and later that day...

Wednesday

NHMU: Genome, Unlocking Life's Code

graduation day from the nursery coop

Our young hens are finally big enough to graduate to the big hen house! Having all the chickens in one place makes life easier for anyone doing chicken chores in the morning. 

First, they had to get their wings clipped.  We didn't use to do this to our birds because they were out in the yard & fields so much we felt they needed to be able to fly for protection.  But this last year we had so many problems with the neighbor's dogs (the ones that killed our rabbits) and other predators we started locking the chickens up more.  That was part of the reason to relocate the coop and reconfigure the fencing to make the chicken yard bigger. They still participate in the Free-After-3:00, let out into the backfield after 3:00 to free range until dusk when they return to the coop to roost. For now, this system seems to be working, the flock seems safe, healthy, and happy.

 Beach walking the graduating class of 2016 one by one 
from the nursery coop to the hen house.

adventures in fifth water