Dumpling has always been more aggressive than the others but now she is becoming a definite problem child. She is trying to be Alpha female over me and that is just not going to fly. While she pecks the other chickens that get near her, she grabs hold of me and won't let go. In order to keep her in line, mainly so she does not hurt someone, especially my kids, I am reminding her that I am the top chicken in the coop. When she tries to pinch me, I peck her back with my finger, not enough to hurt her but definitely enough to annoy her. When they are roosting at night and she starts trying to peck another girl off the roost next to her, I move her to a lower rung. She will soon understand that I rule the roost or she will need to move on. While I understand there is a natural order to things and I see the others taking a position in that order, none are as a hateful and mean as she is, so she must be taken down a notch or two or she will be living up to her name.
Besides Dumpling, the other girls are all wonderful. They are so nosey, ahem, I mean inquisitive about everything. When they hear us they come running, when one runs, they all run. They have gotten quite spoiled to the treat of clover and now expect some everytime they see us. Zelda is still sweet tempered and easy going, but funny enough is not at the bottom of the pecking order. We are up to 15 that roost on their own without being told. The rest wait for us to come in and turn on the light, then they start making the journey to the roost. It takes a few minutes for everyone to find the right spot, I am actually learning who likes to be where.
This week is much cooler but we have been having some really warm weather. The girls in all of the black feathers are really feeling the heat. We are freezing water in 2 liter bottles to place in and around the coop and run for them to sit next to in order to cool down. Keeping cool water replaced throughout the day really helps as well. A chickens body temperature averages about 102-103 degrees Farenheit. They can not sweat to cool down so they pant, like dogs. They take in cooler air and pass back warm moisture. This means that when they all go in the coop in the heat of the day they are raising the temperature and humidity inside the coop just by exhaling when they pant. Our girls have a large open window for ventilation but we have found that we have needed to add a small fan for better circulation of the air during those hot, humid days.
Daniel does not play with them as much as he did when they were smaller, however, Sarah definitely does. He still feeds, waters and pulls clover for them which is good. There is one chicken that talks to us more than the others and we have started calling her Ninja chicken, because she sounds like a ninja warrior. Daniel loves that name because he himself is Ninjabetic Jr. Ninja chicken argues with me, I swear she is a teenager. She will want more clover and I say no, she sounds to be saying but I want more, I reply no. We do this back and forth a few times and then she walks away talking up a storm like she is mad and calling me names. Yep, sounds like a teenager. =)
