The Two Ladies are getting along better these days.
After the plucking and flaying incident that got Agnes the Red exiled to the Big Chickenhouse – where she was bullied to within an inch of her life for weeks by hens that are to her as Tiger tanks are to Segways, but is finally an accepted part of the flock – I really thought I’d have to butcher Littlest Hen just to keep her from freezing to death. Instead she grew back a ragged but complete suit of feathers. She was just amazingly jumpy for a while, causing Middle Hen to pick on her as well even though MH is normally as non-aggressive as chickens ever get. But once LH got over it and stopped acting like food, MH stopped trying to eat her. I’m getting no more than one egg a day out of this pair, and I’m thinking of building a trap nest to see if they’re switching off or if one’s doing all the work.
Come Spring there’ll be five more Rhode Island Reds, and these two will stop rattling around in a space meant for half a dozen hens. Except for the murderous aggression and bloodshed, RIRs have worked out pretty well in this environment. And I might have been at fault for the downsides, keeping them in such a small enclosure for so long.
