Coup in the Coop

There's a certain pecking order in the chook yard.

But watching it set up can sometimes be hard.

The three new hens seemed to be much the same

Until Beyoncé was given such a fancy name.

She thinks she deserves it. She's an arrogant chook, 

With the attitude that comes from an elegant look.

Her feathers are red with ends etched in light

And gold round her neck looks like jewellery bright.

Whereas Penny is quiet and compact and neat.

She's perfectly formed from her head to her feet.

She eats what she's given, lays an egg every day

And is really quite sweet in her own poultry way. 

Well Henny must know that she isn't a beauty

She doesn't look for a mirror, she just does her duty.

Her feathers are brown  and red  and black

She looks like a refugee from a haystack

Beyoncé goes first when they're let out for the day

It's taken for granted she'll lead the way.

At the end of the day she continues to roam

And the gate gets shut when she deigns to come home.

She flaps up the ladder and claims the top perch

While Henny and Penny are left in the lurch.

They have to make do with the roosts down below

There's nowhere left for them to go.

But  a great commotion one night last week

Showed she had finally got up their beak.

By morning the hen house was covered in fluff

And feathers and toenails and droppings and stuff.

Now Henny and Penny fly to the top of the pen

And Beyoncé waits for a small space then.

They each strut tall with a victorious cluck

For the faded beauty now down on her luck.

Days later there's barely a hint of the coup

Although the pecking order has changed, it's true.

But a flurry of feathers and a scattering of poop

Still tell of the ousting in the chicken coop.