The Chick Clique
Watching the chickens in their penned in yard is like watching Orange is the New Black, the award winning Netflix series about a woman’s prison. Like the women in prison, the hens have cliques and tend to stick with their own kind.
The Rhode Island Reds, our youngest hens, joined the flock in the spring when they were still innocent and peeping like chicks. There used to be four of them until a raccoon got in the coop, and now there are three. They keep to themselves. The other hens haven’t fully accepted them, even though they are currently our best layers, since the others stopped with the shortening of the daylight after the fall equinox.
We have one light colored Buff Orpington. I call her Chapman, like the upper middle class character that Orange is the New Black is based around. She’s smart but is often shunned by the other hens, I think because of her light coloring.
This all black hen is our only australorp. I’m thinking of calling her Alex after Chapman’s black haired girlfriend that she doesn’t always get along with.
The older hens can be bossy, and, apparently, some get a hair up their butt (or a feather) when they are molting.
In one of the recent Orange is the New Black episodes that we watched, the warden had ordered new beds after an infestation of bed bugs. In our case, he’s weatherizing.
Our straw bale chicken coop was cheap to put together and good for seasonal changes – you stack hay bales throughout it in the winter and take them out in the summer. But too many snakes and mice were getting in it was hard to clean. So now the girls are getting an upgrade, just in time for winter. In the spring, they got new wood flooring (and LOOK who helped), and now the walls are being closed in.
I think everyone will eventually be happy with the changes and I’m hoping they all get along.
_____Our World Tuesday
October 25th, 2015 5:47 pm
this is utterly fascinating, Colleen–I’d never want to raise chickens, but they are probably my favorite go-to farm fowl, bar none.
I suspect this is where the phrase “Chicken with the red spot” originated, it does seem that chickens (and most other fowls) dislike “different” and will go to scary lengths to avoid it or make it go away.
In the photos I can see the evolution of chicken coop, in the background, and yes, they may be better behaved in a fancier coop. One must live up to one’s surroundings, after all.
Great photos, btw. Thank you.
October 25th, 2015 8:12 pm
I’m hoping to get backyard chickens maybe next spring. There’s a lot of wildlife around here that we need to take into account while building the coop.
October 25th, 2015 11:09 pm
Blue lawn chair? For chick flicks? Wait. Never mind I’ll wander on that on my own. A Harrowsmith moment, that unless your Canadian would probably get loss in translation. So I’ll just say, ‘ah, living the life from hand to hen.
October 25th, 2015 11:55 pm
There are so many hen house metaphors for a reason. I used to see the flock disturbances like West Side Story’s Jets vs Sharks but now I see it’s more like Orange is the New Black.
October 26th, 2015 11:14 am
What an interesting take on chickens. I helped raise chickens as a preteen, and at that age, pretty much looked upon it as a chore and a bore. Now I wish I had paid more attention.
October 26th, 2015 2:16 pm
I always LOVE seeing your Chickens…..!!! I had no idea that there would be a Hierarchy problem with Chickens, but, of course, it makes sense, sort of…..
I guess I want them all to get along and just love one another…..Oh well…..
I love that they are getting such a great ‘upgrade; in their living quarters. And I also love that you are naming some of them after “Orange Is The New Black”characters…..lol!
October 26th, 2015 2:57 pm
Hello, I love seeing all your chickens! They are so cute. I am sure they love their renovated home.
Happy Monday, enjoy your new week!
October 26th, 2015 3:11 pm
Your babies are getting a resort condo if you ask me. Our old chicken house was not nearly as nice as yours. Bud had names for all of them and they all lived to OLD age. Loved seeing your pictures.
October 26th, 2015 3:44 pm
What fun to watch chickens closely and learn about their habits!
October 26th, 2015 5:15 pm
Love the ‘chick cligues’ ~ great captures!
Wishing you a happy week,
artmusedog and carol
October 26th, 2015 7:44 pm
An omelet of metaphors. Good shtufffs no matter how you scramble it.
October 27th, 2015 3:30 am
Good