As busy as life is these days, the hens have been cooped up as long as I have so when I went down after supper this evening to water them, it was clear that I needed to let them out. The problem is, we have a couple of species of hawks that live in the woods and take chickens (kill and eat them) so if I let them out, I have to keep them company until they are ready to go back to the coop. Basically I am become a shepherd with no control over my flock. [Chickens are as easy to herd as a bunch of cats!]
One of the projects on my list this spring is to build two new yards so that I can rotate them every few days. Those of you who are not familiar with chickens, if they have a restricted area in which to roam, they will remove every living thing – plants, insects, seeds – and what is left is reminiscent of the farming practices during the Dust Bowl. They are eating and pooping machines.
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