Chicken Coop Renovations

We decided that we needed some changes in the coop.

First of all, with winter officially here with its freezing temperatures, our waterers were freezing overnight. I found an electric heated water bowl that was recommended that I installed in the coop. Only problem was that our electricity source is higher than where we had been keeping the hens' food and water, so I had to change its location. Then I lured the hens up to the new waterer with mealworm treats and am hoping that when they get hungry/thirsty enough they will find them again. This water bowl has worked great so far, no frozen water even when the other unheated waterers have frozen up. And as a bonus, the water seems to stay a bit cleaner in its higher location.

This new waterer is actually a bowl. (Their old waterer had a different shape.)
But the hens figured it out quickly.
Here they are dunking for mealworms, their favorite treat.

The outside waterer, I just switch out every morning. I take the frozen one into the heated tack room and leave it there to thaw for the day. I then take the one that has thawed out from yesterday, clean it and refill it with hot water from the sink. So far, most days that has stayed unfrozen all day. Only once has the warm water actually frozen up again before evening. But I feel okay knowing that if the hens are thirsty enough, they should remember the heated waterer waiting for them in their coop. (Right? Hope so.)

I've also started moving their food outside during the day. Because of its new, higher location in the winter, it's not quite as easy for them to run in for a snack, so why not put the feeder outside for a bit? I bring it back into the coop in the late afternoon to make sure it doesn't attract any unwanted predators or pests overnight.

The biggest change we made to the coop this weekend is that we installed a new, longer roosting pole that they sleep on and we installed poop boards (as opposed to the poop hammock we had before.) The way we had it before, the roosts were only about three feet long. Of course there were four roosts to choose from, which is plenty of space for seven chickens, but the problem was that they ALL wanted to be on the TOP roost. None of them were willing to use the second roost down. So, even though they were in a coop that is waaaay bigger than seven chickens need, we actually were having crowding issues with the hens. I guess it was kind of like they were living in a mansion, but at night they were all stuffed into one twin bed. (Even though there were three other twin beds available.)

This is the original location and length of their roosts.
This is where the chickens sleep at night, on the roosts, usually all packed onto the top roost.
It was a tight squeeze.

Anyway, I happened to check on them one evening (they are going to bed around 4:00 these days) and witnessed some very mean behavior. I had noticed a lot of feathers around the coop floor lately, and had chalked it up to a bit of molting for some of the hens. While, yes, I think that some of them are molting a little, I was upset to see that there was also some bullying happening on the roosts. Because they were all squeezed onto one roost, they were pecking at each other and pulling out each other's feathers. And the hens being picked on had nowhere to escape to. (Of course they could have moved down one rung, but clearly they did not see that as an option.) Poor Mayzie and Daffodil were getting the worst of it. And even more upsetting was that just as I was thinking "Oh poor Mayzie!" when she was getting picked on, two minutes later it was Mayzie who was bullying poor Daffodil! So Daffodil is definitely getting the brunt of it from everyone. Poor Daffy looks terrible right now. Literally has feathers falling off of her. She looks a mess, seems to be a bit uncomfortable as the new feathers are growing back in, and everyone is picking on her. So, it was especially for Daffodil's sake that prompted me to make some changes this weekend. (And I was just saying how great it was that all my girls got along so nicely. Guess I jinxed myself.)

Poor Daffodil. No friends in the coop at the moment.
It's crazy how often the dynamics change with these hens.
One day you're in the cool crowd and the next day you're out.
Can you see that she is missing big patches of feathers?
This is definitely a combination of molting and being picked on.
In fact, I bet it is the change in her looks that is prompting the others to pick on her.
I've been sneaking her extra protein-packed treats to help her grow her feathers back quickly.

And here's Mayzie.
Even though she's being mean to Daffodil, the others are being mean to Mayzie.
(Two wrongs don't make a right, ladies!)
See all the feathers that got pulled out of her neck area?
The white lines are new feathers growing back in, which can be a bit painful for them.

Okay, if they were all going to insist on sleeping on the top roost, I had to make that roosting pole longer so they weren't stuffed in there like sardines, pecking at each other. They needed room to spread out, which I'm hoping will help put an end to this mean behavior.

So, I found an 8 foot pole to be their top roost. This more than doubled their "bed" size. Lots of room for them to spread out (and get away from the bullies if needed.) I moved the roosts from the short wall to the long wall yesterday to accommodate the longer roost. Because the roost was so much longer, my "poop hammock" wasn't going to work anymore. Instead, we decided to install some "poop boards". Another trip to Home Depot for supplies and we now have brand new poop boards. (By the way, poop hammocks and poop boards help to keep the coop clean. The birds poop a lot while they sleep on the roosts. With poop hammock/boards, in the morning I can just scrape all that poop into a bucket and voila! The coop is clean in just minutes!) The birds seem very happy with their coop renovation. If only it was this quick and easy to renovate our own house!

Always a fun time when you get to use power tools.

Seven hens all on the top roost!
And plenty of room for everyone to spread out.
What a difference!

I wish I could say that this renovation solved everything for Daffodil,
but sadly she's still the odd man out with this gang. :(
Hopefully, it will get better with time. Hang in there, Daf!

Oh Cooper (1)

Oh Cooper (1)

I had to title this Oh Cooper (1) because I already know that there will be an Oh Cooper (2) and (3), etc., in the future. Cooper keeps things interesting, that's for sure. The other night, we sent the dogs out for their one last outing before bed. (We are lucky enough to have an electric fence around our whole property, so we send them out on their own.) Jessie went out, and two minutes later came back in. Good girl, Jessie. Cooper? Cooper went out. And stayed out. Not too unusual for one of them to romp around for say 20 minutes, or so, but as the time kept ticking and there was no sign of Cooper, we realized that something may be wrong. So we start calling for him. No response. We rattle the treat jar. (This usually works for Cooper, that dog loves his food.) But, not this time. So, Jonathan decides that he is going to drive around the neighborhood to make sure he didn't run through his electric fence. (This is pretty rare, but he did run through it this past summer when some nearby fireworks scared him.) Again, no sign of Cooper. But as Jonathan pulled back down our driveway, he decided to drive around our property, too. It's pitch black back there so we can't see much past the barn.

Good decision by Jonathan. What does he find with his headlights? There's Cooper in the back part of our farm. With a rabbit. A very dead rabbit. Eating a very dead rabbit. Cooper has proved himself to be quite the hunter, over and over again. I guess that's how he survived those weeks on the run when he was a stray. At least when he kills snakes or raccoons, I can rationalize that he's making our farm safer for the chickens. But when it's a bunny or a groundhog, it makes me sad. Wish he would just chase these animals off our property. Let them go without any bloodshed. I have a full bowl of dog food waiting for you inside, buddy. I promise you'll never go hungry again. Chase, not hunt. Deal?

Cooper with his latest catch

poor bunny lost his head

So knowing how good of a hunter Cooper is, you can imagine how cautious I am about letting the chickens free range with the dogs around. Cooper may be the hunter, but Jessie is obsessed with the chickens, not necessarily in a good way.

See video here of how Jessie enjoys tormenting our chickens: Jessie Tormenting Chickens

So, this morning, I was outside with the dogs getting my morning chicken chores done. I opened the chicken run door with my hands full and didn't close the door quick enough and Daffodil ran out into the yard before I could shut the door behind me. Both dogs were right there. I yelled the strongest "Leave it" command from the core of my being. Both dogs listened. Thank God. Jessie has been through lots of training with me. Cooper, not so much. (It's on the to-do list.) But we've all bonded pretty tightly at this point and he wants to please. Now that the dogs passed the very big test of not immediately pouncing on the the chicken, I still had the challenge of singlehandedly getting Daffodil back into the run surrounded by these two dogs. I opened the door of the run, thinking that Daffodil was sensing her imminent danger and would run back in. I was wrong. She wasn't interested in leaving the yummy green grass. In fact the other chickens were trying to get out the door to join her. Nope. Okay, I tried herding her back towards the run. Nope again. Alright, I'm going to have to pick her up. That is not always an easy task to do. If a chicken doesn't want to get picked up, they are very good at making that NOT happen. And as the catcher, it is a delicate balance of trying to grab the chicken quick enough and strong enough without actually hurting the poor bird. This also includes a lot of squawking noises from the chicken (okay maybe from me, too) as I dive down for her. And remember the dogs are right there. Following Daffodil's every move and sound, while I continue to give the "Leave it" command and following it with "Good dogs". They are being really good considering the huge temptation right in front of them. Staying behind me for the most part. In my mind, I'm already trying to think about what I should do if one of the dogs actually catches the chicken before I do. And how I'm going to break the news to my kids when they come home from school. And as I'm thinking this, Daffodil makes a run for it towards our giant pine tree. Simultaneously, Cooper runs straight for what I think is the hen. Oh my God, please, no! "Cooper, leave it!" And then I realize, Cooper isn't running at Daffodil, he's running behind the pine tree TO HELP ME. He's cutting Daffodil off so she can't run any further. He's trying to herd her towards me. And it works. I am able to grab Daffodil. Cooper runs off, his job here is done. "Good boy, Cooper!" And Daffodil almost seems relieved to be in my arms at this point. LOL. On my way back to the run door, I stop by Jessie who is still totally focused on Daffodil. I let her smell Daffodil. She does so gently and carefully. She still has a crazy fixated energy happening, but she is being respectful of the hen, so that is worth praising. With Daffodil safely back in her run, I give my dogs lots of love and praise for their good listening when it really counted.

Good Farm Dogs.
What an unlikely pair.

Daffodil, you are one lucky duck, er chicken.

You've heard of lap dogs, yes? 

Well, Cooper is more of a face dog. 

He loves to snuggle. And sit on your head...

Dirty Chickens Are Clean Chickens & First Snow

DIRTY CHICKENS ARE "CLEAN" CHICKENS

In the chicken world, you don't want your chickens to be too clean. Chickens are the type of animal who actually take baths in the dirt. Yup, the more dirt they get under their feathers and right on their skin, the "cleaner" they are. Why? These dust baths help to keep unwanted pests, like mites and lice, off of your chickens. Which is really important to someone like me.... I'm not scared at all of mice, snakes, rats, spiders, etc. But bugs that live on you (like lice and mites) make me want to run away. Just run away and never come back. (Note: human lice are different than chicken lice, but yuck all around anyway. And another note: I mean no disrespect to anyone who has had fought the lice battle in their own homes. God bless you. I will be calling you from a far-away-land to ask you to help my abandoned family if it happens to us. I promise to help you with the snake in your house/yard in exchange.) :)

So whenever I see my girls dust bathing themselves, it makes me very happy. I also have provided my girls a little bin that they can dust bathe in inside their coop for when the weather is wet and therefore no dust is available. It's a combination of playground sand, fireplace ashes, and Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth. Some people are wary of Diatomaceous Earth because it can cause respiratory troubles if inhaled in large quantities, but I think its pros (killing lice and mites without using pesticides) outweigh its cons.  Here is a video of my ladies enjoying their dust baths.

Click here to see the Dust Bathing Video: Dust Bathing Video

Hanging out on the ladder in their run.
Like the hen-carved jack-o-lantern?

FIRST SNOW

We had our first snow of the season last night! This is our chickens' very first experience with snow!
They seemed okay with it. All of our chicken breeds are cold-hardy, so they should do pretty well with the colder temps. In fact, I caught Daffodil tasting the new white frosty "treat". Maybe I can convince them it's ice cream?

And Jessie and Cooper were excited to play in the snow again. Here's a video of their morning romp. Click here for the video: First Snow Romp

It is the middle of November, so it was time for a little snow in our parts. This one was easy. Just a thin layer of snow. And now that it's mid-afternoon, it's all melted away. I'd say it was a perfect introduction of snow for our hens.

Free Range

FREE RANGE

Yesterday was a big day for our hens. We finally let them fly the coop!

We have always wanted to let our hens be free range. It sounds so natural, so healthy for them. Actually, we are lucky to have a really large grassy run for them, about 35 feet by 20 feet, so even though they are fenced in for their safety, I feel like they really have been free ranging all along, just in a protected area. But now that the fall has arrived, the grass in their run has died down because of the pine needles. And every time I opened their run door, they try to grab a bite of the green grass still growing out of their run before the door shuts again. So that got me thinking that maybe it was time to let the girls try free ranging for real. But a few things were holding us back from letting them actually leave their run in their seven months with us. (I can't believe we've only had them seven months, it feels like we've had them much longer than that! In a good way.)

First, I wanted to wait until they had learned to always lay their eggs inside the nesting boxes in the coop. It would be sad if they were laying their eggs under a bush in the yard where we would never find them.

Second, I wanted them to be full grown. We have so many predators in our neck of the woods (hawks, raccoons, coyotes, snakes, etc.) that I figure the bigger the girls are, the better chances they have of not becoming someone's next meal.

Third, I wanted to make sure I had them trained to come running when I called them, so I could get them back into the safety of their run when it was time.

My boys were totally against it. These hens are our pets and we love them enough that we would be devastated to lose one. We recently had a hawk sitting on top of the chicken run, practically drooling over our hens. Thank goodness we have hawk-netting over the top to keep them out, or at least to make it harder for them to get in. We all ran outside to scare the hawk away. Sadly, the dogs missed the memo and went after the harmless squirrels; didn't even notice the hawk. Nice work, dogs. Note to self: re-train guard dogs. But the boys and I tried to scare the hawk away. Unfortunately, the hawk was not afraid of us. Really. It took a launched tennis ball to get it to leave the yard. So, that's a little disconcerting.

The boys didn't feel the risk was worth it.  I guess it's a similar decision as to whether to have your cat be an indoor cat or an outdoor cat. Trying to weigh the pros and the cons. But eventually, we decided to give it a try to see how it goes. A special treat for the hens. And we would stay right with them the whole time. After a quick heads-up text to our neighbors who have a dog that comes to visit sometimes, asking them to keep their dog home for a bit, and of course, locking up our own mutts (because I certainly don't trust them with the chickens yet, more training in order), we gave it a go and let the hens out!  It went great! The girls needed a little motivation to actually leave the run (mealworm snacks), but once they were out, they did great! They stayed nice and close to me and the boys, and had a fun little field trip around a small area of the yard.

Here are some photos of their first time out. I was going to post the video, but my voice is too annoying. Nothing like a video to make you aware of how annoying your own voice is. Especially when talking to chickens.

Our dog Jessie was going crazy in the house. Not sure if she wanted to come out and play with the chickens or come out and eat the chickens. But she was barking her head off inside. Definitely need to work with Jessie on that. Cooper was actually much more relaxed about it. No crazy barking, no crazy energy. Good boy, Cooper.

Relaxed Cooper, Barking Jessie

And then when it was time, the chickens were so good at returning to their coop, safe and sound. Phew! Success! We might have to make this a regular thing. :)

On another note, here is the one and only pumpkin that we succeeded in growing 

in our garden this year. I love it! Nice work, Jonathan.