Bath Time for the Chickens

We got a lot of things done around here this weekend.

One of the Legbars had a dirty bum so, now that it’s warmer outside, we gave her a bath.

Yep, I mean a tub, warm water, soap … and a chicken.

She didn’t seem impressed at first but soon settled in and enjoyed the warm water.

Something that finishes with a dry towel and a massage can’t be all bad, right?

Since the water was ready, the rooster, Road Runner, was next.

He was Not impressed. Just look at that face!

Last one – this one actually seemed to enjoy herself.

Eager got out of it by sitting in the nest box. She usually lays her eggs on the coop floor so I did not want to create a connection between the nest box and a dunking in her chicken brain.

That was the most entertaining activity of the weekend.

The activity we were most proud of was building the door on the new run. It was level and square and it only took one trip to Home Depot to finish!

We still have more to do on the run but the temporary “door” we had was only supposed to be in use for a week and we had avoided doing it for four. I am really pleased with the results.

Yes, we put up with two pieces of plywood for a “door” for four weeks – isn’t that pitiful?

Over that four weeks, however, we had acquired some new tools. Oscar purchased a cordless power saw to add to his tool collection. It sure beats using the hand saw. I bought Ryobi cordless power shears. We have both declared this our new favorite tool. Cutting through hardware cloth and chicken wire is Nothing when using these. When you have chickens, you have to cut a lot of chicken wire and hardware cloth so this tool will be used often.

Garden Roll Call:

There’s lots of excitement in the garden, too.

The boysenberries sprouted!

The potatoes sprouted!

Everything except the carrots are doing great in the Greenstalk planter. The pea plants are growing so big I even had to attach the plant support so they’d have something to grow on.

I look forward to the day I can get the Greenstalk Mover so it doesn’t take both of us to rotate the planter so all sides get even sunlight.

The apple trees are doing great. I planted basil with them this weekend. It’s supposed to be a pest and deer deterrent.

There are lot of leaves on both trees!

The kale has sprouted

And, finally, it’s hard to tell in this picture so you’ll have to trust me, but, everything in the raised bed is sprouting.

Peas, carrots, lettuce, broccoli, radishes

It sure makes my heart happy to see the things I planted actually growing 💖