1. Weekly involvement of some kind. This can be anything from gathering eggs or giving the girls some "treats" (bread, table scraps, etc), to simply checking feed and water levels. This will serve not only to lighten the load on Peggy and Jeanne (albeit very slightly), but will also help CoOp members stay "in touch" with all the happenings and needs.
2. Coop Cleaning. All members will be expected to clean the coop twice a month. This is becoming more critical as the girls spend increased amounts of time indoors in the cold weather. There is a fair bit of flexibility available in scheduling this to allow for CoOp member's existing obligations.
3. Financial Contributions. At this point we are generating enough income through egg sales to cover the cost of feed. There are additional expenses in the form of bedding etc that will need to be covered, and there will be ongoing expenses for maintenance and improvements to the coop and pens. CoOp members will be expected to contribute to these costs either by cash out-of-pocket or by selling a portion of their share of the eggs.

There are always new things to learn here. Today was one of those days. A beautiful sunny day, so we decided it was time to try putting Esmeralda back with the flock. We thought we would sneak her in while the rest were out playing in the compost bins and gobbling up the bread and scratch we threw out. They might not have noticed her, except that we put the Vicks on her would first. It had worked when we had a baby chick that was being pecked. They left her alone. It is not clear that it is a good idea with adult birds. It seemed to be going well. A few pecked at her but were turned away. Wendy and Matt and I were there to protect her if need be. Seemed to be going well. she went in and out of the coop with the rest, flew to the compost bin, blended in. We spent a little time getting one of the barred rocks off the pen top. she had flown up there but seemed to have no clue that she couldn't just go through the holes to get back into the pen where the bread was. Wendy literally shoveled her off finally. After Matt and Wendy left, I hung around to watch things. Esmeralda went under the ramp and proceeded to bury herself in the dirt. It looked like she was trying to rub off the Vicks with a dirt bath. However, a few of the other hens came at her in an unfriendly way while she was in the hole she had cleared. I sent one packing a few times, but it persisted. It seemed that she stuck out with the Vicks on and they didn't like it. She seemed to sense it needed to come off too. Since I also had to leave and could not be around this evening, I decided to put her back in the garage. She seemed almost relieved when I picked her up. So perhaps next time we should try it without the Vicks, to see if that turned out to be what bothered them. In every other way she looks and behaves just like the other Araucanas.

The girls seem to have changed their minds (?) on when to take their sabbath. Every Sunday for the last month they have reduced their output to exactly 17, from the usual 20-21 a day. Not this week. They chose Saturday this week, putting out only 15, and today, Sunday they were up to 20 again. Have they switched to the Jewish sabbath? Are they responding to the approach of the full moon, which is a blue moon? Who knows. Esmeralda chose to lay her egg today in the very back of her box, where I finally looked near dark. I was wishing I were much younger as I wrestled it out of the box without falling on the poop she leaves on top of the box (her roost). The egg today is almost white, little blue in it. Did she give the blue to the moon? Neither of the other two Araucanas laid at all today. Clearly there has been a cosmic shift of some sort. Can't wait until tomorrow.

Winter settles in at the coop. The temperature outside this morning was 5 degrees, inside the coop it was about 18. Needless to say the water was frozen again. Even with the heat light on it, we usually have to thaw it out a bit in the morning. Sometimes the water can has to come inside for a shot of hot water. Esmeralda's water is also usually frozen. The chickens are still anxious to get out of the coop and explore the small amount of ground they have under the porch roof, no matter how cold it is. We now have a timer on the heat light in the coop, which seems to be regulating their egg production somewhat. The light goes on at 5 PM, off at 8 PM, back on at 3 AM and off at 8 AM. By the time we get there in the morning to let them out, they have laid between 12 and 16 eggs already. Then they drop the rest throughout the day. Esmeralda lays her pretty blue egg every day in the afternoon. It takes some gymnastic skill to get into her hotel room to get the egg without falling into the temporary pen. Her wound is healing very well. Today she made a point of showing it to me. She turned that side to me, ruffled up her feathers and lifted her wing out of the way, so I got a good view. You can hardly see it now, and she may be ready to go back. She is putting on weight with all the private food and is quite perky. There is another Araucana who is losing lots of feathers on her tail end and showing too much bare skin for this weather. Not clear whether the others are picking her feathers off, or she is, or she is molting. Bad timing if it is the latter. She does not have a wound yet, but she may have to join Esmeralda in the garage for re-hab. We are keeping an eye on her.

Yesterday the white hen, whose name is....(Sonia and Nadia just told me what it is last night, and it is already gone from the frontal neurons, begins with an E) went berzerk for about half an hour. She was pacing frantically back and forth under the roosts, hopping up and down on them, pecking at the sun-covered wall, pecking at the hens who were in the nest boxes. Really manic behavior. Wendy was there at the time also, and we could not figure out what was wrong with her. I let all the rest of them out of the gate and gave them some space to get away from her. They went right to the compost bins and forgot all about her. The stomach is always the first priority for them. We left her be, Matt came up and took a look, left, and when I came back from a walk she was acting perfectly normal. Not that we are finding anything perfectly normal with chickens. So the flock got to be outside on their own for a long time yesterday and it was warm enough that they puttered up and down the path and were ok. We are trying to put a timer on the lights now, so the heat light over the water goes off at about 8 PM and on at 3 AM. We are also thinking that it is almost time for Esmeralda to return to the flock. She is doing quite well and it seems the wound is healing over some. We are thinking we will put her back when the girls are out of the pen ranging, and she can just walk around with them as if she has always been there, only she will have a bunch of vicks vapo rub on her wound to prevent any pecking. Depending on weather, Monday afternoon might work. We will need to watch her re-entry and their reaction to her. I will be home until about 4:30 Monday, so will welcome company for them from anyone else after that as they make their way into the coop for the night. If we leave just the red light on as they are roosting, she should be ok, with the timer set so the other light over the water doesn't go on until 3 AM. Hope this makes sense to everyone. Ernestine, that's it...nothing like a little computer work to stew up the brain.

Today was rather cold, and the issue of keeping the water from freezing came to the surface again. Esmeralda's water was frozen solid when Wendy & Matt arrived this morning, and in the coop there was slush around the edges of the water container when Keith arrived. Temperature was just on the edge last night in the coop, and it stayed ok until the chicken door was opened this morning and the cold air could rush in. By the time I got to it the thing was stuck and frozen and had to come inside to get thawed. So it seems that we need everyone to be vigilant when it is this cold. Having people drop by several times a day is what is keeping our girls (and Pete, who is still with us) happy. Thank you particularly to Matt & Wendy & Frank & Keith Jr, who are here every day to help, either with the girls or shoveling the walkway or pen. And thank you to Boots, who is going to her first doggie school tonight, but who is already very well-mannered and does a great job of snow plowing around the pen. To relieve boredom and prevent further attacks we are also giving them treats several times a day in the pen, like bread and lettuce and scratch. I let them out of the pen for about an hour this evening, for variety. They only go as far as the compost bins, where they stir up the ashes and other goodies.

Well, Esmeralda (she needed a name if she was to receive this level of care) is doing well in her private room in the garage. Food and water all her own, no one pecking at her, a little space heater on to keep her toasty as the nights get colder again. She is quite lively. Her primary care physicians (Matt & Wendy) checked out the wound today and do not feel she is ready to return to the flock yet. I won't go into the details, but it is still not a pretty sight. I have been advised to locate some purple spray, which is an antibiotic used on dogs in Florida who have been stuck by wild pigs. This advice from Jeanne's Florida daughter. So we will try that, and I'll look for some on Thursday as I return from downstate.

--
amy daniels moehle

Our wounded hen is now in a luxury recovery pen in the garage, complete
with nest box, yard, food and water, created by Matt and Wendy this
afternoon. She is up and walking around, which gave us a chance to
actually see the wound better. It is not a pretty sight. It looks like
you can see right inside her, so recovery, if it occurs, could be
longer than we hoped. Doesn't look like the Vicks would be a good idea
for awhile. Frank brought over a red light bulb, 25 watt, and we put it
in the coop and turned off the regular one. Most of them are roosting,
with only four wandering around. Hopefully the red light will subdue
their canabalistic tendencies. Temp in the coop after about an hour of
this was 35, so they should be ok for tonight. The hen in the garage is
blessed with a space heater which is on the counter. I'm sure we would
be laughed right out of the room by seasoned chicken farmers for all
our pampering, but we can't help ourselves. Daffy has been buried by
Jeanne. No one seemed to weigh in on any other plan and no one wanted
to eat her. She will at least return to the land as compost. May all
sleep well tonight. Wendy and Matt will work on making some kind of way
to get into the temporary pen tomorrow, as it may not be so temporary.
For tonight it is working well. Total egg production today is 17, with
a possible few still under the hens, but we didn't want any more drama
with them tonight.

from the medical team

Friends, Our injured chicken is doing just fine today, but it was a
dramatic morning. She is eating and drinking, with a dish of her own
which is getting filled lots. She also laid an egg in the box, which
Jeanne was able to retrieve. I had the brilliant idea of trying to make
her box a bit bigger, and while I had it partially open she flew out
into the living room. Jeanne was outside, so I screamed for help and
she came running. Then began a real mess. She was very lively and did
not want to be caught. Before it was over she had knocked the can of
her feed off the counter, landed by the kitchen sink and proceeded to
knock off a glass and a plate, shattering both. I finally got her
cornered by the microwave and we put her back, then cleaned up the
mess. She has now been banished to the garage, which is where she laid
the egg. She is still in the box that is too small. Wendy and Matt are
trying to find something to contain her that is bigger. We want to try
a red light to keep the others from seeing blood once we put her back
and Frank is bringing one home from work. We still need to let the
wound heal a bit before putting on the Vicks. One of the Wyandottes
seems to be a pecker, and will need to be watched. She may need
isolation rather than the victims. Jeanne and I are headed out to a
meeting, so any visits to the girls would be appreciated. Just take
care with our patient. She is in the box under the light. She is very
fast. We will return in time to put the flock away. Will need some help
doctoring and Wendy and Matt said they will be available.

From Nurse Peggy for the intensive care staff

Well, things are getting tense here. Seems our girls are getting into
cannibalism. When we came home tonight and I checked on them to see
what they were up to in the night time, I found another Araucana was
being picked on and had a big wound in its side near the tail. May
explain the demise of the first one. So I went into panic mode and got
Jeanne out there with me. After much difficulty and no cooperation from
any of the girls, we were able to finally catch the wounded one. This
was only after she made the mistake of getting into a nest box. Pete
was busy doing his rooster thing, which kind of got in the way also.
We put her in a box, got some straw into it, and she is now in the
energency room in the house, with water and food. She has been treated
with triple antibiotic cream and is resting in the living room. From my
reading it seems they do this for a variety of reasons, like boredom
(they haven't been out much these last few cold days), too much light
(we did up the wattage with the freezing weather), not enough protein
in their feed (don't think that is an issue here), the sight of blood
may get them started (the vent on the dead one did look like it had
been opened, and they may have started on this new one as a
substitute). We are told to remove the wounded chicken until the wound
heals. We have a temporary solution to that for tonight. Anyone have a
bigger box, a cage, or something we can put in the garage to keep her
happy? It isn't going to be so cold for a few days. If we can get the
wound healed a bit, we can put Vicks Vapo-rub on it and they will leave
her alone. This worked when the little chick got picked on last spring.
Trick we learned from Patty at the Emu ranch. Since the temperature in
the coop seems to be 40 now, I took out the heat light and the 100 watt
and left only a 75. We may have to reduce the lighting further if they
keep this up. The book says to add extra light to the morning hours
rather than at night, so they get up on the roosts before it gets dark.
I tried turning off the light altogether tonight, but they were still
wandering around, so when I went back to check, half of them were
bunched up on the floor. I turned the light back on, hoping they would
get on the roosts again. I don't know if the one in the house will
still be with us in the morning, but this is the best we can think of
to do right now. It is 1:00 AM. All advice and nursing help welcome. I
have to be in TC tomorrow by 12:30 and we both have a meeting in
Frankfort at 4:00.

Peggy & Jeanne, chicken ER nurses

Hi All!
Just wanted to post a couple pictures that I took some time ago. I must say, photographing chickens close up is a bit of a challenge. In order to get them to look at the camera, you first have to get their attention away from whatever tasty little morsel they have discovered on the ground. Once you have their attention, of course, their curiosity takes over and they immediately begin trying to determine whether the camera and/or the photographer's fingers are a food item. This mostly involves a great deal of head tilting followed by a vigorous peck or two. Or three...

Enjoy!
Matt

(November 22, 2009)
Total egg production for the past week is 80 eggs. This does not count the two cracked ones we had to feed to the compost. We are currently up to 16 a day, with two blue ones today. We are trying to make sure each family gets at least one blue egg in a carton. Egg size is becoming more uniform, though there is an occasional gigantic one, which will have a double yolk. So the return by family for the week would be 16 eggs. So far people have been taking what they need, but we should probably have some sense of the group on what distrbution system makes sense. There are several issues involved. If we go back and look at the history of the co-op, we will see that at least one member of each family, and usually more, has contributed a good share of labor time toward the building of the coop and the care of the chickens. We have put in lots of time, labor and a fair amount of money to get us up and rolling. But everyone did a part of it and we have 26 very happy and healthy responsibilities now. The eggs are each worth about 10ドル at this point, but over time the economics will blance out. It isn't why we did it in the first place. We are building community and developing a model for one kind of neighborhood project to address the needs of a resilient community.


Each person went into it with their own agenda and needs, of course. So the co-op needs to keep communications open and frequent if we are to meet everyone's needs. We agreed on a few things at our one meeting, which we should either stick to or change. Please correct me if I got any of this wrong. We agreed we would share the messy jobs like cleaning out the coop. We agreed Jeanne and Peggy would have primary daily care responsibilities, but be able to call on others when they can't be here. We agreed to share the purchase of food and bedding. That's about all we decided. The rest has been worked out as we go along. We put out a call when a need arises and someone answers it. When there has been work to do related to the coop, most of you have showed up to do it. We are ready for winter with the girls (and Pete, who seems to want to stay around). So this is a survey, since we don't seem to be able to actually get together very often. Please share your thoughts on the following: If you reply to all, then we can all see where we stand. In a little over five months we have come a long way. Others are watching us with interest. So it is a good time to polish it up a bit.


1. What do you think would be a fair distribution system for our group?


2. How many eggs do you think your family will want in a week, once production has leveled off to a fairly regular amount?


3. Are you willing to clean the coop once a month? Twice a month during winter when they are in more?


4. When is a good time or day for you to do the cleaning? We want to make sure we save it for you.


5. How many dozen eggs do you think Jeanne and Peg should keep in their fridge at any given time for pick up? Should we be looking for a small fridge for the pole barn?


6. How many should there be in reserve before we call our "Friends of the Co-op" list and sell them. This is similar to question 5.


7. Do you have friends or relatives you want on the "Friends list" and will you be responsible for calling them if you know it is their turn for extra eggs?


8. Does 2ドル.50 sound like a fair price for the extras, and do you agree the money should go toward food?


9. Are you willing or able to contribute toward food and bedding material? Sales of extra eggs will cover some of it, but the current cost is about 25ドル a month.


10. Do you have a digital camera you could come take pictures of the coop and chickens with for the blog? Or do you know how to teach me to scan my pictures into my computer and add them to the blog?


That's all I can come up with for now. Hope all will share ideas and other concerns.


Submitted by Peggy,
egg manager, chicken herder, poop scooper, and news reporter

(November 20, 2009)

Today was an interesting day. One of the Araucanas gave us another blue-green egg, but laid it outside in the pen, so it had to be washed. That's two blue ones now. Then we got this enormous egg, twice the size of any others. Can't even close the lid on the carton now. It is amazing and I can only imagine the labor it took to release it. Like delivering an 18 pound baby. The total egg production for today was 16, the last one delivered just as the girls were finally being shovelled into the coop. I mean this almost literally. I thought if I didn't turn the light on right away they would go in faster and roost when it got dark. Wrong. I got them all in the pen at darkness. However, when I went out after awhile to close the chicken door, they had all decided to roost on the ramp outside, except for the one who was laying an egg at the time. They were all sound asleep and didn't want to move, so I had to go into the pen, flashlight in hand and push them in. I was a bit reluctant to push much on Pete, who was fourth in line, but he got up and went in on his own. The rest I literally had to pick up and place inside. All of this was after I turned on the light so they could see their way. Lesson learned, leave the light on for them, they like it, even if it keeps them up later at night. We have a 60 watt bulb in there right now, and it seems bright. May switch to 40 until it gets colder outside. Since I left it on all night last night and there were no eggs on the floor this morning, I guess they have decided they are happy with the new light. Thank you David. Wendy came up to help clean out the coop today, and plans to help next week at least once. We don't want anyone to miss this fun job though, so feel free to sign up for a time. Right now it is easiest to do it in the late afternoon when the girls are out free ranging and out of your way. Also we don't have to figure out how to keep them from escaping at that time. We figure twice a week will be needed once the weather changes and they are in more. We just use a snow shovel particularly under the roosts. Clean straw goes back into the nest boxes. Dirty in the pile outside the door for compost prep. The girls really enjoy throwing it out of the boxes before laying eggs.

There are currently two and a half dozen eggs in the frig, and more on the way tomorrow. If you let us know how many you might want in the next week, for holiday baking etc. then we will know how many to keep around. We probably should sell those we can't eat within a few days, as production is increasing. We have sold one dozen so far. The money will go into a can for food, etc. Our list of those interested is up to five now. Let us know your needs. Who wants to try the blue ones? Maybe Jeanne and I will share the monster for breakfast. Peggy

(November 19, 2009)
This has been a great week for all of us. Pete and the girls are thrilled with the weather and have been out ranging all over the place every day, eating bugs, stirring up all the compost piles, chasing off the stray cat, and producing eggs (many of which must be fertilized). We are averaging seven a day right now. One day with 10, and today there were nine. We have hd two so far with double yolks, and today we got the first blue egg! We are waiting for Keith to get his eggs, then everyone will have had a chance to try the first ones. Some are small, but each day more get bigger. One hen lays on the floor each night, so that egg has to be washed. But we have just learned that it is better not to wash them until right before you use them, as they have a protective coat of some kind that keeps bacteria out. So as of today we only wash the dirty ones. Most are really quite clean when they are laid, and we are now putting them in the frig right away, which is added protection. So, wash your eggs just before using from now on. We are trying to keep the coop and particularly the nest boxes clean. The girls do a good job with that on their own. They immediately throw out most of the straw before laying an egg on the bare wood. We are also collcting several times a day, so the eggs are not dirtied by other hens.

Wendy, Frank, and Jeanne finished digging the trench on Tuesday, and David put in the wiring for the light and the outlet yesterday. We are now really ready for winter. If it should get really cold we can put a bit of heat in there, but most of the time the light bulb should do the trick, combined with body heat. We read that giving them scratch just before bed gives them energy to put out more body heat during the night. So out I go soon to gather them in with some scratch. Peggy filled in the trench dirt and the girls have scratched out their designs on the dirt to show their approval.

Amy has put the blog together, as you already know. It looks great. I have some good pictures but don't have a digital camera, so either someone has to show me how to scan them in or others will have to post pictures on the blog. I also have to learn how to add to a blog. But I will probably continue to also post occasional emails to the group. Amy has offered to host a potluck where we do egg dishes, besides quiches. Sounds like fun. We do like quiches though. Do my chocolte chip cookies count? They use two eggs.

Cheers to all of us. Things are working out really well here on Homestead road, and those eggs sure taste better when you know exactly where they came from and what kind of community labor went into them. What a blessing to live in this community. Peggy

(October 28, 2009)

Things are moving along for the girls, but we have no eggs yet. Our rooster is crowing alot now though, and he has taken a real interest in the hens the last few days. While the weather is nice, we have been letting them all out to roam the yard for longer periods of time. They are having a great time. At first they were willing to come back in if I went out with a cup of scratch and walked them into the pen. I looked like the pied piper as i tripped over them. The last two days we have let them out fairly early in the day, and they have gotten so engrossed in everything that they don't want to come in until it starts to get dark. This is ok if we plan to be around. We have been splitting wood for two days so it didn't matter. However, tonight we couldn't find a few of them as dark approached. After quite a search, two were found way back in the woods under a tree, and the white one was up near the road trying to figure out how to get around piles of tree limbs to get back home. We had to lead the three strays back. All are still with us, but it was a moment of panic as we imagined them carted off by a fox.

Matt and Wendy bought the last food, and we are now using layer mix rather than starter, on the advice of the feed store lady, even though we are not laying yet. The food is now in the metal can that says scratch on it, and the scratch is in the blue plastic tub beside it, or the bag we just bought. There is grit on the counter and a small handful should be mixed in with the can of food when you put it in the metl feeder. Peggy cleaned the coop on Tuesday. If you use the snow shovel to scoop out the poop, you can put it on the pile behind the compost bins. Don't put it directly on the compost. A sprinkling of the pine bedding (just inside the big garage door) on the floor keeps the smell down, then some straw on top. we don't need to use alot of straw, but we do have to get the poop out of the nest boxes now and then and replace straw in them.

We have put a temporary light in the coop, awaiting the digging of the trench (Frank, Matt and Wendy?) and the real light (David when he returns next week) There is a simple light fixture sitting on the counter in the barn, which we got at Odoms. Also there in a bag is another doorknob with a strike plate, if someone wants to install it. The board over the door handle will not work once we have ice and snow, so we need to spruce it up a bit. Hopefully the stuff we picked up will do the trick so we can just turn a knob to get in. Frank is going to put a simple sliding latch thing on so it is more secure (but I won't be able to lock myself in again.)

So, since we do have predators here, if you plan to let the kids out of the pen, plan to be around, and probably do it about an hour before dark. They are really good about going in to roost by themselves when dark comes. Egg laying should occur in the morning, we are told, so check when you let them out to the pen.

Call Frank if you can put them away, since he often takes the late shift, and call Wendy and Matt if you can do the early shift and give them a break. Would appreciate it if anyone here would put the mail in the house, and the newspaper is for whoever wants it, or can go in the house also. There is bread usually in bags just inside the garage door for the kids.
By the way, I want to name the rooster Pete, after Pete Seeger, in the hope that he will remain a gentle thing. His voice is about as good as Seegers is now too. He is quite beautiful and has not attacked anyone yet, except the expected behavior with an occasional hen. Hopefully he will earn his keep and be able to stick around.

Thanks all, Peggy & Jeanne


(October 12, 2009)

Note that I finally got email addresses for everyone on this, I think. Matt and Wendy have offered to buy the next round of food. Keith cleaned the coop this past weekend. Thank you all. The rooster is definately feeling his oats. He lets out a string of crows shortly after emerging from the coop in the morning. So far that is the only time he sounds off, and otherwise acts just like the girls. The girls had a big outing today. They spent about five hours out of the pen cleaning up the gardens, digging in the compost piles, and practicing their flying (they do not have much lift off yet). When it started to rain and we knew we had to go out tonight, I went into the pen with goodies and all 26 came in with me, so I could shut the door and leave them safe. They are getting the routine down pretty well, though we have an occasional escapee to round up when we open the gate.

Please let us know if you want to be on chicken duty during any of that time. Maybe someone besides us can work out a schedule. I will put the log in the barn tomorrow for marking when the coop is cleaned, and the food purchases as they occur. We have not been buying organic feed lately, and should probably discuss that in the group. Do we have a source and what is the cost? As we get close to laying time, it seems we should make a decision as we switch from grower to layer feed. Let us share our thoughts and preferences.

from the co-op communications room,
Peggy

Here is an update on the chickens, as of August 23 by Peg and Jeanne.

The chicken coop and front pen are finally finished. It has taken many hours on the part of co-op members to get it done, with new skills to learn, illnesses and schedules to work around, rain, and design challenges, but we have done it! After David and Keith put up the skeleton structure, roof and floor, and Amy dug the back trenches, the rest of us got to work. Keith, Frank, Peggy, and Jeanne put in the rest of the outside walls, the insulation, the inside walls. Keith made the front chicken door and ramp, and Matt and Peggy refined it a bit. Frank, Jennie, Keith, Matt, Wendy, Peg and Jeanne all worked hard on the outside front pen: digging post holes, digging trenches, laying in the wire, building the fence, stringing the wire to hold it together, building the frame on top to hold the fencing up, building the porch roof over the front ramp for winter outings, finishing the covering on the gate and making adjustments so it will open with a roof cover on. We took a bit of time designing the structure around the window so it would still open. We are pleased with the results. We have built two roosts inside and one outside. Matt put in the nest boxes we have so far, which are enough for four chickens. We could use one more wooden orange crate or something similar. We moved the feed and water cans. We had to put slanted roofs on the nest boxes to prevent roosting on them and chicken poop buildup. Jeanne has painted three sides with solid stain. The fourth is awaiting the finish of the back pen and more paint. The back pen still needs to be re-done, with a real gate put on the side nearest to the door and the posts connected by 2 x 2s and support for the top secured. But for now, both pens are operational, and the girls happily run back and forth looking for amusement.

All 26 are getting rather big and are healthy. The rooster does not know yet that he is in charge of a harem or that he can make more noise when he gets bigger. He just goes with the pack. The girls like to be entertained with fresh greens, weeds, grasshoppers, stale bread, chicken scratch, and clean water. They do try to get out when you open the front fence, and we have had to capture a few escapees. They come running as soon as someone comes out there, expecting a treat. They are still eating the grower food, and will until they start laying. Then we switch to the layer food. Peggy just bought two more bags of feed. We include a small handful of gravel with every other can of food, so their digestion works for the greens. Young Keith has been bringing corn cobbs and other goodies for them regularly. Frank, Jennie and young Keith visit often, change water, as well as feed if needed.

Peg & Jeanne let them out in the morning and put them in after dark, feed and water regularly, clean out the coop once a week, and provide daily entertainment. They will be gone on vacation for two weeks starting August 24, returning September 8. Wendy & Matt and Frank & Jennie have worked out a plan for caring for the chickens as well as our gardens while we are gone. We are sure they will welcome any visitors as well. Just watch for escapees and hawks.
We still need to put the heavy duty fence around the outside of the pens (to protect from coyote and fox), finish the back pen and gate, trench the two sides and dig in the fine mesh wire (a priority to avoid mink and weasal attacks), wire the place for electricity, find one more double wide nest box, and maybe build a bin outside the side door with a latching lid to store feed in the winter (we will have enough to do to get ourselves out there in four feet of snow, we think it would be useful not to have to haul feed also). There is fresh straw or bedding in the back of the pole barn, if anyone wants the treat of cleaning out the coop. We have just been using straw for now, but in winter we might want the bedding also to cut down on the smell, when there is less ventilation.

If you visit the chicken condo while we are gone, make sure water pump is shut off if you use it, and don't forget to bring a treat. They like sour weed the best, or corn cobbs and grasshoppers. Congratulations to all chicken condo builders and hen caretakers. The girls (and one boy) are quite happy. Eggs by October perhaps.

Baby chicks are just too much fun for frisky Labradoodles... those six chicks drove our pooch NUTS!

Once the need for the constant heat passed, we relaxed a bit and kept the chicks on our screened porch --that was MUCH better. (NOTE: we kept the chicks in a horse trough that we had on hand, it worked fantastic and only had to put on chicken wire to keep them in for the last couple of weeks, and it was REALLY easy to clean.)