The Adventures of Barcode the Barred Rock

[theoldchick]

Aw, poor Barcode. I hope she finds her niche within the flock.

 

[SilkiesForEver]

Aw, poor Barcode. I hope she finds her niche within the flock.

X2. Poor little Barcode.

Looking forward to more.

 

[HoneyDreameMom]

Love this chicken! Great installment - can't wait for the next one.

 

[TheSpiceGirls]

Post photos.

 

[froggiesheins]

Love this story.. am subscribed and waiting for more......

 

[Pyxis]

Things were still rocky for Barcode. Her sister had seamlessly integrated into the flock and was even mating with the mean roosters. Well, they weren't mean to Houdini, just to Barcode. They weren't overly mean, but they did chase her away from the food whenever other hens were trying to eat and sometimes away from goodies and treats the Food Bringer tossed to them. There was no real aggression though, and for that Barcode was thankful. She had seen the top rooster chase the beta rooster off before and she didn't want that sort of thing happening to her.

She thought maybe the roosters were confused, because she looked like a rooster, kind of, and acted sort of like a rooster, because she was used to being Head Hen and taking charge. They seemed to realize on some level she was a hen (once she had squatted for the Food Bringer and Lime, the beta rooster, had taken advantage and mated with her - that is the only time either rooster has ever mated with her) but still treated her as a rooster in some instances.

And the hens were avoiding her. Barcode thought maybe it was because of her erratic behavior - she had gotten so used to the roosters chasing her away from things that she now panicked and ran whenever they got close and spooked the other hens. Since her sister was spending most of her time with the rest of the flock, Barcode didn't have her company anymore. Plus, Houdini was always escaping from the run, and Barcode didn't want to displease the Food Bringer so she stayed in and lost even more time with her. She didn't know how her sister got out, anyway, but she had taught Plum how to do it too and now they were always breaking out. Never mind that the Food Bringer let them out whenever she was around, they wanted to be out all the time. The Food Bringer also kept bringing new birds to the flock - littler ones, not yet full grown, and Barcode was quick to show them she was dominant, but this scared them and they avoided her too.

But then the dog attack happened. The chickens were used to the Food Bringer's dog - he was very big and yellow and easy to tell apart. This dog, however, was black, and younger, and he killed chickens. One day when the Food Bringer was at work, the ducks and goose somehow managed to push open the bottom of the run gate. Houdini was already outside, and the rest of the chickens went out to join her. Barcode didn't want to be left behind so she followed. That's when the dog showed up. He started chasing everyone, and he even killed some of them. The roosters stood up to him to buy some time for the hens to run off, and then they each led a group away to hide. But some hens were left behind and didn't know what to do!

So Barcode did what she remembered from her days as Head Hen and she protected her flock. She gathered up the hens that were scared and panicking and took them to safety. Plum and Houdini were part of her group, as well as a young marans named Green and a few others. She even took the Food Bringer's goose because she knew that she was important to her. The goose was especially scared, because the dog had grabbed her wing and she was bleeding. She also took one drake that the other ducks didn't like. She got them out into the woods and hidden away in the undergrowth and didn't let them leave even when it started to rain.

Hours later, it was still raining and Barcode was waiting for darkness to take the birds back to the coop. Suddenly she heard movement in the undergrowth and heard the Food Bringer calling them! She jumped up and had the other birds follow her (the goose and the duck wouldn't get up, they were too scared still, but Barcode knew they would come back when it got dark so she left them). She ran through the trees with the other chickens and saw the Food Bringer coming toward them, soaking wet and looking sad. She got much happier once she saw Barcode and all the hens she had with her. Barcode and her hens followed the Food Bringer back to the run, where she fed them and locked them in. One rooster was already back with his hens, and for once he shared the food without chasing her off.

Over time most of the other birds came back, including the goose and the duck, and the Food Bringer let them all into the run as they showed up. The hens that Barcode had kept safe tolerated her after that, and she even got to spend one summer afternoon perching with Plum, Houdini, and the two wyandotte sisters in the sunshine.

So, she was still not accepted by most of the flock, and the ones that did accept her only tolerated her, but it was better than before. Little did Barcode know, though, that soon she would have company - just not the kind she had expected.

 

[theoldchick]

Yay for Barcode! Hopefully she'll find her way.

 

[gryeyes]

 

[Pyxis]

Barcode was grumpy. In fact, most of the birds were grumpy. Summer was starting to wind down, it was getting chilly, the year-olds could feel their first molt coming on, and the coop was cramped. Really, really cramped. You see, the Food Bringer had built their coop to house eight chickens and up to eight ducks. Now there were four ducks and a goose, and they were happy to share to the bottom level of the two level coop with no complaints. However, there were now over thirty chickens, and even though the coop had eight nesting boxes and twelve feet of roost space, it was just too small for thirty chickens. And Penny the buff orpington was determined to add more, and her determination had spread to Lemon the red sex link, who had six chicks of her own - and they weren't even in the coop yet!

To top it all off, the Food Bringer had been doing weird things behind their coop, putting down wood and looping big metal things up in the air.

What was that for? It was certainly distracting, and the flock needed their full concentration to find the last of the summer bugs.

The Food Bringer had been doing some hatching of her own, and Barcode knew she had chicks in her workshop - she had peaked in the glass door and seen them. They were odd, fluffy chicks that looked like walking balls of lint and Barcode didn't know WHAT to think of them.

There was something else in the workshop too, Barcode knew. She didn't know what, but they sounded much bigger than chicks, and they certainly weren't ducks, or geese, or chickens, because she knew what all those sounded like. She was fairly certain they were birds, though. If only she could see them. Whatever they were, they were too big to be kept in the workshop, since the Food Bringer usually only kept chicks in there, but she kept glaring at Houdini and mumbling things like "not taking chances this time" and "making sure they're healthy before they get near my flock" so Barcode was convinced this was somehow her sister's fault.

Whatever the case, she was grumpy, the flock was grumpy, crowded, and growing, and she wished the Food Bringer would finish doing whatever it was she was doing with those metal loops of hers so they could all get some peace and quiet. And if those things in the workshop would ever shut up, that would be nice too.

 

[theoldchick]

Patience, Barcode, patience.