Hope and Love come out of their shells

On Monday morning (17 days after their arrival) we decided to let them roam from about lunch time.  We are lucky enough to work from home and even luckier enough to have a good view of the roaming territory from our desks.  What a pleasure; how peaceful to sit and watch the girls quietly exploring and enjoying themselves. It was not long before they starting coming 'out of their shells' (excuse the pun!), and we started noticing the differences between the two and how each had her own unique personality.

The tables were turned and it seemed that Love was now the more dominant of the two, although I am not really sure. They are getting on famously and the ranking almost seems equal although it seems Love is hogging the food bowl more. I am still struggling with the water dispenser.  We now bought two little hanging 'bowls' to attach to the side of the coop and although I would catch Love in the act of drinking I never saw Hope drinking, and the times that I would see Love drink were very rare.  I decided to continue monitoring it carefully.

Over the week, new behaviour started emerging.  From time to time, you would see the girls sprinting from spot to spot in the garden sometimes also chasing each other.  It was hilarious to watch and proved just how much they were enjoying their new found freedom.

On Thursday the weather changed from hot and muggy to cool with light rain one afternoon.  By that
time we had already allowed the girls the full day roaming because it was clear that was what they wished to do and they were still out when the rain started.  Initially I worried because they were going to get wet and cold.  I let it be and just kept an eye on them.  They both snuggled close to the wall/window of the house and started digging their bodies into the soft (still dry) soil.  It looked like they were in heaven having refreshing "baths", ruffling their feathers and half rolling in the dirt, although ironically they actually looked filthy, especially white Love who was now bearing resemblance to brown Hope!

It was also on that afternoon that I think they discovered the rich treasure of countless snails that crept around our garden.  (I think that the snails were a God send, not only for the juicy meals they were making for the hens, but also because of their moisture content, possibly giving the girls the extra water intake they needed).

Whenever the girls would roam near our home office windows in close enough range to hear our voices, they would curiously look through the window and even jump on the window sill to get a closer look.  When I talked on the phone or loud enough, they would then also start cackling to give their two cents worth.