World Cup vs Chicken Coop

I don't have much of a choice, I can watch the games from my work computer and boy do I ever take advantage of that! Waiting to say bye, bye to Forlan. However, another game is playing out in my coop and I wish I could view that one just as much. I recently place Elvis and Astrud in the big coop. I wanted to wait for a nice, sunny weekend to do this. I  finally  came upon a free weekend and this was the first order of business. While Astrud and Elvis are no longer too small for injury, PeeWee and Fuzztop tend to be somewhat tricky. I have seen them gang up on Elvis in the yard already. They got on either side of her and then pecked her at the same time sending her squealing in terror. No injuries but I don't want a skittish Elvis although, I can see her being last in the group. Surprise me, Elvis!

They went in on Friday afternoon and all went well. The poor things were too afraid to climb into their new nest at night so when I went to check in on them before bed I moved their little drowsy bodies to the nest above them. The next morning I was up to find Astrud trying to navigate the upper portion of the coop and trying to get to her breakfast below. I simply guided her towards the ladder and gave her a gentle push down. Elvis followed. 

Nothing eventful happened until Saturday evening when all four were entering the coop together and calling it a day. Without warning Astrud suddenly began packing Fuzztop and PeeWee with all the energy and confidence of a hen twice her size. Yay! Way to go Astrud. I had long had her pegged for a leader but didn't think she'd try so soon. The older two quickly chased her out and Astrud went out the door without a sound but quickly returned though a bit nervous and went for Fuzztops tail feathers. She was chased out again. This time I said enough and felt it had been enough. The mosquitoes were attacking me and as much as I wanted to referee this I was quickly being devoured and becoming physically unable to exist outside. Fuzztop had made her way into her nest and Astrud was eating.

I was quite proud to find that Astrud and Elvis put themselves to bed Saturday night and made their way to the feeder all by themselves. This morning Astrud tried again to assert herself. She is only three months old. What a girl!  Give her a few more weeks and she'll be running the place.  Fuzztop and PeeWee  will see changes. They really are no match for the Lakenvelder dynamo that is Astrud. When World Cup is over, I'll still have this to watch.