Like dogs, breeds of chickens have different personalities. The Barred Rocks are voracious, tenacious eaters and can be pushy around other hens. Orpingtons are placid. I tell you this to explain why I’ve moved the chickens around again. Maizie and Eleanor were going after the bantams, so last night, I switched them to the flock with the big bossy girls, and moved Petunia and Marge back with the bantams. Petunia and Marge are New Hampshire Reds, which I call “basic brown hens.” They are plain, but very nice, talkative and friendly. And they don’t beat up on the smaller girls.

Meanwhile, the new camera is up and running (thanks Steve!) and the picture quality is gorgeous, don’t you think? We’ve been playing around with the view. I rather like it the way it is now – you get up close to the hens and you can even see Candy’s nose twitch.

Speaking of Candy, I know there are rabbit keepers watching this, and I need some advice. Candy’s ears are a bit threadbare and the skin is looking a tad raw. I’ve tried vaseline (which Candy told me was too messy) and vitamin E oil (too greasy, she said.) Any suggestions for a good rabbit skin cream? Perhaps something with a sunscreen because she likes to sunbathe? Because she licks her fur, I worry about her ingesting anything I put on her ears. Please email me. Thanks!

Lily, my Border Collie/Rat Terrier mix, spends her day alert, keeping an eye on hawks, UPS trucks and deer.

This is what Scooter does:

He’s curled up on the bean bag in the living room. His job is being cute. He’s very good at it.

Most everybody has been moved around, alliances formed, territory staked out, and dust baths taken. (Hey, could I make money at this? A new reality show? Survivor Chicken?) Snowball is in her private room at the spa, healing nicely. She appreciates not having to tackle other chickens to get to a melon rind.

Alma and LuLu have been put in with hens that do not doubt their own high status- Eleanor and the New Hampshire Reds, Marge and Petunia. LuLu is now on the bottom of the pecking order and behaving herself. Don’t you wish it were so easy with people? I hope it stays this way. If not, I’ve got a zero tolerance policy here and she’s gone.

My decision about the new flock compositions reads rather like one of my fourth grader’s math problems. Here are the rules:

• Even with the reformed behavior of the two hens, I thought it best to separate them from the bantams.
• The Australorps have to stay together. 
• The NHReds stay together.
• Edwina and Eleanor must be kept separate because together they gang up on others. 
• Maizie and Perrie don’t care who they are cooped up with.

And so, you now see in the HenCam barn these girls: Eggers, Betsy Ross, Perrie, Maizie, Edwina, Ginger and Buffy. Read about them on the Hen Bios page.

BTW, whatever ailment Buffy has looks to be permanent and probably terminal. But, as you can tell, she doesn’t look pained or stressed, so I am leaving her be.

Now maybe I can get back to my normal schedule…

I’ve recently noticed that Snowball has not been her chipper self. I found out today why. LuLu has been pecking her. This morning, LuLu sliced Snowball’s comb open. Snowball is now in the chicken “spa” getting peace, quiet, warmth and antibiotic cream on her head. LuLu has been banished to the HenCam barn where there are large and bossy chickens who don’t put up with such nonsense. Eggers and Betsy Ross have been moved to the big barn, to keep the little girls safely away from bully LuLu.

If LuLu persists on pecking the hens’ heads, she will be banished. I don’t tolerate hen-on-hen aggression. I have solved this problem in the past by moving chickens around. I hope it works this time. LuLu is a character, who should be fun to have around.

LuLu was one of a batch of pullets given to my chicken group here in town. They were raised from chicks as part of a education program on a city farm. Interestingly, every one of them has behavior issues – a few that ended up at a friend’s coop killed one of her longtime, lovely, placid hens. These gift hens were handled a lot by many different children. I guess that not all socializing is good. Puppies can get aggressive if handled too roughly, and I think that applies to hens, too.

I should keep a camera by the bed. Lily, the good farm dog, has taken on a new job. Early in the morning she lets me know that she has to go out and protect the… frogs. A great blue heron has discovered our water feature where there are frogs galore. And fish. Ugly goldfish. I’d love it if the heron ate the fish so that I could have an excuse to get prettier ones. But no, Lily goes out and does her job, and the heron goes fish-less. Although, I assume it’s eaten some frogs. Must be getting something because it keeps coming back, despite the dog that chases it away.

I live a short 35 minute drive to Boston (that is, not during rush hour!) so it’s not like we are way out in the country. However, this little town is an oasis surrounded by suburbs. By a fluke of nature – lots of rocks and wetlands – it wasn’t overbuilt. And in the 1960s a large dairy farm here got turned into a state park. Also, Harvard University owns 900 acres of forest right next door. There’s a lovely river that runs along the boundary of our town and other waterways that reach into New Hampshire. Which means that we have wildlife corridors. A moose was spotted on my street the other day. I didn’t see it. But I do think I should keep that camera ready.

We have numerous predators. Coyotes. Bobcat. Fisher cats and other weasels. Fox. Hawks. But I worry most about domestic dogs. We’ve had golden retrievers, pointers, jack russells, vizlas, all come gallomping through the yard, circling the coops and harassing the chickens. Their owners must think that they are home, lazing in the yard while their people are at work. But they’re not. The other day, two overweight dogs wearing collars and bandanas came tearing through the yard, frantically in pursuit of deer. They were in full prey drive, their eyes rolled back so you could see the whites. Oblivious to the road they crossed to get here. Poor Lily, the good farm dog, could do nothing to protect her property. I was glad that little Scooter was inside. Those dogs could easily have switched from chasing the deer to going after a tiny brown dog.

Our dogs stay in the yard. We have an invisible fence, which was the right economic and aesthetic choice for our property. But I’m thinking about putting up a solid fence. Not to keep out the coyotes, but to keep out the dogs.