The second rooster

Most evenings, one or more of our neighbors stop in to watch the chickens.   By now, a clear pecking order has been established (among the chickens, not the neighbors).  But it's a complicated order, not a straight hierarchy, as I would have imagined.  Instead, it's more like a company organizational chart.  Clearly, Stevie is at the helm.  He established his place as COO early on, in the brooder, and has maintained his position with very little effort.  

 
And, like the human world, his good looks no doubt aided his meteoric rise.  

After Stevie comes a complicated web of power.  Actually, layers might be a better term, and a more relevant term as that's what most of these birds are.  Each group of breeds has their own set of rules, and each bird interacts differently with the outside breeds.  For example, Ruthie, the black crested white Polish, is very powerful outside her breed.  Her stature when confronting a large rhode island red, almost twice her size, speaks volumes about her power.

  

But within her breed, her position is mixed.  She may get picked on by Annabeth unless Stevie steps in.

 In this picture, Annabeth is trailing Ruthie, with Stevie in the foreground. If Ruthie complains about the white chicken's proximity, Stevie will step in.


Amy is outside the organizational chart, possibly a consultant.  No one picks on her.  In fact, she often has her head down, looking for something to eat.

She is the most indecisive bird in the flock.  We often pick her up when she first exits the pop door in the morning.  Otherwise she will stand on the platform slightly confused.  The other night, for some reason, she did not get on the roost with the other birds.  

I picked her up and put her with the other birds, but she hopped back down and took a spot on the nest bar.  The next night I found her up again with the other chicks.

Two nights ago, the some of the birds settled on the roosting branch we have for them in the run.  We often wondered about the second bird in from the right - named Hecate.  The bird was late to feather and had a rosy comb.  Turns out Hecate is a rooster.  He crowed a slightly weaker sound than Stevie's.  

We renamed Hecate, Morpheus.   He poses no threat to Stevie.  In the organizational chart, he resembles the pointy haired boss in the Dilbert cartoon.  He continually tries to boss the other girls around with no success.  Although given authority by nature, he has no support from the flock. He is clearly in management.


Anne at Echo Mountain View Road chickens

First cockadoodle doo!

Recently, we started letting the chickens out into their run.  The 26' x 10' space includes a huge oak tree rimmed with rhododendrons in layers of decayed leaves, and, unknown to us, hoards of small ants.  The first ones out the door were the Barred Plymouth Rocks, always the bravest even as chicks. 
  

Next came a Rhode Island Red and an Americauna.  
Then there was a bit of excitement and the platform became crowded - sort of like the subway just before the doors open up.

 The original Barred Plymouth Rocks had lost their courage and made it back up to the platform. No one wanted to make the first move.  Then some brave chicken decided to take the first step, and they all followed suit.  All except Stevie, our rooster.  When I peeked into the pop door, Stevie was perched on the side of the brooder as though he needed to make sure everyone got out safely.

 Then he made his move.

At first it was a tentative step.

Then he waltzed down the ramp as though he owned it.  And I guess in Chicken World, he does.

The chickens immediately found the ants among the dead leaves and scratched away.

 


Now for the reason I titled this the First Cockadoodle doo - Yesterday morning, the day after their first outing, as I reached in to give them some greens, I heard a distinct, UR UR UR UR.  Granted, the voice squeaked like an adolescent boy, but the sound was clearly crowing, and it came from Stevie, standing at the highest location in the coop.

  


Anne at Echo Mountain View Road chickens

Transfer to the coop

I haven't written in a while because I spend most of my free time out by the coop watching the birds.  The day we moved them, I worried about how they would adjust.  We moved half the brooder (dog crate!) into the house, and then carried them 6 or 7 at a time in 2 cat carriers, making 3 trips.  They all stepped out of the carriers without a glance back.

Here is the coop, before and after staining.

 
 And here are the peeps settled in

The half crate remains in the coop; the rhode island reds like to perch on the sides, and they are the shyest at this point.  I hate to disrupt their comfort level.  When we finish the run, out goes the crate.

Removing them from the house left me with mixed feelings.  On one hand, I don't miss the mess, occasional smell  just before changing the shavings, and worry about the cats sneaking in the stubborn screen door.  On the other hand, I miss seeing them all settled in, roosting on the side of the crate, small contented chirps from a few of the late night peepers.

The first night in coop, I didn't sleep very well.  I went out about 9:00pm and they were squabbling around the light I had placed in the corner.  I moved it to the center nesting box and they settled right down.  Proximity to the light means high on the pecking order, I assume.  The next night, all were up in the roost.  Subsequent nights they split half on one side and half on the other.  

 
Here they are, unsettled by my stepping up on the pop door ledge to take this photo.  This is the second night out.



Having them next to the garden means that I weed frequently.  They love the scraps and dirt I pull up.  I hate to weed, but this bonus means my garden will benefit from the treat.

Anne at Echo Mountain View Road chickens