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)

Torture

This was an extreme measure.

Let me explain.  

Lil'White had been pecking brutally at Lucy's neck. 

Lucy's neck feathers were all gone, and any new ones that emerged were promptly tweezed by Lil'White. 

This had been going on for months. It was horrible to watch.  

I tried everything I could think of to stop this behavior. I knew that Lil'White would create a bloody wound if she were allowed to continue.

With all options exhausted, I broke down and ordered "Pinless Peepers", a little pince-nez designed to prevent a bird from pecking flock mates while still allowing the bird to eat and drink.  

I had hoped for pink ones.  They sent blue ones. 

With a bit of a struggle, I placed the Peepers on Lil'White's beak, clipping them into her nostrils.

Lil'White would have thrown this brick at my head if she could have. 

She was livid.

But the Peepers worked. The Lucy-plucking subsided, and after a few days Lil'White seemed to adjust somewhat to the contraption. 

It took about a month for Lucy to transform from scraggly

back to glorious.   

But at what cost?    
I felt I had only transferred the torture of one bird to the torture of another. 

And Lil'White continued to despise me -- more than she ever did, if that's even possible. 

There had to be a better solution. 

(Click here for part two: JAILBIRDS)

A Solution to Every Problem

Lately I've noticed Lucy's neck looking a little scraggly.  
But I chalked it up to old age...

I mean, my neck certainly doesn’t look like a spring chicken’s either. That's why I always pose with one of my hens.

See how young I look?

For a five-year-old hen, Lucy has been looking pretty healthy.

But here's what I mean about her neck:   

Then a couple weeks ago I witnessed this:

and I realized the problem wasn't old age -- the problem was Lil'White.

Lil'White goes after Daisy all the time, 

but Daisy has enough spunk to stay a few steps ahead of her.

Lucy, however, couldn't outrun a snail.

I only saw Lil'White pecking at Lucy once, and never again....but Lucy's feathers have been looking worse and worse.  

The night Lucy chose to roost outdoors at bedtime

I realized that Lil'White must have been nibbling at Lucy all night long on the roost inside.

Lil’White and Lucy always sleep side by side on the roost.

I couldn’t change their roosting situation - each gal chooses her place, and the bedtime routine is pretty much set in stone.

So I considered other possibilities:

These "pinless peepers" helped my friend Jennifer's gal, Lily,to change her peckish ways....

I had one other idea that seemed easier.  I took two pieces of wood, a couple of nails and a big ol’ C-clamp, and built a wall.

So now Evil Lil'White has a bedroom of her own. 

I'm not sure how Lil'White feels about this setup,

But I think Lucy and Daisy are thrilled.

Lil'White Goes Shopping

A Facebook friend declared August 14  "Take Your Chicken to a Pet Store Day".


So I did!


I took Lil'White.

I'm not sure what she was expecting, 

but I don't think she was prepared for all the attention.

She caused lots of double-takes and smiles.  We had some nice chats with customers...wandered around... picked up a little toy for Marky.

Lil'White maintained her composure until we arrived at the Budgie cage.

That's when her little toes started quivering and we decided it was time to depart. 


Just a little delay at the checkout --

And we were home within the hour.

To Lil'White, it seemed much longer. 


I'm glad we went on this little adventure. Lil'White served as a fine ambassador for pet chickens, and in our conversations with amused shoppers, we were able to slip in a little comment here and there about healthy eggs from happy hens -- which is really what it's all about.

Change o' Pecking Order

...continued from last entry: LUCY LIMPS--part two

 

Lil' White had been at the bottom of the pecking order from early on, and had graciously accepted her position, not wanting to ruffle any feathers. All three girls knew their rank, and this understanding kept peace in their bucolic back yard.  But with Lucy away, Lil' White was having second thoughts about her own status. 

I carried Lucy outside every day for some quality time with her flock, and the three girls had been getting along just fine in the Chicken Tractor I'd built for them (a chicken tractor is a portable coop that keeps them safe while they dine on fresh grass and bugs in different areas of the yard).

 

In the wild, a sick chicken like Lucy wouldn't last long.  A predator would find her and take care of things pretty quickly.  Lil' White sensed that Lucy might cause all three of them to be in danger, and her instincts told her to take command of the situation.

After a week or so of Lucy's daily visits, Lil' White attacked Lucy, pecking her on the head repeatedly.  Lucy bowed her head and submitted, having no choice but to do so. 

   

I watched the attack, and was horrified.  I  removed Lucy from the tractor before much blood was shed. The next day I tried to integrate her again, but Lil' White went at her swiftly and purposefully.  I removed Lucy and placed her outside  where Little White couldn't reach her,  but Lucy's head remained low.  Clearly, she knew what had transpired. 

 

All along, Hatsy remained Lucy's loyal friend. While she didn't seem to know how to prevent Lil' White's attacks, she did not join in.   Sometimes she inserted herself between Lucy and Lil' White, but Lil' White would just work around her. 

So I just set Lucy on the grass by herself with some garden fencing to keep her safe.  At times I'd put Hatsy in with her.. It was apparent that when Lucy was with her friend Hatsy,  her spirits and energy rose.  Lucy attempted to stand up on her gnarled feet,  and in time she began to take steps.

 

  

  

 Lucy's preferred mode of transportation:   Sarah's Easter basket.

 

At night, Lucy slept on the screened porch in an old dog crate.  All through these weeks of illness, Lucy laid eggs, beautiful as ever, and as regularly as the other girls.  But I chose to throw her eggs away because I couldn't really be sure what disease she had, and that old rhyme resounded in my head: "when in doubt, throw it out". 

Lucy was getting stronger and the color was coming back to her face and comb, but she still hobbled and limped.  It was apparent that her feet had been damaged by the Marek's Disease, and they did not improve.   

 

Little White didn't change her mind about Lucy. Whenever she got the chance, she launched a vicious attack. 

Since this was looking to be a permanent situation, I designed yet another coop.

. . . . . . . . . click here for next blog entry: Meet the Girls: Hatsy