"Can't y'all just get along?"

We went to the neighbor's this afternoon and picked out two of her hens..... she was keeping the Rhode Island Reds, which was fine because hers all looked just like my Scarlett and I didn't want identical hens in the coop. She had some Araucanas to give away, but we already have two of those (Audrey and Mammy) and they're not great egg-layers. She also had some black hens (Minorcas) but we have one of those (Prissy).

There were a few Orpingtons to choose from.... they're the same size as the Rhode Island Reds, but they're lighter than the dark red of Scarlett, sort of a sunset-rust color... I picked one of those, and named her Daisy. Her coloring reminds me of the wild daisies that are in the fields with the bluebonnets. Then there was one gray/white Dutch Bantam hen.... so cute, about half the size of the larger hens, and she makes the sweetest little sounds. I picked her, and named her PittyPat (going with the Gone With The Wind names of Scarlett, Prissy, and Mammy).

The hens from the neighbor came across the road in a cat-crate, and we carried the whole crate into the coop. Welcome to The Coopacabana, girls! When we opened the door of the cat-crate, the two new hens just huddled up into the far corner, not interested in coming out. My husband had to practically turn the crate upside-down so the hens had no choice but to get on out of that crate.

Well....... you would have thought we brought a 300-pound gorilla into that coop. Our four "established" chickens raised such a fuss. Prissy kept clucking, Audrey was turning her head sideways to get a closer look at the new-comers, Mammy sat on the roosting bar and put her head into the corner and wouldn't even look at them, and Scarlett chased both Daisy and PittyPat around the floor of the coop. We had to separate the hens at least half a dozen times so they wouldn't peck at one another.

I went into the house to get some bread while my husband kept an eye on the chickens. Usually, white bread or cooked vegetables will get their attention. It didn't work so well this afternoon. Mammy kept her head in the corner, Audrey took some of the bread but wouldn't come off the roosting bar. Prissy and Scarlett ate some of the bread, and Scarlett let me pet her feathers, but most of the bread crumbs were left on the floor of the coop. The girls just weren't interested in a late-afternoon snack.

We stayed in there for over half an hour... moving the old wooden ladder from the coop yard right into the coop, to give the hens more choices of where to sleep. That roosting bar is about 12 feet long-- more than enough space for six chickens to share, but we couldn't convince our four hens to share some of that bar with the two new girls. At one point, Daisy flew up to the roosting bar, Scarlett clucked at her and scared her, which got Daisy trying to fly off the bar before she even got on the bar, resulting in Daisy getting stuck behind the bar so my husband had to rescue her before Scarlett was able to peck at her. The whole thing looked like something out of a Looney Tunes cartoon.

As it was getting dark, they all seemed to settle down. Mammy kept her head in the corner the whole time, but she didn't object when PittyPat cuddled up next to her. Both Prissy and Daisy decided they wanted to roost on the rungs of the ladder-- with Prissy taking the very top one to show her seniority. When I locked up the coop, everyone was quiet and seemed to be content in the sleeping spots of their choice.

For the next three days, I will have to keep all the chickens inside the coop and the little fenced-in yard just outside the coop. The "old" hens will have three days to realize that PittyPat and Daisy aren't going back across the road, and the "new" hens will have those three days to get used to their new coop-mates, as well as get used to their new coop.

The new chickens should be quite happy..... their old coop didn't have a solid roof, and all of the walls were fenced, not wood. I've got the two fenced walls covered with fabric and plastic sheeting so they won't get the cool winds for the next couple of months. They should all be very content in The Coopacabana, for goodness sake.

But.... there's that pecking order thing..... and bringing in two new hens has disrupted that. It shouldn't take long for the original four and the new two to get into some sort of chicken camaraderie that won't have feathers flying out there.

We've had a cloudy, rainy day today.... with low-flying hawks. My chickens never saw the outside of the coop today... it was at this time last year when we lost three hens to the hawks, so we're not taking chances this year. If the sun isn't shining, if it isn't a warm and pretty day, then the chickens will be confined to the coop and the tented side-yard outside the coop. The next couple of days aren't going to be much nicer.... perfect time for the six hens to stay inside and play nice.

Before the rain started today, we went out to lunch with J & J..... to the little 1950's-style diner at the private airport just outside of town. Waitresses wear poodle shirts with white blouses and saddle shoes... classic rock & roll music plays from the juke-box....... and the food is pretty good for a small restaurant that's tucked way out in the woods. J & J are heading east to Virginia tomorrow, to be with their daughter and her family for the Thanksgiving holiday. That's a long drive from here to there..... 1300 miles, I think they said, and it will take them three days.

I wouldn't mind a long road trip. I'd enjoy that much better than flying, but you really do need the time for all of that driving. I don't think I'd like that kind of a road trip at this time of the year, though.... you could drive right into a snowstorm, for goodness sake, once you got out towards the east coast. Not my idea of a good thing.

This rainy drippy weather isn't my idea of a good thing either. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the temperature goes up again, the sun comes out, the hawks go away, the rain quits, and the chickens snap out of it and get along just fine. In a perfect world...