Chicky and King Frederick lived alone in the coop for quite a few months, but in the fall some friends from church gave us 4 Black Star hens. The catch for free chickens was that 2 Rhode Island Red roosters were part of the package. I was happy to make the deal and we put the hens in with the king and queen and put the new roosters in the chicken tractor. We weren’t sure what to do with these guys, so we just kept them while we thought about it. I tried to give one of them to several people, but had no takers. Seems everyone wants hens for eggs and not raising chicks, so roosters aren’t in high demand. 

Later in the fall, we found out that my father-in-law had a bunch of Buff Orpington hens and he wanted to pare down his flock. He said I could have as many as I could bring back from Kentucky when we went for Christmas. Considering that we were going to have 3 girls and 2 adults plus luggage in a minivan, I didn’t expect too many and I didn’t have any idea how we would bring them back. But, being ever resourceful, my husband, father-in-law and 2 brother-in-laws devised and constructed a cedar chicken carrier with a skylight (father-in-law’s tender heart) to fasten to the roof of the van. We were able to bring back 6 Buffs and 1 Dominicker. This brought our flock to 15 total. Poor Chicky had done well with the Black Stars, but the Dominicker was too much for her. She was quickly dethroned and didn’t take it very well. After that, she kept her distance from the whole group, whether it was free in the yard or roosting at night. Where she used to sleep crowded with the others on the roost, she began sleeping all alone on the opposite end of the coop. She was very obviously pouting and decided being alone was preferable to keeping company with the new queen and her subjects. Recently, we decided to change things up and put the Dominicker hen in the chicken tractor with King Frederick, who is a Maran. We put the two Reds in the coop with the rest and everyone has adapted very well. Chicky has even risen again to power. We are currently averaging 6 eggs a day, but are hoping it will pick up soon now that the days are getting longer.