Oh How the Mighty Have Fallen

There has been some stirring in the coop as of late. Two chickens lost to neighbor dogs and another due to casualties of stress from the ordeal has lead to some unforeseen developments. Our once timid (and sometimes seemingly banished) Cinnamon Queens have taken the opportunity to raise themselves in this chicken hierarchy. The past few days my husband and I have notice that with a few chickens out of the picture there is some new found confidence among these birds and they have become, well, quite bossy! The chickens who were last to eat and chased out of the coop to lay have now, as a group, taken first dibs at treats, chased others away from the water dish and I even found my beloved lap chicken laying in a different building! Oh how the times have changed! My once mighty Barred Rocks have become submissive to these Queens. As long as everyone understands their position there is no problems though sometimes hens whose pecking order has been disrupted can act out violently towards others in an attempt to establish themselves dominant.  It seems as though everyone is adapting to their new status and there hasn't been any issues. I'm particularly relived since cold weather is approaching and the hens will start to be in close quarters with each other in the next few months. Inside the coop we added another roosting bar and threw down some extra bedding in preparation for them spending more time in the coop rather than free ranging on our two acres and hopefully they will settle in nicely for the winter.

Here they were enjoying the nice weather while it lasts. The girls and the chickens were very excited about the freshly turned dirt to play in!

I had to make the husband climb up and collect the eggs the Barred rock had been laying, half dozen total! And inside pieces to the mower no less!