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Thanks. I probably won't build more... at least not yet. The first thing I need to do is make some modifications to my chicken tractor. I'm going to make the part under the little house a solid enclosure on 3 sides, and put a PVC feeder in there. The way it is now, the wind whips all the food out of the feeder. Hopefully this will keep that from happening, plus make feeding and moving the tractor a little easier.
When you add it all up, building one of these feeders is not that cheap. I had to buy new pipe, long elbow and 2 caps. It will be easy to build, but I need to do the enclosure part first and get it painted.
I had a wierd thing happen this morning. Last night was my night off work, so hubby and I woke up early. There was an owl outside that would hoot in reply every time a rooster would crow. We figured it was the same one that got my guinea hen, the ONLY bird we have lost to any kind of a predator. My husband went out and scared it away. After he came back in, I was looking out the window at the chickens foraging in the yard. I had put my last two free ranging lakenvelder roosters in the cages last night. I heard two roosters crow, then up walks a lakenvelder roo. I thought it was the one I had saved for breeding in my chicken tractor. I was afraid something had torn into the tractor, so hubby and I hurried out. I was fearing the worst, since there was one lakie rooster in the yard and no hens. When I looked in the tractor, they were all there and all were fine.
As it turns out, I had one more free range lakenvelder roo than I thought I had. I hadn't seen this guy in weeks and forgot he was out there. He wasn't in the hut when I went out and caught the other two last night, so I have no idea where he roosts at night.
Shortly after that DH was looking out the back window, and there was that extra lakenvelder rooster running for his life. ALL of the guineas were after him, chasing him all over the place.
Gee whiz... no wonder the poor rooster has been afraid to show his face for so long!