Pepe and Dom

   
     The chickens are doing great. We haven't had any more intruders since the ringtail, and they are really laying now. The other day we got 8 eggs! We were having trouble with them scratching out all of their nest bedding, which resulted in broken eggs, but after nailing carpet pieces on the bottom of each nest, we solved that problem. Our chickens like comfy conditions.
     Cooper really enjoys the chickens and likes to herd them around. He's gotten into trouble multiple times because he won't leave them alone. He also likes gathering the eggs and gets really excited when he looks in the next and sees eggs to collect. He hasn't really learned how to safely carry the eggs, but at least most of the time he'll give the eggs to me without a fight.

 Looking for eggs

 "Mom, please let me carry it to the house!"

Dandy is always checking for a possible treat

     On to Pepe and Dom.

 Dom

Pepe

     If you haven't guessed, these are the names of our two roosters. After we learned that they aren't mean, we've started to like them and observe them...Cooper and I do a lot of chicken observing these days. We named Pepe because he seems to have a spanish flair about him, with the pretty feathers and more agile movements. Dom is of the Dominiker breed, so we just shortened it. He also just looks like a Dom.  As we've watched we've noticed some competition between the two guys, and found  out who the dominant rooster is.
Guess which one?

Dom hanging out with the ladies

     That's right, Dom (no pun intended) is the dominant rooster. By observing them, we've found a few reasons for this.
     Shortly after we got them we started listening for rooster crows. It didn't take long for them to start crowing, and there is a definite difference between the two. Dom has a loud, deep crow; very rooster-like. When he's finished we usually hear another crow...softer, higher and less impressive. This would be Pepe's crow. Poor guy, he just doesn't have the lungs that Dom does.
     As you can probably tell from the pictures, Dom is also the bigger rooster of the two. He is more meaty and taller than Pepe, much to Pepe's disadvantage. Though we haven't seen them fight, I'm sure Dom's size would be a factor if they chose to squabble.
     It also seems like the chickens prefer Dom to Pepe. This may just be because Dom herds them around better and keeps them separated from Pepe, we're not quite sure yet. But he definitely keeps them in line, and does more 'courting' than Pepe. One other factor that may make the ladies swoon is this funny little trot that Dom does. He kind of trots, does a little jig, then trots some more on his way to the hens. At first we thought he was limping, but soon realized it was just him showing off his moves.

     If you're like me, you are probably thinking "Poor Pepe" by now. He is a handsome rooster, and has some good qualities of his own, but sometimes it just doesn't work out. It is still fun to watch the flock dynamics though, with the power struggle still going on.

Pepe is on the outside of the 'cool' circle

     A lot of times Pepe is treated like the 'misfit' and gets left out of activities. I was watching the flock devour some scraps one day and they wouldn't let Pepe in to eat. He would go to one side and try to get in..no luck..then he'd go to the other side...no luck. Finally I got some scraps and set them out for him. Come to think of it, I guess if I was a hen I wouldn't want a rooster leader who couldn't get the hens to let him eat. ; )
     Pepe did have a small victory the other day though. Cooper and I were walking behind the horse pen, and the chickens headed our way. They came through holes in the back fence and started scratching around. Soon the two roosters noticed that the flock had moved off, so they started running to them. If you haven't seen a chicken run, you must. It is very entertaining, especially when they really get moving. They do their waddle/run while flapping their wings to get extra propulsion (big word, hope I used it correctly). Back to the boys...Pepe got to the fence first and squeezed through. Remember, he's smaller than Dom. He immediately started strutting around the hens and scratching with them. Dom got to the fence but couldn't fit through the hole right away. He had to pace back and forth for a little while before he found a big hole. Pepe noticed this, I'm just certain of it, because he held his head a little higher and herded the flock. Dom was visibly upset, and even though it was only for a minute or two, I was happy to see Pepe in control.

     So that is the lowdown on our two roosters. In other chicken news, we got to watch a chicken actually lay an egg the other day. I know... how bored do we have to be to watch a chicken lay an egg. When I post about watching grass grow, you'll know we need a new hobby. Back to the egg...we were working on putting carpet pieces into the nests when one of the white chickens came in and started complaining because we were messing with the nests. It was obvious that she had some business to do and we were preventing her from getting it done. We hurried to finish and then exited the pen, and stood to watch what she was up to.
    She hopped up in a nest, circled and then kept looking at her body. She would look around at her side, then make some noise, then stand, then sit, etc. This went on for a few minutes. Then she stood up. fluffed all of her feathers out, made some movements and then out came an egg! I had no idea that chickens were standing when they laid their eggs. When she finished she hopped out of the nest and headed out to graze with the others. Dalton promptly went in and collected the egg...still warm. Pretty neat.

 "Little Girl, what are you looking at?"

Uh oh! Better keep an eye on our lioness.

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." Matthew 5:9