My Feathered Friends

The evening light was so pretty last night. I rushed to get my camera to click the clucks. See Rhoda on the right? She's my evil sex link hen. See how she's running to attack me? Scary stuff.

I so enjoy watching my hens devour the weeds I had just pulled from the garden. They eat the weeds, 

then poop and I put the poop right back in the garden. Recycle, reuse. But am I recycling weed seeds? Probably.

 I still have the main coop separated into two 'rooms', with a large screened panel dividing the area. The chicks have been in their little annex for 3 months now. I want to join the two gangs together in harmony but every time I try, the older gang members (The Coop Crips) peck the younger gang members (The Chicks) until they bleed. Which makes The Chicks cower in a corner and defeats the purpose of giving them more room. And they're bleeding. Not good. So every day, I move them to their play pen in the sheep barn where they have free roam. I carry them one by one and they put up such a squawk. I tell them they should be used to this routine by now, but they scream and flap anyway. But when I release them, they run around gleefully.

 Every night, I do this in reverse. I wait till it's dusk and they've roosted on the beams that are just within my reach. Easy peasy. Here are Mabel and Matilda waiting to be carried back to the safe house. 

Ohhh, they know something's up. 

Matilda giving me her beady eye. But they're all tucked away in their little room in the hen house. Soon I'll try again to get the gangs together. Can't we all just get along?!