Spring fever....

.... again. After a nearly-frigid night, the temperature today was just a little bit under 70 degrees. Stupid weather. (The frigid part, not the 70-degree part.)

The chickens are so happy with the warmer weather that they've been strolling all around the yards and not bothering to lay eggs. Rather than the usual three or four eggs, they're giving me one or two on these very warm days. Which makes no sense to me at all, especially since all of our neighbors who have chickens told me that the hens wouldn't lay eggs when it got too cold. I guess my hens have read different books on egg-laying. (Which is fine... four eggs every day is more than we need.)

Tonight when I went to lock up the coop, two of the larger hens (Prissy and Daisy) were picking on PittyPat (the smallest hen). They do that constantly, and will only quit if they see that I'm watching them. Usually, when I go into the coop to lock the gate, PittyPat is sitting on top of the gate by herself, perched quite comfortably and looking very content. Well, I can't close the gate if she's up there on top of it, so I pet her feathers so she will fly down to the floor of the coop. Once on the floor, she will fly up on the roosting bar--- which disrupts the other hens who have already claimed their favorite sleeping spots.

That's when the pecking starts. Scarlett and Audrey sleep side by side, feathers touching. Prissy and Daisy don't like to give up their spaces, and they both like to have empty spaces on either side of them. Mind you, the roosting bar is about twelve feet long, which is plenty of room for just five hens. You would think. But every night just about, either Prissy or Daisy will start pecking at PittyPat's feet in an effort to get her out of and away from their spaces. Sometimes, PittyPat will just move close to Scarlett and Audrey. Other times, like tonight, she will sit there and let the hens peck at her feet or her neck. Both of which gets me nuts because it looks so cruel. As my Aunt Dolly would say: Can't you girls just play nice?! (My cousins and I heard that a zillion times when we were kids.)

Tonight, enough was enough with PittyPat. Back bad and all, I carried (mostly dragged) an old wood ladder and brought it inside the coop. As soon as Prissy and Daisy saw me with the ladder, they stopped pecking at PittyPat to watch what I was doing. I set that ladder up on the side of the coop near the roosting bar, but far enough away from it to give PittyPat the privacy that she seems to need. Up went the ladder... then I walked to the roosting bar and picked PittyPat right up.... and put her on the top rung of the ladder (which is about the same height as the top of the gate that she likes so much).

All the while, the other hens were watching me. PittyPat stayed quietly in my hands while I patted her head and told her that she really needs to stand up to Prissy and Daisy. Keep your feathers up, girl! Don't let them peck at you! When I locked up the coop a while ago, PittyPat was sitting just as nice as you please up on the top rung of that ladder..... and the other four hens were sitting on the roosting bar, looking up at her.

We'll see if this works...... when I go into the coop to lock up tomorrow night, I'm hoping that PittyPat is on the top rung of the ladder, content on her wooden throne.