So we’ve had to put them straight in the compound with the five established hens, who have quickly chased the incomers up onto the new high perch that I built the other day. They’re keeping them away from the food and water, so we’re periodically going in there and chaperoning them towards the drink. The poor things are parched and panting like they’ve just finished a marathon, as you can see in this video (sorry for the quality – I shot it on my phone).

We’re hoping that by morning they’ll have got to know each other a little better, but we’re prepared for a couple of weeks of pecking and squawking. That’s what it took last time, which we didn’t think was so bad.

Related posts:

1. Another chicken pops out… from behind
2. The nasty death of a naughty chicken
3. 2010 with the chickens