I’ve added a Chicken Keeping Workshop to my event calendar. This is your opportunity to come here to LIttle Pond Farm and learn all about how to have a healthy and fun flock of hens in your backyard. I’ll talk about many related topics, including coop design, feed, breeds, and chicken behavior. You’ll get to see, first-hand, how I maintain the coops and compost the manure. You’ll even get to inspect a chicken butt for lice!

This workshop is scheduled for Saturday, July 27. People have travelled from as far away as Seattle, Ontario, New Jersey, Maine, and Connecticut, to come here to learn about chicken keeping (and to see the Beast in her pond.) I’m located about 30 miles west of Boston, near the historic towns of Concord and Lexington. Summer in New England – and chicken advice – it’s worth the trip!

Now that Edwina has been banished to the Gem’s coop, the hens in the LIttle Barn have all breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Twinkydink and Buffy can rest their old bones while lazing amiably together in a dirt bath.

The pullets can roam freely, no longer in fear of the domineering Barred Rock.

For a mean old hen, Edwina’s lot is far better than it might have been. Edwina still has swagger so the Gems give her a wide berth. But, Edwina no longer dominates. She’s being left alone. Which is rather confusing to the old bully.

The Gems are a rather forgiving lot. They’ve allowed Siouxsie to integrate into the flock. Whether Edwina will eventually be allowed to forage in their midst and roost alongside remains to be seen.

All flocks of chickens have social structures. There are hens that get the food first, and others that eat on the fringes. Some chickens sleep on the top roost, others just below. But on a daily basis, the dynamic should be peaceful. If you watch my Gems, you’d be hard put to know which hen is the highest in the pecking order. It was all sorted out when they were chicks, and now, as a mature flock, there are no squabbles that you can see.

The new group of pullets have already figured out who is dominant (Veronica) and who is not (Twiggy.) There’s no bloodshed or overt aggressiveness, just a bit of body language. I carefully raised them so that this would be the case. Early on, they had things to peck, like dirt clods and winter squash, which kept them busy and taught them to peck at things other than each other. They have plenty of room and resources so that they can move off instead of fighting.

The old hens, Buffy, Edwina, Twinkydink and Betsy, did not have such upbringings. Buffy came here as an adult, she had been bullied by her flockmates, and rehoming was a reprieve from certain death. Edwina and Twinkydink arrived as older chicks, Betsy came as a pullet. Twinkydink and Edwina were always dominant hens. That’s okay. But, Edwina is also domineering. When she can, she pummels others. I have had her for eight years and she has always been a bully. I’ve seen her pin down a chicken and peck at the head, not letting up when the other cries uncle. A dominant hen will chase another away from the good food, and then go on eating. A domineering hen will keep chasing and physically attack. That’s Edwina. Because my pens are spacious and have outside roosts and several feeding areas, I’ve been able to keep Edwina’s behavior in check. But, she’s been attacking Buffy. Buffy, old and weak, can’t escape. Edwina has also been terrorizing the pullets, which is why you rarely see them on the cam – they’ve been hanging out around the back of the coop, avoiding the Barred Rock. I’d had it with Edwina. I put her in with the  Gems.

Edwina and the Gems know each other. They’ve walked past each other when free-ranging. Edwina is familiar with their coop because she lived there before the Gems arrived. I set Edwina in. LIke the dominant hen she is, Edwina started eating immediately.

The Gems looked in the pop door. They had a loud discussion about what to do about Edwina on their turf.

Edwina strode outside.

Onyx, the lowest status hen of this group, huffed up. She chest-bumped Edwina, who backed off.

But, Onyx, who was trying for dominance is not domineering. That one chest bump was enough for her. The Gems turned their backs on Edwina. Edwina is fortunate that this was the case. Not all flocks would have been as welcoming (and this is very welcoming for an established group to allow an interloper onto their turf.)

The Gems went back to scratching around in the compost. Edwina was left to stand around the bare, boring part of the yard. Too bad, Edwina. No one feels sorry for you.

If you have a  domineering hen, one that is endangering the lives of others, and you don’t have a flock of Gems to toss her in with, you can still change the dynamics. Put the bully into a coop out of sight of the others. Leave her there for four days, (with food and water, of course.) When returned to the flock her status will be lowered. This often works, and is worth a try.

Steve’s office window looks out onto the backyard. He spends quite a bit of time procrastinating thoughtfully thinking while looking at, and photographing the birds. There’s a lot to see, what with running water, the small pond, surrounding woodlands, bird feeders, and a meadow, there is shelter, food and resources for many species.

There are multitudes of bluebirds. I don’t know where they got that “bluebird of happiness” reputation, because ours are territorial and angry, albeit beautiful, birds.

Goldfinches abound.

Mourning Doves coo all day.

The Great Blue Heron strides across the lawn.

It hunts in the pond.

I don’t like it so near to the Beast. Lily chases it off.

My office looks out the front of the house where I work diligently. However, I have my own distractions. I was wrong about those robins. They do like the neighborhood. They’ve laid eggs.

The robins are sitting on their clutch right now. We’ll see how much work I get done in a couple of weeks when the eggs hatch.

The new bunny has a name. Although there were many, many wonderful suggestions, my son (who Candy loved more than anyone else, and who loved her back) came up with the perfect name – Phoebe. Phoebe is a dark, small and irregular moon orbiting Saturn.

Yesterday, Phoebe had her first hop-around. I put all of the hens into the goat paddock. I picked up Phoebe and placed her on the ground. She looked around.

She zipped. She zoomed.

Buffy clucked a racket. Pip wasn’t sure if she was friend or foe.

Friend, he decided.

The chickens watched.

Phoebe checked out their roost in the compost area. The pullets checked out Phoebe.

Phoebe took a rest. You can tell by how she sprawled out in the middle of the pen, in full view of the other animals, that she was already quite comfortable in her new home.

However, Phoebe is going to have to learn how to get the stray feather off of her whiskers.

Note that I’ll be letting Phoebe out a few more times on her own before I let her mix with the others. Also, for those considering keeping a rabbit in with the hens, read this FAQ. It’s important to know that the fence is 8 inches below ground, which is essential as rabbits burrow, I have hawk netting above, and she is closed up into a safe hutch at night.