Birds of a Feather

It's time for a bird update!

It's true. They flock together. Meet Marie and Louis, two of the Royal Palm turkeys. The other, Sacre Bleu, is off getting in the garden and attacking potato beetles. Marie is my "lap turkey". She likes to sit on my lap, follow me around the yard and generally make herself into a giant nuisance (even more than Gigi). When she was younger and much smaller she liked to sit on my shoulder. The Royal Palms are not headed for the table, so they have been given names.

Sacre Bleu is the other hen. She is not black and white like these two, but blue/grey and white. These birds can fly! They take off across the yard to get to me as fast as they can. The giant meat blobs known as the broad-breasted turkeys lumber around with their massive weight and basically are just waiting for Thanksgiving... Louis and Marie have figured out that their priviledged status and are acting out the part. I had to shoo them off the front porch yesterday. But enough of the turkeys (who, along with the geese, are becoming my favorite birds).

Back to the whole flocking thing. I've been noticing that the birds tend to group themselves by breed,color and age. It's true. The older hens hang out with Rufus the Rooster and have little to do with the younger set. The others divide themselves by breed and/or color. The Speckled Sussex are always in a happy little group. The Minorcas flit around and refuse to come in at night. The oddest combo has to be the white Ameraucana, Stay Puff, and the white Bantam Cornish Game, Snow White (who is the size of a pigeon). Turkeys hang with turkeys. The young roosters (none of them are named!) hang out in a thug gang. The ducks and geese are very exclusive. Octavian, aka Gus - the Roman gander, attacks any wayward chicken or turkey who is unlucky enough to find its way into the garden or duck pen. That bird rules!

I'm spending too much time with poultry.