Broken Coop

Toddlers and chickens don’t mix….. Gabe loves them, they love him, but the chicken coop begs to differ! We had showed him where eggs were laid and how to open the nest boxes to collect them and also how to open/close the main coop door. Sadly the pull mechanism wasn’t a fan of the over enthusiastic pulling/pushing and today’s job is to repair the hinges and door slider.

We move house in 17 days so there is a lot to get done here in terms of packing and planning. It looks like we are getting a moveable electric fencing system for the girls when we move to protect from the inevitable foxes. The chickens are relatively easy to move, all they need is a cosy box and the house and run set up for when they get there. The cats however are going to prove more difficult!

Since moving Buffy has found herself a second home, problem is it isn’t an immediate neighbour, and she can go for weeks at a time. Over the next week our plan is lots of yummy treats to convince her to come home each evening so that come move day we can actually catch her. I’m quite worried we may not be able to, so any tips are much appreciated!

Autumn is very much here in North Wales. Although we are still getting the occasional sunny day, like today, we are mostly now getting a lot of wind and rain. Preparing for winter before it comes makes life a lot easier with poultry. When I used fixed runs I made sure to swap the chippings and use a light mesh fabric underneath them to stop them sinking into the mud when it got really wet. With free ranging or a rotational run system I just have to make sure they don’t over use any one area so that the ground doesn’t get damaged.

The coop also needs some winter maintenance. Making sure all the seals are water tight and no drafts is the main thing. Poultry can cope with the cold, they share body heat in the coop or shed at night, but a draft can chill and kill them. If everything is set up in advance it saves a lot of wet weather repairs and panics!

As promised here is a pic of our new girls Goldie & Star. Both Spitfire & Lightning are still coming home at night since we managed to block off the escape route! The four girls seem to enjoy their new little flock and are usually piled up under the bushes dust bathing together.