Goooats

A few nights ago I noticed Celine and Adele (aka, “The Buffs”) roosting on top of the henhouse. I tried to coax them to go inside but they just came back out the henhouse door. I then decided to put them inside and lock them in with the other hens. I did that for two nights to no avail; they still prefer the henhouse roof. Maybe the other girls pick on them. Maybe they just like being petted by me every night.

I figure if that’s what they want, fine; they can sleep on the roof. The hens inside have food and water, but outside The Buffs have only water. To fix that, I have now placed an extra feeder on the floor of the coop outside the henhouse. I also have a small saucer of food on the roof specifically for The Buffs. So far, so good.

Ed P.S. Still only getting blue eggs from the two Ameraucanas. The original three Rhode Island Reds have stopped laying entirely. Hoping the new RI girls start soon or I see a visit by the mobile bird vet in my future.

Forgot to document the new coop door. I mainly decided to install an automatic door because Luanne was starting to get annoyed with my needing to get home from wherever we might be to close the coop against rodents and predators. My being a chicken farmer was cramping her social calendar. I also like that the door opens 20 minutes after sunrise to let the hens out. I’m rarely up that early and this gives the hens the maximum safe foraging time.

The Slovakian door (best rated solar door on the market today) is designed to go on a wooden wall, but I want it on the wire coop. That required me to build a frame for the door and attach it to the coop’s metal frame. Once I had everything built, two coats of barn paint were applied to the redwood. Final step was to mount everything to the coop and cut the hole in the wire.

It took the girls a little time to realize they needed to use it to get in and out. I expected as much so I checked them right after sunset for the first few days. The first night, the buffs were both outside the coop waiting at the walk-in door to be let in. I opened the solar door from my phone via Bluetooth and they quickly figured things out. I found one of the pullets sleeping in the goat feeder the next night. Grabbed her and showed her how to go inside via the new door. All the hens now seem fully accustomed to the little portal.

Ed

Sat out with the goats last night until the chicken coop door closed at 8:22pm. Nugget was happy to get nose rubs until then, but Bonnie headed to bed early. Once I started to get out of my chair, Nugget stepped on the ramp and posed for one last photo before joining his lady in the upstairs condo.

Ed

Luanne and I were watching TV, but I needed some “goat time.” A few minutes outside with my animals and life just seems better.

I installed a solar door on the coop a few days ago so the girls could get out of the coop earlier, not dependent on me getting out here to open the door for them. The door automatically 15 minutes after sunrise, regardless of when I drag my sorry ass out of bed. The flip side is that the door closes 15 minutes after sunset, which is at 8:02pm tonight. This happens even if I’m out with the wife until oh-dark-thirty. Now, I don’t worry about my hens.

I started this post at 8:01pm. I watched the girls all go in the coop as I typed it. Now I have 15 minutes of “goat time” with Bonnie and Nugget.

But the goats quickly tired of watching me stare at my glowing rectangle and have headed over to the feeder for an alfalfa snack. So much for “goat time.” But the hens are all safe inside the coop, so it’s another quiet night on the farm.

Ed

Luanne just corrected me:

Celine is on the left. She is more golden. Adele is on the right. She’s more of a blonde. For my purposes, Celine is the one with a red leg band on her right leg. Both have red over yellow bands on their left legs. In case they ever get out of the “back forty” I will be able tell whoever finds them that they are my wife’s birds. Okay, that’s enough about how to identify the two birds.

I moved the Buffs out of the kitchen and into the large cage inside the coop. This was to let the other hens get used to them and to start them on egg layer feed. Monday, I banded them and clipped their left wings. I also set the door of the cage so the larger birds couldn’t get in but the Buffs could get out and back in. The Buffs seem content to live in the cage, venturing out only when I physically take them out to hold them. I put them down on the coop floor and they appear to enjoy being out. They’re just afraid of the other birds. As soon as one comes near they head back to the safety of their cage. I think it will take another week, maybe two, before they feel secure enough to hold their own with the older birds.

Ed