Making friends…or not!

This evening, I introduced Lilja to Leia. Safe to say this did not do entirely according to plan! First, we went to Phil’s coop to collect Lilja. Unfortunately she was out and thus would be harder to catch. Between us, we managed to trap her in the nest box without getting attacked by the cockerel. I reached into the nest box to grab her. Lilja had other ideas however. She leapt into the air and using every inch of her gazelle like legs, made off across Phil’s plot. Over the next few minutes, we slowly edged towards her and penned her between us and the coop. Slowly, I reached out and grabbed her. This did not go down well! Shrieking loudly, I carried her across to the greenhouse.

Leia was at the greenhouse door wondering what all the fuss was about. To say she was less than impressed with Lilja’s arrival is an understatement of mammoth proportions. For the following half an hour, Leia swore at Lilja without taking a breath. Poor Lilja! She cowered up on the top of the nest box and on the rare time she ventured down onto the floor, Leia started to attack her. We spent half an hour watching them before the lack of light forced us to leave. The dark would put an end to their disagreement.

Although Leia isn’t particularly pleased with Lilja, chickens are flock animals, needing other hens around for company. Here’s hoping over the next few days, Leia comes to appreciate having a new feathery friend!