Object of His Affection

Blue Ink on Index paper $25 US
Image area 5 1/2 X 7

As you may recall, the great chicken massacre (now referred to as "Remember the Chicklamo") eliminated all the roosters and left us with 6 grieving widowed hens. My friend, Sandi, who shared the baby chick shipment with me last spring raised up with a half dozen roosters in her bunch of 26 (as I did) and offered to "share" a couple with me (I promised not to eat one or allow the coyotes to). We went and visited her coop this afternoon to select the new grooms and ended up bringing home the two I could catch the easiest. One is a speckled Sussex and the other (I suspect) is a Dark Cornish. Both are quite docile and not near as aggressive as our Barred Rock (who I like to imagine valiantly defended the girls before succumbing to coyote teeth).
Upon release in the coop, one of the Dark Cornish hens promptly flailed the Sussex with beak, wings and feet. Both roosters quickly retreated to the inside of the hen house, clucking worriedly. I guess that chickens have a pecking order (duh) much like horses and have to work it out when a new individual is introduced. Fortunately the hens don't have spurs on their legs for combat and the roosters' spurs haven't gotten very big yet. I don't foresee much blood letting, but then I don't know that much about chicken behavior yet - the learning curve is turning...
Proverbs 30:33
For as churning the milk produces butter, and as twisting the nose produces blood, so stirring up anger produces strife.

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