Now that they’ve settled into their new surroundings, the chickens are starting to work out who should be queen of the coop. So far Barbara’s heading for a swift coronation.

We can’t quite decide whether she or Margot is the largest, but they both outsize Gerry, who quickly established herself as our favourite and is paying a heavy price as a result: she seems to have ended up at the bottom of the pecking order. Margot steps on her head when she pecks corn out of the grass, and Barbara sits on her as she hunkers down in the corner for a dust bath.

Margot, meanwhile, is also the focus of Barbara’s beady eyes, and whenever she goes to drink from the water trough, Barbara pushes her to one side and robs her chosen drip nipple right from her beak.

Much though we might like to step in and sort things out, this is something they’re just going to have to work out for themselves, but it’s lining up to be dumb Barbara on on the throne, meek aloof Margot second and lovely Gerry kissing all four of their scaly little feet.

Related posts:

1. The chickens keep digging
2. Gerry's first egg?
3. The chickens and their cold