FIRST DAY OF FALL

We started this fine Fall day by moving the chickens back into the coop. “Fine” is relative – it’s nice and cool but stormy.

They’ve had a grand adventure being in the tractor and did some good work on the yard. They got to scratch and eat bugs and greens and every morning there was a new batch waiting for them when the coop door opened.

You can see the past few areas they’ve worked on:

As the weather changes, they will be more comfortable in the coop. Now that we’ve had a couple months experience using it, there are some revisions I want to make to the tractor. First, of course, is to figure out how to make it moveable using only grandma-power. There are a few security issues to resolve, too.

Planning ahead (what a concept) we disconnected the automatic door last night so it wouldn’t open this morning. That way the chickens stayed in the coop so we could move it with the lawn mower.

Yes, the mower can easily move the tractor but it’s difficult to get out of the garage (don’t ask why, you’ll just get a long rambling explanation) so it’s not an option for daily moves. Also, you can’t tell when you are running over the chickens when you move it with the tractor. Trust me. The most efficient way to move it on a daily basis is by hand.

As we retrieved the chickens from the tractor coop, each one got a quick field check – eyes, feet, vent – before being transferred to the main coop.

I was happy to see Road Runner (the rooster) seems to have recovered from his “accident.” He has been hoarse this week, as evidenced by the pitiful sounding crows he is emitting. My first attempt to give him a dose of oregano oil ended up in his eye. Ow, ow, ow! That would have been painful and very irritating to the eyes. We rinsed his eye – which I’m sure he took as “stab me and then drown me” – but the next morning it appeared to be stuck closed. Today though it’s open and clear! Click HERE to see why I use oregano oil for chicken illnesses.

We did have one escapee:

It’s a chilly, overcast day so this will be the end of our outside projects for the day. Don’t worry, there’s plenty to keep busy with in the house!