15th October

The girls are almost integrated. Clarice still gives them a nasty peck if they come too close, the others arent too bad, but when there's food in the offing Clarice chases the youngsters off, especially Bramble who's bottom of the pecking order,  everyone has a go at her if they feel like it.  She doesnt seem bothered, and comes back time and again.
When I open the gate to give them meal worms, or supper, or just to go in and see them Belle dives out and starts eating grass, and I have to lift her in again.  Alice has started joining her, but she's easy at the moment to get back in again.
Bramble is laying again, but I have to withdraw her eggs for a couple more days.  Iv'e collected up a lot of them, and Iv'e blown them to be painted for next Easter.
The nights are drawing in, and tonight I think they'll be in bed by 6.30pm.

11th October

The new girls have been here about 7 weeks now, and they are sort of integrated.
Poor Bramble is bottom of the pecking order, and Clarice is horrible to her.
The older girls chase the newbies off the food, but other wise they all seem to get on ok.

Supper time

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6ax2h0nGr8

5th Oct

Ok, so yesterday Bramble was still rather muddy, so I decided to give her a bath.  I ran a bowl of water and took her in the utility room and put her in the water.  She was not impressed and clucked and flapped around, and started the others off.  The all stood  by the run door clucking in sympathy.  Any way she started to enjoy her wash, the water was brown when I finished, and I wrapped her in a towel and took her in the kitched and gave her feathers a blow dry.  That was when I noticed she has a bald strip on her stomach, and shoulder.
Possibly a partial moult, but she's only about 25 weeks old, a bit young for moulting.  Clarice is being a real bully to Bramble, going out of her way to peck her and really jumping on her and pulling feathers.
Today (5th) I rolled back the omlet fence from across the middle of the run.  Its nice to see the whole run again. It means no one gets trapped anywhere.  Bramble laid a small white egg today, and Ive started collecting hers and Spices eggs and Im going to blow them and paint them to sell next Easter.  I wish I'd thought of it before, because Ive thrown away so many eggs!  The girls are going to bed before 7pm now.

3rd October

Girls are all doing well.  Bramble isnt laying at all at the moment.  I still shut her behind netting in the morning just in case, cos I wouldnt know her egg and I'd have to get rid of all the eggs. :o(
Spice has one week to go till we can eat her eggs.
They are getting on much better, and are running round together all the time.  There is the occasional peck from Clarice or Spice but generally they tolerate each other and I can see the flock taking shape. :o)
Bramble got very muddy today when she got stuck in the omlet fence just where it is like a quagmire. John saw her and released her.