JAILBIRDS

Continued from the previous post, " TORTURE". 

 (Click here to start there)

Those Pinless Peepers worked.   

They stopped Lil'White from pecking at Lucy, but still allowed enough range of vision for her to shoot me a spiteful glare.   

But I could tell that the Peepers were uncomfortable, and I felt like a real heel for doing this to her.

I gave her about two months - hoping that would be enough time for her feather-picking habit to become a distant memory -- or no memory at all. 

The day I removed the Pinless Peepers, Lil'White took a few steps back and gave me the full-frontal stink-eye. 

Then she shook her plumage indignantly, 

sauntered over to Lucy,  

and promptly resumed her bad habit.  

Sorry, Lil'White. That was your last chance.  

I scooped her up and took her to the mobile coop where the young Nuggets had grown up.  

I placed her inside and locked the door. 

And because Lil'White has no friends, and needs no friends, she settled cheerfully into her cozy private home. 

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

Meanwhile, back at the big coop, all hell was breaking loose. 
I had moved the Nuggets in with the old ladies, expecting them to sort out a pecking order and settle down as a flock.  

But the integration process had gone horribly awry. 

Daisy plotted to make all of their lives miserable. 

She stalked the nuggets from morning to night.

And when she caught them, feathers flew.

Her attacks were relentless. The screams and yelps of her victims were disconcerting.  I hoped that things would mellow out with time, but Daisy just didn't lighten up. 

Then one sunny day, 

as I spent long hours assembling this simple Ikea product on the back deck, 

I noted from across the yard that the flock was unusually calm and quiet.  There was no squawking, no running....  There were no feathers flying.  

Finally, I thought, they've reached an accord.  

That afternoon when I visited the gals, nobody came to greet me. 

Something was wrong, but didn't figure it out until Dorrie turned to look at me.  

Her face was caked with blood.  

(click here for JAILBIRDS part two)

BECOMING A CHICKEN

continued from previous post: The Same Only Different


Ahhh - hot summer days - 

The ladies recently helped me add a back room to their coop.  I got creative and made it with bits and pieces of wood and fencing that I already had, so it technically cost me nothing. -- which technically makes up for the cost of the original coop, which technically cost quite a bit.

Now that their coop is twice as big, do you think they'd enjoy it more?  

No.

They still hurl themselves indignantly against the door every time I pass by, expecting me to come let them out of their prison.

They do get plenty of free-range time.

When I let the girls out, Lil'White heads straight to the garden to hunt for her favorite treats: 

plastic vegetable tags.  

If she could swallow them whole, she would.

On these hot days, Lucy heads for the densest shade to lie down.

I have to listen very carefully to find her.

Fern and Daisy aren't big enough yet to wander the yard.

But a few days ago, they had their first supervised playdate with the big gals.

There is no tried-and-true method for introducing new chicks to a flock.

My method:  I rolled out some fencing, put everyone together, and sat on a stool in the center of things.

It all began pleasantly.

But things soured quickly.

Lil'White attacked, babies screamed... it was ugly there for a minute.

I scooped the babies away from Lil'White and let them chill out in the corner.

Just when they were beginning to calm down, 

along came Pigeon, the queen bee.

I felt sorry for the little ones, but knew they'd have to learn to protect themselves eventually, so I waited and watched as Pigeon sauntered slowly in their direction.

Little Fern and Daisy cowered in the corner.

They hid their heads and squealed in terror as Pigeon craned her neck and.....

took a good close look at Fern's beautiful plumage.

Then Pigeon turned and walked away.

So you just never know...

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

Something else you just never know about until it's too late:

Are these chicks going to one day lay eggs, or are they going to crow?

I've been burned once by Mother Nature----

She gave me this:

which turned into this:

...so what's with this tail on little Daisy?

....and these little black neck-feathers?

...and how about this tail of Fern's:

???

Am I paranoid?

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Next post: Critters