Category: Coop

Probable cause

On By CarynIn chickens, Coop, eggs

We have continued to get eggs, way past when the hens stopped laying last year. I think I know why. We have kept the people door open to let the breeze through the coop because it was so blazing hot this summer. The door leads out into the chicken run, which is completely encased in welded wire, which makes it fairly secure against large predators. When we let the dogs out in the morning, we turn on the back porch light, which happens to shine into the runs. This gives the hens enough light to feel comfortable getting off the roost, so they are up and about earlier than last year. Extra light also encourages egg laying. Ah. They finished their molt, had enough light, and a couple have gone back into laying mode. I could close up the door, but they really do like coming out as soon as they can, and they are safe in their enclosure from twilight predators. As it gets colder, I will close the people door to keep in the heat and keep out drafts, but I may keep the chicken door open.

Gathered eggs, open coop door

“Helping”

On By CarynIn chickens, Coop

We renewed the salad bars in the chicken’s run by moving the frames, adding new seed (wheat, mung beans, and alfalfa), and topping off with potting soil. The hens “help” by cleaning up the seed that doesn’t make it down through the welded wire. They think it is great fun.

Chickens trying to eat the wheat grass seed

They also really enjoy scratching through the old, now exposed, salad bar areas.

I spy in the coop…

On By CarynIn chickens, Coop

We have a pan cam working in the coop again! So I could see a hen get off the roost at 4:30am and blindly make her way over the nest boxes, hop up, and settle in. She isn’t broody, as when the sun was up she was off the nest and out into the runs. I guess when she has to lay, she has to lay.

4:30am in the coop

I reinforced the back screen door with hardware cloth so I could leave it open at night in the summer heat. It helps the cooler night air circulate. Now the camera should be able to see if there are predators peeking in too.

Screen change

On By CarynIn chickens, Coop

Ultimately, I hope the crossvine will grow up the sides and across the top of the chicken runs, providing shade in the summer (and a whole host of orange blooms). Several times last year I had to redirect trailing vines away from the man made shade sail I put up. Rather than have warring shade makers, this year I put the sun sail inside the run to keep the afternoon blaze off their food dispenser (which is metal and gets hot).

Shade sail fabric hung up inside the run

The hens were not happy at first; having me rustle around their enclosure with a huge scary cloth was not appreciated. To keep the cloth from flapping too much in the wind, and scaring them further, I used cable ties like a stitch to hold the fabric to the poultry wire.

Cable tie pretending to be a stitch

The next afternoon, they were all clustered happily in the shade in front of the coop. Mission accomplished.

Squatters

On By CarynIn Cats, chickens, Coop, Fungi

I’m glad the hardware cloth on the top of the runs is sturdy since the neighborhood cats like to sit on it like fuzzy toadstools. I took the picture with the black cat up and Sophie looking on (I pretty sure she taught them all the trick). My husband took the one of the big white cat, who truly looks like a fungi. The chickens don’t seem to be concerned about fuzzy death from above, but did let out concerned noises when my husband approached. So there we go. The cats have found a place to watch chicken TV without disturbing the inmates.

Black cat on the roof, Sophie on the ground
Cat/Fuzzy toadstool on the chicken runs (photo credit to my husband)