Our chicken gulag, a barn raider, growing little ones

For some time now, Mama has been letting the chickens free-range around the farm. It is good for the chickens, but it is not so good for the yard, the landscaping or the garden. I have had to put barriers around the areas and plants where I do not want the chickens to scratch. That presents a problem when we need to mow and weed eat the property. Now that we have the garden started, Mama and I are concerned about the damage the chickens will do there. So, to limit the chicken’s ability to range free we decided to try and leave them cooped up. That is difficult when the several that range the furthest and do the most damage to the garden can simply fly to the top of the gate that closes off the coop yard and fly down from there to escape the coop.

Saturday, to inhibit their escape, we installed two feet more height to the fence surrounding the east half of the coop yard – including over the gate to that side. We did not have time or materials to enclose the other side, so we knew some of the more industrious chickens would still get out – and they did. But only a few figured out the escape route. To get out Sunday morning, they had to fly over the gate in the center of the coop yard to gain access to the west side of the yard and then fly over the gate on that side of the coop yard. Some of them actually made it out, but only a few. We will hold off planting the garden until we have set the wire in place on the west side of the coop yard in the hopes it will keep them contained while we plant, water and eventually harvest our little garden.

We were supposed to set up the garage for the forty chicks Mama is scheduled to receive Wednesday afternoon but that did not happen. It will have to happen over the next several evenings, but our day Saturday, after Mama and Victoria went to Wichita Falls and I went to bus calling, was spent getting wire on the coop, moving hay and feed and figuring out just how to get enough feed to Daisy that she will start to put on some weight. Right now. she looks pretty gaunt.

The caveat is that we have a large coon or opossum getting into the feed in the barrels in the barn – and, boy, can they make a mess. To try to combat that we moved a barrel for feed into the well house where we can try to keep it out of reach until I can eliminate the scavenger. I used the tractor to move the remainder of the bale of hay we have set out for the calves under the shelter of the equipment shed that attaches to the barn. Our plan was that we would have a much easier time getting hay from that bale to Daisy, but the residue from where I moved the bale was taken to Daisy and she ate it in only one afternoon. It was two bucket loads of hay. With that kind of appetite, we decided to get Daisy her own bale of hay and Sunday, between services, I did just that. I told Mama it would be good to see just how long a bale lasts her, so we can get real feel for the amount of hay we need to feed out when she is the primary consumer.

The baby goats are doing well; growing quickly, hopping and scampering around the rockpile and paddock. Mama makes a point to handle them regularly. The pups are also doing very well. They are growing so fast it is alarming. We moved the kennel to the birthing center so I could cut an opening for the pups and Kira to access the kennel, but we repositioned it Saturday so the opening could be behind the center gate in the building. To make the transition I will have to build a little tunnel from the building to the kennel. I will also have to repair the kennel so we can reattach the tarp that should be covering it.

That is on the long list of projects to be worked on this week – when we are not working our normal jobs or working on our business or making emergency repairs somewhere on the farm.