JAILBIRDS - Part Two

Continued from the previous post, JAILBIRDS 
(click here to go there)

In the previous episode, I approached the chicken run to find Dorrie looking like this:

The whole flock looked up at me as if I were Jessica Fletcher suddenly appearing at the crime scene.

I didn't know what had happened to Dorrie, but I had a hunch.

My guess:  That Daisy had stirred up the youngsters into such a tizzy that Dorrie nailed her beak into the hardware cloth - the tightly woven fencing that surrounds the run. 

I was instantly furious with Daisy, although I knew I shouldn't be.

I scooped Dorrie into my arms to take a closer look.  Fresh blood and dried blood....this must have happened hours ago.  

I needed another pair of hands to clean Dorrie's wound, and I needed another human to tell me what to do next.  Since I was all alone and it was after 5:00 on a Friday and my vet, Rosario was unavailable, I packed Dorrie into an Epson printer box and drove her to Tufts Veterinary Emergency Room, only a few minutes away.

Two young residents attended to Dorrie. 
I was worried that the top of her beak was missing. 

Once she was cleaned up, we could see that the injury wasn't as bad as it looked. 
She had shaven off the front and sides of her beak, but it was not so bad that it wouldn't grow back eventually.  

Dorrie was the first chicken that the doctors had worked with. 

They thought she was very sweet.

They gave her some hydration and sent us home with antibiotics. 

That night I placed Dorrie on the roost with her flock. 

But first, I moved Daisy out. 

(to be continued)

JAILBIRDS

Continued from the previous post, " TORTURE". 

 (Click here to start there)

Those Pinless Peepers worked.   

They stopped Lil'White from pecking at Lucy, but still allowed enough range of vision for her to shoot me a spiteful glare.   

But I could tell that the Peepers were uncomfortable, and I felt like a real heel for doing this to her.

I gave her about two months - hoping that would be enough time for her feather-picking habit to become a distant memory -- or no memory at all. 

The day I removed the Pinless Peepers, Lil'White took a few steps back and gave me the full-frontal stink-eye. 

Then she shook her plumage indignantly, 

sauntered over to Lucy,  

and promptly resumed her bad habit.  

Sorry, Lil'White. That was your last chance.  

I scooped her up and took her to the mobile coop where the young Nuggets had grown up.  

I placed her inside and locked the door. 

And because Lil'White has no friends, and needs no friends, she settled cheerfully into her cozy private home. 

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

Meanwhile, back at the big coop, all hell was breaking loose. 
I had moved the Nuggets in with the old ladies, expecting them to sort out a pecking order and settle down as a flock.  

But the integration process had gone horribly awry. 

Daisy plotted to make all of their lives miserable. 

She stalked the nuggets from morning to night.

And when she caught them, feathers flew.

Her attacks were relentless. The screams and yelps of her victims were disconcerting.  I hoped that things would mellow out with time, but Daisy just didn't lighten up. 

Then one sunny day, 

as I spent long hours assembling this simple Ikea product on the back deck, 

I noted from across the yard that the flock was unusually calm and quiet.  There was no squawking, no running....  There were no feathers flying.  

Finally, I thought, they've reached an accord.  

That afternoon when I visited the gals, nobody came to greet me. 

Something was wrong, but didn't figure it out until Dorrie turned to look at me.  

Her face was caked with blood.  

(click here for JAILBIRDS part two)

Torture

This was an extreme measure.

Let me explain.  

Lil'White had been pecking brutally at Lucy's neck. 

Lucy's neck feathers were all gone, and any new ones that emerged were promptly tweezed by Lil'White. 

This had been going on for months. It was horrible to watch.  

I tried everything I could think of to stop this behavior. I knew that Lil'White would create a bloody wound if she were allowed to continue.

With all options exhausted, I broke down and ordered "Pinless Peepers", a little pince-nez designed to prevent a bird from pecking flock mates while still allowing the bird to eat and drink.  

I had hoped for pink ones.  They sent blue ones. 

With a bit of a struggle, I placed the Peepers on Lil'White's beak, clipping them into her nostrils.

Lil'White would have thrown this brick at my head if she could have. 

She was livid.

But the Peepers worked. The Lucy-plucking subsided, and after a few days Lil'White seemed to adjust somewhat to the contraption. 

It took about a month for Lucy to transform from scraggly

back to glorious.   

But at what cost?    
I felt I had only transferred the torture of one bird to the torture of another. 

And Lil'White continued to despise me -- more than she ever did, if that's even possible. 

There had to be a better solution. 

(Click here for part two: JAILBIRDS)

BULLYING -or- The Evil Orpington

Orpingtons are reputed to be one of the most docile and friendly breeds of chicken. 

So why is Lil'White such a sociopath?

She started out as sweet as could be.  

Was an inner fury brewing in that fluffy little soul?

You can't blame it on the mother (me).   My girls enjoy spacious accommodations--- more good food than they ever can cram into those little crops of theirs--- safe and spacious roosting areas ---- plenty of entertainment and activity.

There's no logical explanation for her brutal behavior.  

Not only does she viciously defend her #2 position in the pecking order ...all...day...long, incessantly and unprovoked, 

but she brutally attacks ME every chance she gets---  

---appearing innocent and curious all the while.   

My legs receive most of her abuse, but whenever I squat down to chat with the ladies, she quietly slips around back and pecks mercilessly -- maniacally --

at my butt. 

  

I feel that if she had the appropriate weapon, she'd kill me--drag me to the woods and  bury me in a shallow grave behind the compost pile.   But all she's got is a little beak and a twisted little mind.  She doesn't scare me one bit. 

She sure put the fear of chickens into Grandma, though.

Fern and Daisy take most of her abuse,

but they're young and quick  so blood loss is rare.

Now I'm wondering if young impressionable Fern has picked up some nasty behavior from Lil'White.

Recently, suddenly, Fern decided that she will be above Daisy in the pecking order.  It was kind of sad to watch because Daisy and Fern had been little allies from the start.

Two tykes, 

inseparable.

When Fern started attacking her, Daisy clearly had better things to do than to bicker about her social rank.  She just got out of the way.

Now Daisy's kind of on her own.

She keeps to the perimeter.

But, because she's an awesome gal, she makes the most of it.

There's more adventure to be had when you're on your own...

like suddenly discovering

The Car.

Bedtime is a stressful time for Daisy.  I used to rescue Fern from up in the dark rafters every night, but now I leave her up there alone, rather than let her torment Daisy on the roost.

So Daisy has had only one beak to dodge in the evenings -- Lil'White's.

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  

Last night, however, when I went out to lock up the coop, I came upon a pretty little sight.  

All five sitting quietly on the summer roost.

I hope it's a foreshadow of harmony to come.