Doris stopped brooding the chicks about a week ago, she was caring for 11 chicks and we had 4 chicks “The Garage Mob” housed in the garage at night in their brooder and in the wooden coop run in the daytime.

The Garage Mob comprises Cagney and Lacey the original late to hatch hens and Thirteen, the black cockerel that Doris decided she did not want around after 4 weeks, and Bernie the Buff cockerel who had to be rescued from some chicken bullying courtesy of the grey cockerel in Doris’s gang.

Soon the garage mob became accustomed to their daily trips to and from the garage so they were warm at night under the heat lamp and free in the day to enjoy scratching around in their run. Now these chicks are pretty tame and easy to handle and will approach to be petted. They have now integrated with the rest of the flock and roam freely without incident in the wider run in the daytime.

The Doris gang of 11 chicks were left to their own devices at about 6 weeks old as she moved house back to the wooden coop with Bertie, Betty, Henri and Mabel. Doris also began laying again.

Daisy and Audrey Hepburn are still broody in the purple coop and Sylvie joins them at night so they have a palace sized coop for 3 of them.

Tonight I am going to try to put the garage mob in the big coop for the night - we will have to see how that works out.