Well sort of free. I removed the poultry wire from between three runs since I’m done trying to sprout seeds in them (except in the salad bars). It gives the hens more room to roam and some extra outdoor perches. The whole run is still covered in hardware cloth because they still need protection from the neighboring wildlife. (Although not spiders. I watched a hen take down a wolf spider this week. Spider didn’t have a chance.)

The outside run now looks like a chicken jungle gym. The hens had no problem with the removed wire and they wandered happily under the dividers. After a couple days, they started perching on the 2x4s, I did sand the splinters down to try to prevent bumblefoot. I left the doors intact, since it is helpful to have a closed off space when we are doing health checks, but right now the doors are all open.

Happy Fourth! Celebrating our freedom like the hens: walking under dividers. Or maybe enjoying our apparent freedom. There are probably many comparisons between the chicken life and life during pandemic, but I’ll let you draw your own.