A Tale of Two Chickens

Where do I even start with these two? 

Way back when we chose our original six birds (after much research), we settled on 2 Welsummers, 3 Easter Eggers, and a Lavender Orpington. The former 5 were chosen for temperament, the type of egg they laid, and their breed heartiness. The Orpington was chosen purely to be my special "pet". 

Her name was Mrs. Rachel Lynde. 

Sadly, Mrs. Rachel died when she was very young...before ever coming to live with us. Apparently it can be common for Lavenders to have weak constitutions when they are first born.

Fast forward through Pippa's convalescence, to when it was coming time for her to rejoin the flock. She needed a buddy to be reintroduced with (FYI- you should never introduce a single chicken into a flock by themselves). - This was my chance to find another Orpington! Hurrah! I searched and searched, finally finding a local(ish) breeder of BBS English Orps. We went to look through her babies, and found one we thought might actually turn out to look like a Lav (she was only two weeks old). While visiting their farm, we saw the few Polish they had been recently dabbling in, and she told us there were a couple, including a stunning Tolbunt, she was planning to sell that didn't conform to their breeding standards. I had read a bit about the breed prior, and hers were so sweet, I quickly rationalized that I didn't have any white egg layers in my flock, aaaand one chicken instantly became two (chicken math is a real thing).

She held onto them for a few weeks for us while we were traveling abroad, and when we came to pick them up, the Lavender had a little flesh wound from the others picking on it, but this beautiful snow white chick (who ended up being a Light Splash EO) completely stole my heart in her stead. We called her Mrs. Rachel the Second. 

On the ride home apparently, these two entered into the unbreakable sisterhood of BFFs for life.

(this and the next two pics are of them playing together in the yard)

And my goodness. Never were there two chickens who were more joined at the hip! I wish I had pictures of them as babies when we first got them, but because they spent most of their time growing up in a tractor, it was really hard to snap any good ones. I have a few on my phone, but that's it. 

Rachel was so much smaller than Josephine (the Polish) at first. She would snuggle underneath her to sleep. It seemed that Rach was the brains of the operation, and Jojo would happily go along with whatever she hatched up in her gangly, comical way. They would often stroll around together, wing to wing, scoping out the place for bugs, and cautiously watching the original flock from afar.

Once Jo got a concussion and was feeling under the weather for several days. The usually very active Mrs. Rachel spent so many hours cuddled up by her side. Whenever she would get up to eat or drink, she'd often go back to the corner Joey was laying in to check on her between bites. I even saw her carry back a blade of grass to offer to her friend. Their sweetness just about killed me.

In those early days, I was trying to hold Rachel as often as I could to get her used to me (and start her "pet-status" training). Whenever I had her out, Jo would peep angrily at me until I put her back down. Once, she even tried to fly up and land in my arms beside her best buddy!

By and by, it came time for their introduction to the big girl coop. As predicted, Rachel was soon easily lowered to the bottom of the pecking order (as is common of Orpingtons...they're pushovers). The older girls picked on Josephine a good deal too - taking out some of her back feathers, and using her limited sight to their advantage. But one day Jo decided enough was enough, and she started pecking back. Usually at their feet because that's all she could see. Hahaha!

The sad part was that she also started pecking at Rachel to climb her way up the social ladder. It about broke my heart. The big girls soon accepted this bossy poof-headed chicken into their pack, and even let her think she was in charge sometimes (just to save their toes, I think). Rachie was often left alone, but still she stayed loyal to her first friend. When it came Joey's time to start laying eggs, Rachel would go into the coop with her to inspect the nesting boxes. Often they would dust bathe together - away from the rest of the group. Jo was always the first one to bed at night, and she'd call out loudly to Rachel until she came in after her.

Things have settled into a nice balance with the flock now, I think. Since we lost both head hens (Brooke and Marilla), there really isn't a clear leader in the group. Jo doesn't feel as threatened, so she spends more time with Rachel. They still go on walks together from time to time (though now Rachel is three times the size of Josephine!). They still peck for bugs in the same square inch together. But often Pringle can be found sleeping between the two of them at night, and Rachel likes to play with Tillie out in the yard some days.

Overall I'm pleased with how the four of them have adjusted to the new normal. It's a sweet, if slightly ditzy (!) flock we have now.

But I'll never forget the precious bond those two little birdies have shared from the very start.