Throwin' Elbows
We got 3 chickens at the same time. Two were just a week old, and the third was a Buff Orphington (BO) about 7-8 weeks old. The BO is so very sweet, but set the pecking order as expected since she is much older.
Turns out, one little one was a roo, so he got taken back to the chicken farm to exchange for a hen (both the bird I exchanged and the new bird were about 6 weeks old). This again reset the pecking order, with the least dominant little one now in the middle and the newcomer at the bottom.
But, last night at roost time, I saw such a tussle! It started with the BO being the first to fly up to the middle of the roost. Then the others flew up landed on the side closer to what is apparently the prime spot against the wall. BO scooched over till the other two were against the wall, then leaned out and pecked their toes until they flew down. Then the two young ones flew back up, jockeying for position by weaving their bodies over and under each other to see who could get next to the BO.
At this point, I grabbed by camera.Turns out, one little one was a roo, so he got taken back to the chicken farm to exchange for a hen (both the bird I exchanged and the new bird were about 6 weeks old). This again reset the pecking order, with the least dominant little one now in the middle and the newcomer at the bottom.
But, last night at roost time, I saw such a tussle! It started with the BO being the first to fly up to the middle of the roost. Then the others flew up landed on the side closer to what is apparently the prime spot against the wall. BO scooched over till the other two were against the wall, then leaned out and pecked their toes until they flew down. Then the two young ones flew back up, jockeying for position by weaving their bodies over and under each other to see who could get next to the BO.
First, the little ones creeped up to the BO who has taken prime spot:
Then they tried a strong-arm tactic...the big lean:
When it became unbearable to be squished in the corner, the BO turned and gave them a piece of her mind:
Then, the one outside started throwin' elbows:
Eventually things settled down and though everyone is still in the same position, they've spread out a bit having finally given up on trying to roust the BO. But, I'll say that during the scuffle, I felt like a mom wanting to yell at them to STAY IN YOUR OWN SEAT OR I WILL PULL THIS CAR OVER.
