I now have to deal with three cocks instead of one.
Richie Ricardo, the original patriarch of the run, still rules the roost; however, his reign is currently being challenged by one of the most powerful motivating forces in Creation—adolescent hormones.
Richie’s two male offspring—Junior, a.k.a “Little Richard,” a spitting image of his father, and Desiderio, a.k.a, “Desi,” a big beefcake of regal feathery whiteness—have both developed and are now consumed by seemingly unsatisfiable sex drives.
This veritable explosion and expansion of erotic desire within the chicken coop has created considerable consternation for Richie and his 26 hens, who must now continuously contend with the concupiscence of the two young, randy roosters.
Junior is the master of the sneak attack, while Desi prefers diversionary tactics to achieve his aims. Either way, Richie has his work cut out for him. He now spends his days chasing his impassioned progenies all over the run and yard to keep them from consummating their—ahem—carnal cupidity.
Richie’s dogged efforts keep the two lustful lads in check for most of the day; however, things change as evening approaches. Shortly after sunset, Richie calls his ladies to the coop before retiring for the night. Most of the hens heed the call and head inside with him, but as modernity would have it, a few independently-minded feminist types ignore the call and haughtily remain in the run for a few more minutes.
With Richie out of the picture, these strong, independent hens put themselves at the mercy of Junior and Desi, who immediately recognize the increased opportunity to satiate their salacious desires and jump at the chance to exploit it.
Luckily, the hens are strong and independent enough to ward off most of the teenagers’ advances; however, they are not strong nor independent enough push Junior and Desi away from the coop entrance, which the two young roosters purposely obstruct to increase their chances with the ladies.
And this is where I come in. With a broom or shovel in hand, I shoo Junior and Desi away from the coop entrance, keep them at bay, and prevent them from mounting the strong, independent hens as they withdraw into the henhouse for the night.
Once the hens are secure, Junior and Desi gaze up at me in frustration and dejection before sullenly retiring into their own resting place, separated from the main coop.