Caroline, shunned

I have read about chickens rejecting a new addition to the flock, but I did not credit it, as we have effortlessly incorporated two new birds. The chickens were a little hostile at first, but both Marlene and July understood how to play meek and ingratiate themselves. They run with the hip crowd, now.

Not this little hellcat. She goes straight for the other chickens' throats. A bossy hen comes up to investigate and Caroline flies at her in a fury. It's hard to know where the cycle of violence starts -- was she picked on as a child? did they tease her all night in the henhouse? is she just a psychotic chicken? This morning I had to break up several hen fights with the hose. Eventually the others backed C into a corner facing the wall. 

Then we did what I knew we were supposed to from the start.

 We put her in a cage in the middle of the yard. This way, supposedly, everyone can get used to each other without bloodshed. Whether this will actually work, I have no idea.