Build Me a Dream

In the stark darkness of the early morning hours, on a day in which the shine from the moon is blotted by the thickness of the clouds passing between the dirt and the heavens, without a moments notice, two young, rogue roosters are suddenly plucked from their warm roosts.  Their world is literally upside down as they are carried in that manner to their interim home.  Confused, they sit quietly in the darkness of their enclosure, waiting to see what the light of day holds.  At least they are together, as they have been from their day of hatching.

Movable for sunny days.

These, young brothers, so to speak, hatched underneath the hen, Kermit, who led them through tall grasses, and kept them safe from harm.

They grew in to very handsome birds, but alas, there can only be one master for the hens, and these roo’s do not understand that.  Driven by intoxicating hormones, the hens were constantly on edge, frantically running to escape the unwanted pursuit to claim the flock.  To say that the hen house has been in upheaval would be to playcate the true sense of the drama infused into their recent days.

Hens running to and fro, cackling, loudly cackling and calling out to their protector, Benedict.  As master of the hen house, Benedict is driven to protect the flock from threats such as these types of internal coup attempts.

At this stage of the game, they are relentless.  In squabble after squabble, Benedict engages the young warriors in battle.  At this point, they back off…Benedict has the maturity of his adult talons, size, and experience on his side.  The time has come for intervention.

In a swift, stealth like moment, the whisking away of the young roosters was part of the necessary evil that comes with animal management on the farm.  It is imperative that peace return to the flock.  What will come of the insurgent duo, you may ask?

They will be confined for a period of time, given shelter, dirt to scratch around in, and plenty of corn and scraps to……shall we say, fatten up a bit.  They have had a good life, free ranging in the best possible way…

…they will have plenty of good food….and then they will have one bad day….just one, in a life full of excellent days.  In the meantime, peace will reign once again in the life of the flock.  Those hens that were stressed to the point of hiding in the small, dark spaces of the hen house….that would only eat or drink if I stood beside them, with food and water, will emerge from their safe places into the open spaces that they so greatly love.

**UPDATE on how the day went…. The flock was on edge in the first morning hours.  They could hear the young roo’s, and this continued to raise the stress in the hens.  By noon, I think they realized that the dynamic duo were separate from them, except one hen…

…the most stressed hen, Chablis.  She has been waiting for me in the hen house everyday until I can walk with her to her food and water…she continued to do that today because she did not leave the hen house, and did not see that she was safe.  As she ran to my feet, I picked her up and took her outside to the rooster’s new digs.  It seems she understood, as I was able to walk away from her without her running back to me or back to the hen house.  She stayed outside for the rest of the afternoon, and a calm was over the flock.

Animal management isn’t always easy, but it is necessary to prevent diseases and injuries.  It’s important to keep ahead of the curve!

Thank you for visiting the flock today.  Please have a wonderful day!

Your friend from Oregon,

Tami