Dawn

When we put all of our pullets together for the first time in the chicken coop, it was apparent that the pecking order started with Buffy. Quite appropriate, considering our entire cast of chickens are named after characters from the popular successful television series based off the failed big-screen movie, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The order went as follows from top to bottom: Buffy, Faith, Joyce (who by this point is Spike because she turned out to be a he), Tara, Kendra, Cordelia, Willow, Dawn and Anya (who we later changed to Xander because she turned out to be a he too.)

Yes, Dawn was just a sweetie pie of a chick, who was constantly picked on by the other chicks, so she was definitely toward the bottom of the totem pole. But, every time I walked up to them, she would be the first to greet me, and would even come to me when I called her name. She loved to be held and cuddled, and was so quiet and gentle. So when she got coccidiosis and was pooping blood, we immediately got medication for their water, figuring it can’t hurt to medicate the flock and hopefully prevent an outbreak. The upside was that she was going to live, but the down side is that most chicks who get coccidiosis end up not laying because the infection wreaks havoc on their system. Within a week, Dawn was better, and when it came time for her to lay, she did.
 

So, anyway, by this time, Willow was dead from unknown causes, Cordelia broke her leg and was put out of her misery by the rest of the chickens, Faith was dealing with egg peritonitis, from which she would soon lose her battle with, and Spike and Xander were rehomed, leaving Kendra without her male bodyguards, which let Dawn move up the ladder so to speak. Suddenly, our sweet Dawn was our little flock’s #2. However, it wouldn’t be until later that we realized how this would affect our brood.

A couple months later, when the first delivery of chicks arrived at our local feed store, the breeds they were supposed to have were delayed, but they did have Easter Eggers, Red Sex Links, and Black Sex Links. A sex link is basically any chicken that can be sexed by their physical differences as a newly hatched chick, usually by color. Red Sex Links have red girls and white boys. So I bought one Easter Egger, one Black Sex Link, and two Red Sex Links, which the guy thoughtfully gave me the two most different looking ones he could find, as he knew these were pets and we named them. Now we had some more of the gang back into the fold, but with slightly different names. The Easter Egger we named Alternate Universe Cordelia from the episode where Cordelia wishes Buffy had never come to Sunnydale and it comes true. The lighter Red Sex Link we named Vamp Willow, from that same alternate universe episode, and the darker we named Darth Rosenberg from the sixth season where Willow went all evil. And the Black Sex Link we named Anya. I know, it was already used, but the first one turned out to be a boy, so I had no problem reusing a perfectly good name.

When it came time to introduce the new girls to the big girls, Kendra immediately saw an opportunity to not be at the bottom of the pecking order, and terrorized the little ones. So much fun to watch, as we were evil and kept them all locked in the coop for the first week to let them get settled in. Of course, these new ones were not nearly as bright as the older girls, who immediately figured out how to walk up the ladder into the hen house at night to sleep. I had to go out there every night for two weeks to put them up on the roost because they refused to go in. It wasn’t until I watched them a little closer toward nightfall that I saw why… Dawn was chasing them out of the coop! Dawn! Our sweet little Dawnie!

WARNING!!!

NOT SUITABLE FOR KIDDIES!!!

THE NEXT PARAGRAPH CONTAINS WHAT MAY BE CONSTRUED AS BARNYARD EROTICA!!!

But it wasn’t until after the younger girls started laying that Dawn’s role as #2 got even more disturbing. Apparently, with the lack of an actual rooster around, she decided to take on the cock’s role of mating with the hens! Now, I’ve seen female animals take on the dominant role before, as our Great Dane has been known to hop on the back of a boy dog and start humping. Then again, our Lucy also does this with adult female humans too. But to watch our sweet, cuddly Dawn hold down the other chickens and bounce up and down on top of them is quite the sight! I only wish I had my camera out whenever she does it, but it’s done and over with so quickly I haven’t had the chance to snap a picture of the deed to show you.

However, Dawn’s most annoying thing is that she has also become the loudest of our little cluckers. I think she’s taking this whole dominatrix thing a little too serious, because her loud clucking is beginning to sound like crowing. Oh well. If the neighbors complain, I guess I’ll just have to hand them some fresh eggs, which usually is all it should take to calm the situation. I guess for now, I’ll let her have her way with the ladies. I just wonder, if we do end up deciding to get a rooster sometime down the road, how will she adjust?