Chicken update

One of the things that has been interesting to me is what chickens find good (and not good) to eat. One thing we wanted to do with them is decrease our food waste here by feeding them things that cannot be composted as well as some of them that can. So far, tomatoes (especially ones with bugs in them), strawberries and cantaloupe rinds are their favorites. Green beans and other green vegetables seem to not be as well liked.

Chuck has put on more of the finishing touches on the coop. He put some flashing around the ramp because the chickens were kicking there bedding out of the coop part and all over the ground below. He also put a metal piece around the ramp so when it closes it will be more weather tight.

We have enjoyed watching the crazy antics that the chickens do. It is surprising to see that they each have a very distinct personality. They now come running when we come out the door to see if we have any treats for them. They will follow Makenzie around the run though because she is usually the bearer of goodies. It is fun to watch her hand feed them crusts and other food scrap tidbits. She really enjoys watching and feeding them.

We should be having eggs here in the next month or so. We took the screen off the nest box and they have continued to use the perch to sleep on instead of the boxes. So far, so good. Hopefully, it will keep up.

I never knew that watching the chickens would be so much fun. We have all really enjoyed having them.

Day in keeping chickens

Today, Mary went out to put the chickens in the run. When I walked out she was chasing a chicken around the chicken chalet because it had escaped while she was trying to transfer them. It was quite the comical sight and a nice way to start the morning.

Mary spent the evening screening over the nest boxes. The chickens have been using them to sleep at night which is a habit we need to break. We don't want them pooping all night in the box where they are going to lay eggs. It makes for very dirty eggs. We are trying to break them of this before they start laying eggs. We have not been very successful so far.

We were not able to introduce them to the perch at a young age so they are not real keen on using it for sleeping like most normal chickens do. Unfortunately, tonight they were able to get over the screen area in one section so they were all 3 trying to squeeze into a 1x1x2 foot space which was pretty funny to watch. I put the one chicken who could not fit back there on the perch and she was not real happy with it. So tonight, we have 2 chickens trying to sleep in a little area and 1 chicken trying to figure out where to sleep.

We will reattach the screen tomorrow and try putting them back on the perch tomorrow night. Hopefully, when they have no where else to sleep they will resort to the perch. Wish us luck!