Seeking Unity in the Barnyard

Earlier this summer we had some hens get broody.  We still have some hens that are broody.  Anyway, we let the hens set on a few eggs and the mama hens hatched out some little biddies.  We put the mamas and the babies in the chicken tractor so they would be safe from predators.  After a little bit, we moved the hens back into general population.  The biddies continued to grow.  Of the six, we have two cockrels and four pullets.  Perfect.  That will replace some hens lost to predation.  Minks, specifically, but I don't like to even mention that wicked animal by name!

The time finally came to bring the six birds and slowly incorporate them with the flock.  It's a tricky situation.  We clipped their wings so they won't fly over the perimeter fence and we brought them to the barn.  The plan goes like this:  We're going to leave them in the dog kennel for a couple of days to get them used to their new surroundings, but mostly to allow the other birds to get used to the "newcomers."

Then, we'll let them out.  The other birds pick on them a little bit and don't share their feed, so we have to be intentional about caring for the new birds.  You'll notice they are mixed breed since they were hatched out.  The white ones are Aracaunas and the red ones are a mix of Rhode Island Red and Golden Comet.  Here are the newbies next to their kennel.  They are nervous and scoping everything out.  It's a brave new world.

They stick close to the barn, which can be trouble.  Tricia is about to milk LuLu and if one of these birds got under LuLu's feet, well, it would be disastrous for the bird.  LuLu?  She wouldn't even notice.  It's still 90 degrees + in late September, so thank the Good Lord for the fans in the barn.  They keep us (and LuLu) cool and also blow the mosquitoes away.

Each night, the new birds instinctually roost atop the kennel.  We put them inside and lock the door so the minks don't get them.  Each morning they are freed.  They are getting braver and braver, extending their foraging farther away from the barn.

They instinctually scratch through the cow poop, looking for grain and other treasures.  The pullets have not started laying eggs yet, but we figure that should be coming in another month.

All is relatively peaceful and calm.  But it is the calm before the storm.  A battle is brewing.  Here is the king.  The cock of the walk.  The big kahuna.  He rules the barnyard.  A war broke out between he and the Barred Rock rooster and the barred rock lost.  He runs around scared, keeping his distance.  The Big Chief even killed the prior King Rooster, a beautiful Rhode Island Red.  They are vicious and brutal, but such is life.  It's survival of the fittest and the whole flock respects the process.

Soon.  When the young cockrels 'feel their oats' and challenge the king, there will be war in the barnyard.  I imagine it to be a showdown like in the movie Tombstone, where Kurt Russell played Wyatt Earp and said, "You tell 'em I'm comin'! And Hell's comin' with me, you hear? Hell's comin' with me!"  I can almost hear one of the roosters yelling that.  But for now, there's peace in the valley.