Three chickens in a box

They came to me in a cardboard box after dark...:

Three new hens from a friend who has to move and needed to re-home her chickens.

I decided that since the winter weather has been so warm and wet lately and, especially with the addition of new chickens, this was a really good time to dust my birds for mites and lice.

So, on the night the new girls came, everybody got it. A bit of dust, here and there. Under each wing:

At the vent:

Then back on the roost to recover from the humiliation:

Look at my poor friend, Lori. She certainly won't be suffering from any lice or mite problems in the near future, that's for sure:

Even despite the traumatic dusting event, the three new girls jumped down off the roost and gobbled up some pellets before bed:

Here's what I came down to the next morning. New girls on the left. My girls (and Roopert) on the right. How very unfriendly of Team Critter Farm:

This was the scene in the afternoon. New girls still on the left - now up on the roost, my girls all still pretty much on the right, continuing to be rude and unfriendly:

Sleeping arrangements on the second night were creative:

I didn't care for this at all and insisted that everybody sleep together:

Today is Wednesday, day 3 since the new girls arrived and the situation is still the same. Since Skippy, Honey and Thumper are pretty much spending their days on a roost in a corner, I've become concerned about their ability to eat. So...
hand feeding has become the norm:

They're very appreciative:

And since my own flock hasn't been polite enough, please...

...welcome Skippy. Skippy is a white Leghorn hen. She was formerly at the very top of the pecking order in her old flock, poor girl. This all must be quite a shock to her. She will be another white egg layer like Dottie, my White-Crested Black Polish hen:

...say hello to Thumper. Thumper is a Welsummer. She is a quiet girl with a gentle disposition who will, hopefully, be laying some gorgeous chocolate-brown eggs:

...and smile at Honey. Honey is the Buff Orpington with the blurry face in the photograph below. She's just about to fend off an attack from Bippity:

See?:

Not nice. Not nice at all. I'm embarrassed by the behavior of my chickens:

George, the barn cat, came by today to check on things:

He was very interested in all the feather rustling:

..but he pretended not to care when Roopert walked by:

Once Roopert was gone, though...:

Of course, Roopert needed to tell the new girls he's their daddy:

Here's hoping Thumper, Honey and Skippy get to spend a bit more time on the ground tomorrow:

P.S.
That's it now, people. The farm is full. There's no more room at the inn. In the last week, we've acquired a new cat and three new chickens. The Critter Farm family is complete.