It was quite a log time before he stopped scratching around. He roosted on the back of the child-sized bench and, for the first time, looked a bit...... lonely.
I went out with mealworms.
Then I decided to leave the entrance to his netted area open, so he could wander rounfd the garden. And maybe say "Helloooo" to the Girls.
Some time later, he hadn't worked out that there was an opening, so I went in and out a couple of times, trailing treats. He got the hang of it, and spent the next few hours wandering around and eating, popping back to his own space every so often.
Part way through the day I gave him, and the Girls, some mealworms. Right on the edge of the Girls' fenceline. They ignored him, and he ignored them - or he appeared to. I suppose I was secretly hoping that he might get adopted by them, with the Grls accepting him because he was a Lad.
I'm hoping having the freedom of the garden will take his mind of being an Only Chook.
I'm still looking for suitable (and unsuitable) companions. I don't really want to get any until Thursday evening or Friday. I've found some, but they are a 3 hour round trip, which means Thursday is out, Friday and Saturday are looking unlikely. I did find myself thinking "oh, just go tomorrow. They'll be alright together in Thursday". Common Sense prevailed. Even if they did turn out to be alright, I'd still be stressing about it all day Thursday.
I'll keep looking.
