I now present to you the ladies of the City Secret Garden in the sequence of the pecking order: Laughing Warrior, Raven, Sitting Bull, and Chief.
At least this was the case when we put them into their nighttime cage the evening of August 20th. The next day we introduced three more chickens to the group, and it was then that Laughing warrior and Raven took advantage of the confusion and break in routine to lead what would be a short lived revolution. It started about 8:00am when we usually place them in the larger coop for the day. Raven took the first move and pecked Chief, who having been comfortable in her spot relatively high on the “it-list” didn’t know exactly how to react. Laughing Warrior sought to make a powerful message by going after Sitting Bull (who is a whole two pecks above her!). By 8:15am it had begun.
The three new chickens generally kept their noses out of the conflict. They obviously needn’t concern themselves with such strife when two of the three had size on their side. Socrates and Nietzsche—the two Buff Orpingtons—took it upon themselves to protect Lao-Tzu (the smallest of the new chickens) from the peck-crazy other four.
When we came back out to check on them, Chief was trying to squash the rebellion by restricting food supply to Laughing Warrior. The food bowl—which of course never stays right-side up because why would that ever make sense not to knock it over the second it get’s placed in the coop?—was upside down in the corner with Chief standing on top with an air of non-tolerance. The pile of feed was scattered behind her, a misfortune for Laughing Warrior who could not penetrate Chief’s forces. But it was going to take more than that to break her spirits. At this point Raven seemed bored by the uprising and was scratching around in the corner.
However, when 7:00pm came around the corner, the coop was silent. As I approached the door, no chicken could be in sight. Had they pecked each other to mere piles of feathers? Had they somehow smuggled a spoon from the kitchen and dug a tunnel to freedom in the garden among the little seedlings to feast upon? As it turns out, rebellions are tiresome and even chickens need a rest. All seven chickens were piled in the corner getting some sleep. For now it appears a truce has been reached.
How did this start? Why were the pecking order politics thrust aside suddenly when generations have abided by this type of chicken caste system? One thing is certain, we have a colorful bunch of chickens here at City Secret Garden and they are not afraid to bend the rules to go after what they believe in.
That night when we placed them back in their nighttime cage, I noticed the newspaper we had placed on the cage floor for nighttime reading material. It had a headline reading “Rebels in Libya Rise Up, Taking Matters Into The Hands of the People”. I guess we should be more careful what articles we’re letting the chickens read. Then again….what has a little reading done to hurt anyone?
City Secret 