Pecking Order

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We thought it best to bring our flock back to the original number of fifteen and Gaia Girl ventured out to fill our quota. She introduced a pair of Barnevelder to our community of very settled and content girls in the sneaky fashion of putting them on the roost while the girls slept. As Gaia Girl explained, "Sometimes the chickens will just wake the next morning and just say, Hi."
We have deduced over time that Pox, an Ameracauna, reigned as number one in the pecking order. Bess was a contender but it appeared that Pox came out on top. The Golden Comets are content to follow while the Barred Rocks often appear as a tribe unto themselves being not followers or leaders: Individuals giving neither protest or support, doing their own thing.
This changed radically when the new kids came to town. The largest of the Barred Rocks, a.k.a. Fatty McFatty gave chase. She ran down one of the new kids and pinned her between the coop and a metal feed barrel. She stood upon the Barnevelder's back and wailed away just like it was a cage match in Ultimate Fighter. The problem is, its very difficult for a hen to "tap out." We had to intervene like a pair of aggressive referees and drag McFatty away while chasing the new kids to their neutral corner.
It's still a work in process. We'll see how it goes.
I'm in the process of observing the pecking order at work as well. A new guy was hired who has hands on experience with woodworking, plumbing and electrical. Truth is, the further I get away from the Paint Department, the more things begin to get fuzzy. I know that in retail our job is to sell, if I don't know the answer I"ll find someone that does. I won't make things up just to make a sale. Many of my co-workers will scramble like we're on commission to be helpful. But true helpfulness is found in knowledge and wisdom and experience; not bullshit. I will sooner return to a store where someone speaks the truth as opposed to having someone loading me with useless guesses in trying to making a sale. And the new guy knows some stuff - and the old guys (and girl) feel threatened. Fun to watch.
Fun to watch........

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