Pullet surprise

I finally got around to researching how to introduce the pullets to the older hens. What I read online corroborated what I’d heard from a fellow chicken owner. The pullets need to be where the hens can see them while still separated by a fence.

Sunday morning, Hilda and I got up early and were out at Coop 2 just as the sky was getting light in the east. It was so beautiful and peaceful that I wondered why I didn’t get outside at 5:30 every morning. Then I remembered how warm and cozy I’d been in my bed. In any case, the reason we went out while it was still dark was because chickens do not see well in the dark, and I figured that we would be able to grab them right off the perch. I could not help but think of this as the “pullet surprise.”

I’d put the transfer cage together when I shut the coop up Saturday night. Sure enough, the girls were still on the perch when we opened the door Sunday morning. I passed them to Hilda, and she put them in the cage. In a few minutes, we were all done. Easy peasy.

We went back in the house to have our morning hot beverages in our respective kitchens and wait for it to get light. Terry was ready to go by 7:00. He took part of the deer fence down to open a wide enough gap for the gator and the coop. While he worked on moving the muck buckets, food, and other accouterments, I disassembled the chick fence. We put the pullets on the back of the gator for their trip up the hill. With everything cleared from the orchard, Terry hooked Coop 2 to the gator’s hitch, and off he went.

We got Coop 2 positioned by the greenhouse facing the chicken run. Terry got to work on getting his farm stand open for business while Hilda and I put the chick fence up. I have to say it was one of my better fencing jobs. Terry later remarked that he made the right decision to leave us alone because he would have wanted to go a lot faster. It would have been trouble for sure.

Coop 2 and the chick fence next to the chicken run

Before we let the pullets run free, we had to clip their wings again. We also leg-banded the Rhode Island Reds so we could tell them apart. The Americauna all look different, so leg bands are not necessary. Clare has a white leg band. Isabel is orange. Helen is unbanded.

There were so many little things to take care of that I despaired of ever being done. We plugged along, however, and were in fact done by 9:00. It didn’t take long for the pullets to be all over their new territory, including fairly close to the fence that separated them from the hens. We will be rounding up six of the hens for freezer heaven tomorrow. Saturday morning, we will open a passage from the chicken run to the pullet run and hope for the best. In another week or so, I fervently hope that we will have only one coop to tend.

Meanwhile, while Dad was cooking breakfast, he saw something big land on the deck. "Scared me to death!" he remarked. I was summoned and got this picture:

The turkeys are getting very bold and perching on the deck rail

The lettuce bolted long since. I have been slowly cleaning out the bed by feeding the lettuce to the hens. Like everything that comes along, lettuce is the best thing ever!

Hilda had some of her friends over on Sunday afternoon. She fretted in advance that the turkeys would not be around. These fears proved to be unfounded, as they showed up right on time to eat bird seed under the feeders. The adolescents are getting really big! 

Turkeys under the bird feeders

The hilarious part was watching the hens watch the turkeys, as shown in this video.