It’s still freezing here and forecast until the end of the week when it will be warmer but wet! Hurrah! We seem to alternate between freezing to milder and wet. I hate wet but I think I may hate freezing even more.
I tried to get some photos of the girls today but they all turned out rubbish so I am going to put out the bedtime photo. They are such good girls, going to bed half an hour before the automatic door closes, and the little girls always go to their own perch. They never attempt to join the bigger girls and quite frankly I don’t blame them one little bit.
Bedtime
Just look at my little angels. Poor Speckles often gets her head pecked which is probably why she is facing the other way. I don’t understand why Peaches and Barley have to be so mean to her. What has she ever done to them!
I heard Speckles whimper and looked in to see her having her head pecked. Often she ends up at the other end of the perch and I feel so sorry for her. She in turn takes her frustration out on the little girls during the day, giving them a quick peck as she passes them. Luckily they don’t take much notice.
The pecking order has to be maintained even in the happiest of flocks. I often refer to them as “the mean girls” when this happens but I know it is just part of life in a flock. As long as it is no worse than a swift warning peck I think it’s okay.
As I said though, look at this photo and they are my little angels! Just got to love them.
Click here to see the history of my flock.
Mine are getting out for an hour only twice a week, to enable me to clean out the houses and replace the bedding. As I have 2 separate flocks during confinement, there are often spats, or skirmishes, as they re-establish the pecking order. Jim, my welsummer cockerel (a real gentleman) used to intervene, but I had to move him on a couple of weeks ago, as he did insist on crowing, and it’s been worse since. I’ll see what tomorrow afternoon brings, when I do the next clean out!
I guess my little pecking order skirmishes are mild in the scheme of things, it’s just that with a small and mostly happy flock like mine, you can’t help thinking any pecking is a bit mean! It is what they do though and you can’t expect no pecking at all. Girls will be girls!
They all look so cute,Poor Speckles,but she can’t mind too much, or she would perch with the little girls.
Speckles alternates between perching as in this photo but facing the other way or perching on her own at the other end of the perch which makes me feel sorry for her. I guess it is what she is used to. Richard says chickens are mean but it’s just what they do. They are cute as well though.