PIGEON RULES

What are some important leadership qualities ?

Hm. 

Here's Pigeon, the leader of the flock, the day I met her.


Upside down.  


Skinny, bloody...  far from healthy.  
(click here to read more about Pigeon's beginnings)

After a few weeks of tender rehab, she did seem much healthier.  
She joined the flock and slipped herself right into the lead position vacated by our dear-departed-Hatsy.

But Pigeon, our new little leader, followed Lucy around like a puppy.

As it turns out, Pigeon is extremely nearsighted.  

In fact, she's darn near blind.

This explains why she's always underfoot. 

I've nearly stepped on her several times, 

and have to be careful not to chop off her little head 

when I'm working in the garden.

  

I offer her a tomato, and she pecks to the left of it.

Even when I toss her a wiggling worm, 

she has a tough time finding it... 

she's pecking to the left again.

...but that's okay.  

There's still Bravery and Smarts, right?

O.K.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

At the beginning, Pigeon was afraid of everything. 

She was afraid of worms. 

She was afraid of the sky.

She's still scared of Marky, but  tries not to show it.

So.  Maybe health and bravery aren't that important after all.

As for. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  

Well, she's not the brightest bulb in the coop.
She's got a pretty average little pea-brain beneath that comb.  
I'd rank Daisy and Lucy as the smartest gals...


But hey, we've known leaders who have made it to the top despite even catastrophic stupidity.

So what is Pigeon's strength?

Compassion?

In a chicken?

Yep.

She shows it in so many ways.

She is very considerate of Lucy's challenges.

Lucy's an older lady who's had some really tough times.  And this year Lucy chose to molt in January....not the best time to be half-naked in New England.

So Pigeon stands beside her and keeps her warm while they nap.

And from her very first encounter with little Fern and Daisy, Pigeon has shown only kindness.

Here she stands near them and preens -- which, in chicken-talk, means "hi there- I'm not going to kill you"... of course, the chicks don't understand that yet. They're cowering in the corner, awaiting a painful death. 

But there's one particular moment of sensitivity that really struck me.....
It was last Fall.
I was offering a piece of clover to Pigeon and the little ones.

Pigeon looked up and saw Lil'White running toward the babies in order to murder them.  
While Pigeon had nothing to fear, she knew that the babies did.
She warned them of impending doom, and little Fern and Daisy fled to the forsythia in the nick of time.


It was a simple gesture.
But a true gesture of compassion.
  
I haven't seen sensitivity like that among dogs, or cats.... 
or in hundreds of hours of nature shows.     
But here it is -- in Pigeon.

Pigeon, honey, you rock.


.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  
Now, I don't know whether it's compassion or curiosity or trust --
but Pigeon tends to be the favorite of all the kids who come to visit.

And that's a story for the next post!

.....Next post:     Chicken Socks

WHITEOUT

Blizzard 2010

 

Marky squinted with joy -- he's a certified snow-dog.

Lil'White watched as I shoveled the path. But she knows all about snow and how it feels on her little pink toes.  Once the door was opened, she retreated to the dry leafy depths of the coop.

Pigeon and Daisy paused a moment to take in the wonder of it all.
In a burst of excitement, Daisy launched herself across the yard, 

and was stranded.

Fern seemed confused.

Pigeon went exploring for a bit.

But Lil'White and Lucy fluffed themselves up and mustered their patience. They know it's a long way til Spring.

PLUCKED! - Fern

Fern.
She's an Ameraucana. Puffy cheek-feathers, little pea-comb.
She and Daisy were born this spring.  
Daisy started laying eggs four months ago, but Fern
has shown no sign of ever laying any stupid ol' eggs, 
thank-you-very-much.


Fern's just too busy to grow up.

She's always on her toes.


Fern is quick to warn the flock of danger, 
using the universal chicken-alarm that is reserved for hawk sightings, foxes and other very scary things:

She's a vigilant little chicken, on guard for any threat.

Yep, always on the lookout for danger.

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 

Fern's at the very bottom of the pecking order. 
Normally you'd expect a hen in that position to be timid and to keep out of everyone's way.


But Fern -- she breaks all the rules of chicken-etiquette.


...like:      Never charge full-speed at your superiors.

This always results in a good plucking.


Also:

Never fly over the dog.



She's had some close calls with that one.


And this--- 
If you're unfamiliar with chicken-etiquette, this may look like a cute little dance.
But let me tell you.

This is Fern challenging Pigeon, the TOP CHICKEN, to a duel. 
This is so totally rude.   I mean you just don't do this if you want to live.
But Pigeon's not offended. She's amused. 
Pigeon adores Fern.

So she gives her a swift little tail-plucking and sends her on her way..

Here Fern's coming back for more.
.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  


With all this plucking going on, I've managed to collect some nice samples of her plumage billowing around the yard:

And here's how those feathers looked when they were still attached to Fern:

Another endearing little visual:

Fern's butt-feathers are in the shape of a heart.
.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

I let the girls out for some free-range time every day.
And every day Fern sprints from the forsythia to the bird feeder and back again - over and over and over.
It's an adorable sight. 
Took me a while to see exactly what she is doing:

She's chasing birds.


Chickadees, Nuthatches... 

What is going through her tiny little chicken-head?
Is she racing them?
Does she think she's a chickadee?

She's a free-wheelin' little mystery, Fern.


And Pigeon is a mystery to me too --
that she understands Fern's playful taunting.
Her sensitivity to all the individuals in her flock is uncanny.


....next post: PIGEON: Blind Wisdom

N E W C O O P !

I think this is the design my chickens were hoping for:

But this is the design I chose :

  --and they love it.

It's a lot like the old coop, but twice as big, and I gave it all sorts of nifty updates... two nest boxes instead of one, lots of ventilation for hot nights, little doors all over the place for filling the feeder, for changing the water,  for the girls coming and going..

I would be tearing down the old coop completely, but not until the new one was finished.

The mini-coop was staying put.  

It was a handy first-home for little Fern and Daisy, and I'm sure I'll be using it again.   
Also,

the mini-coop was a nice place to grow Heavenly-blue Morning Glories, my favorite.

Wow -- when I look at these photos, I think the construction looks kind of impressive.  
Honestly, I pretty much eyeballed the whole thing. There are no right angles.
But with a couple of power tools and a million drywall screws, anything's possible.  

These here building inspectors gave me the go-ahead, so 

here it is!  the new coop.  And the old dog house, and the little coop.
That little piece of string supports bird-netting that covers their whole yard and keeps out hawks, who sit in the trees all day, watching the hens and licking their lips.

The ladies are thrilled with their big new coop. 
Why is Marky dressed like a pumpkin, you ask?  
I made him a blaze-orange vest so he won't get shot while bounding through the woods.  

See, now he doesn't look so much like a bunny.


The little dog house in the chicken-yard used to be Marky's,

but he fancies himself a rugged outdoorsman, and refused to go inside it,

so Pigeon and Lucy took it over.
.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  


Autumn is molting season.  
This year it was Lil'White and Pigeon who decided to molt.


They each have their own molting styles.

  

Lil'White drops all her golden feathers in about a day.
The coop looks like a chicken exploded,
but Lil'White still looks as voluptuous as ever.

Pigeon's feathers fall out one by one.   She started two months ago, and there's no end in sight.   

Wherever Pigeon goes, she leaves a little stripey trail.

Little Fern's feathers are all over the yard, too, but not because of a molt.


Next post :
PLUCKED !