Hen Chronicles: Finally, the pullets fit in with the veterans

When two Rhode Island Red pullets arrived on the scene back in May, Snow and Nala, our older, well-established hens, did not take to the newcomers.

At first, we separated Hope and Nellie from the old-timers during daylight hours because the kids were still on pullet feed, not the laying feed that Snow and Nala eat. But all four of them found themselves sharing the same coop at night. There was much squawking and jostling and bumping in there as they went about the business of establishing a pecking order.

Later on, when the Reds were old enough to make the switch to an adult feed, Hope and Nellie refused to emerge from the coop in the morning to eat with Snow and Nala in their pen. On those rare occasions when one or both of the Reds did venture into the pen, Nala pecked at them noisily, and chased them. Flapping their wings and sounding half scared to death, the terrified Reds quickly retreated into the coop, where Snow and Nala rarely venture during the day.

As these face-offs continued, week after week, it was hard to imagine that the hens would ever learn to get along. Yet nowadays, the scene that greets me at dawn when I release “the girls” from the coop to feed and water them is far different.

Not only do all four hens have a peaceful breakfast in the pen every day without fail, but they share one bowl of feed, often at the same time. I still find myself doing a double take whenever I spot Snow, Nala, Hope and Nellie all gathered around that bowl, munching quietly and happily without so much as a wayward squawk or a sidelong shove.

Unlike the inflexible tea party crowd in Washington, our hens compromised and adapted over time, so they could coexist. If you compare that to recent events on Capitol Hill, it seems the real bird brains are not to be found in a chicken coop.