Video of Angel, Lulu and Big Mama at the spa

I have not posted for a while because spring just knocked my routine to bits. The temperature has been in the 80's and 90's believe it or not, so I have been out raking and gardening. When I came in from gardening this morning the girls were bathing up a storm.

Picture of hen on a puppy

This is so great!

video of continuing walk

I am finally getting around to resuming the walk. Has been a little hectic around here. Sorry for the delay. Enjoy!

Video of morning walk

Another walk! Meet the chicken protectors,Miss Daisy, Mattie, Fischer, and Grizzly. Miss Daisy is my dog. The others live at neighboring houses. Their humans are not always able to walk them so I collect the dogs each morning and take them along. They all know the routine and behave themselves. I have taught them that my chickens are off limits. They listen to me because I am their pack master and they don't want me to exclude or banish them from the pack. They often come to visit and mingle with the chickens. Their scent and presence is all over our property and is what I think keeps the girls safe. Keep your fingers crossed.

Video of Ginger being left behind

The Banties were out front this morning when I came home from the walk. They decided to beat feet when I started filming them. I noticed Bullet hanging back, looking back, and then I realized Ginger was left behind. Bullet did not want to leave her but finally decided he had to and fled.

When Ginger finally caught up they reconnoitered and headed out to greener pastures. Ginger lagged behind again, but this time they rounded her up and made sure she she stayed with them.

Video of Lulu coming to visit

Lulu loves to be outside. She and the other bantams mostly stay in the lower yard but occasionally come up for a visit and to check out what is happening.

Video of hens in their nesting boxes

So , this is for everyone who wants to know where the chickens sleep and where they lay eggs.

Part IV of How.......

At this point I am still only talking virtual fuzzy bottoms. (That's what we in the inner chicken circle call baby chicks.) The first batch was due to arrive via the post office in two weeks. Now was the time to finish the coop. I have to digress here a bit and explain about the coop.
Steve and I have been married for a long time. He accommodates and supports my follies (not how I think of them, but how everyone else does) with his manual labor not just lip service. So to minimize the time he would have to invest in this project I looked around for the easiest and least expensive structure to make into a coop.
We have a small shed below the house that was the original coop. We modified it for a hot tub when the chickens were no more. When the hot tub was no more we turned it into a garden shed. That would work, but it would be difficult to get to in the winter and have no cleared place for a chicken exit.
We have a barn/garage with two vehicle bays and a side shed. The bays are deep enough to house a car and 8 or 10 feet of storage. That storage space already had two walls and a roof. We only had to add two walls, a door, a ceiling, roosts, and nesting boxes, and the garage opened to the driveway that is clear all winter. I proffered my plan to Steve.
Turns out he had come to nearly the same conclusion the difference being that he thought the shed adjacent to the bays would be better. It has a window, concrete floor, electricity and a water hydrant. I had thought of that but had not dared to suggest it. Phew! That went pretty good.
At this point two weeks before the chicks' eta we had cleared and cleaned the space, and Steve had rough framed the walls and ceiling using mostly salvaged materials. I primed and painted 7 sheets of 1/4 inch luan that we also had on hand. (Being in construction and having a barn=lots of junk hanging around.)

Video Snowshoe back up the hill

So now I will bring you back up the hill. This is one of our walks that takes about and hour.