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.. And strange alliances as feathers fly

IT IS very easy to attach human characteristics to animal behaviour and the film industry loves to do it as is evidenced by the various tear-jerking productions on stranded whales, heroic dolphins, mischievous kangeroos, courageous horses and loyal dogs, cats and mice.

 But something happened the other day which I feel compelled to share and, if you do attach human characteristics to the actions you are about to see then it would appear that there are parallels to human behaviour which can be drawn in the animal kingdom.

 Horatio, a fine Scots Dumpy cockerel, arrived in the Borders from the Isle of Wight as the alpha male (actually the only male) in August last year keeping order among seven other hens. All was fine until I introduced Napoleon, an older black Dumpy, who immediately assumed control of the hen pen and then chaos arrived with a younger, third cockerel ... known as Jumping Jack.

 After a couple of minor scraps all settled down until a few weeks back when Jumping Jack tried to assert his authority and launch a coup. Like most aggressive takeovers it was messy, tempers flared and chaos ensued. The end result was Napoleon maintained his pole position and respect of the hen pool while poor old Horatio ended up being totally excluded socially. Of course this all made highly entertaining viewing for the turkeys, who've now lost interest in their own reflections from a mirror I installed in their stable. Their routine most mornings is to head straight for the hen pen and watch - possibly with mild disdain - the goings on of their smaller, more excitable cousins. Although I was told that turkeys and hens shouldn't be allowed to mix in the same area, since all my birds are relatively free to wander around it has become impossible to keep them apart; and now that the  sun has finally arrived in the Borders they're free to roam around and mingle at will.

 Some strange alliances have been formed as a result as you will see from the two short clips. The first one, above, shows a clash between Horatio and Jumping Jack - it is a rare moment of real aggression and I would've intervened but someone beat me to it ... as you will see in the second clip.

I'd also like to point out that, apart from a few bruised egos, no animals were hurt in the making of these videos.
 Should these flare ups become regular occurrences it is obvious I will have to review where the cockerels are kept but at the moment an uneasy truce is now in force thanks to the female turkey Little Boots who emerges as the real star in all of this.
 Feedback, advice, as always is greatly appreciated.