Requesting parental controls
The very grown-up conversation we were having about 'pecking order' and social structure in our flocks was clearly overheard by the chickens and posted on Beakbook. This gave first Elizabeth and then little tiny Minnie ideas that really I would rather they had not been exposed to.
At the start of the conversation I had said I couldn't figure out who my alpha hen was. I think I speculated it might be Diana. But I have never witnessed any pecking or squabbling between the Princesses. There is a race to get to the favorite roosting spot first (which means the first Princess goes to bed rather early) and nothing more than the odd bad-tempered squawk if someone gets in someone else's way.
Not so yesterday evening.
Elizabeth laid into Maggie in a big way. It started with some chest bumping and then Elizabeth got on top of Maggie and had her sprawled out on the floor. It was distressing for me as I only ever read about chickens being mean to each other. It was all over in a few seconds and nobody seemed the worse for wear. It was almost like Elizabeth lost her temper and was then over it. Maggie seemed to shrug it off and everyone went about their chickening business.
But then tiny Minnie decides to take on Dotty (thank goodness she didn't try to take on Maggie too!) and the two Littles are going around chest bumping and squawking at each other.
It is all very odd. Maggie is a lot bigger than either Elizabeth or Diana and Dotty is a lot bigger than Minnie. I could put it down to the heat making everyone bad-tempered. But really I think Beakbook has been a bad influence on them!
The very grown-up conversation we were having about 'pecking order' and social structure in our flocks was clearly overheard by the chickens and posted on Beakbook. This gave first Elizabeth and then little tiny Minnie ideas that really I would rather they had not been exposed to.
At the start of the conversation I had said I couldn't figure out who my alpha hen was. I think I speculated it might be Diana. But I have never witnessed any pecking or squabbling between the Princesses. There is a race to get to the favorite roosting spot first (which means the first Princess goes to bed rather early) and nothing more than the odd bad-tempered squawk if someone gets in someone else's way.
Not so yesterday evening.
Elizabeth laid into Maggie in a big way. It started with some chest bumping and then Elizabeth got on top of Maggie and had her sprawled out on the floor. It was distressing for me as I only ever read about chickens being mean to each other. It was all over in a few seconds and nobody seemed the worse for wear. It was almost like Elizabeth lost her temper and was then over it. Maggie seemed to shrug it off and everyone went about their chickening business.
But then tiny Minnie decides to take on Dotty (thank goodness she didn't try to take on Maggie too!) and the two Littles are going around chest bumping and squawking at each other.
It is all very odd. Maggie is a lot bigger than either Elizabeth or Diana and Dotty is a lot bigger than Minnie. I could put it down to the heat making everyone bad-tempered. But really I think Beakbook has been a bad influence on them!
