I wish I had taken a video of this because it was really funny and fun to watch. I (meaning mostly DH John) had just built a 6'x12' chicken run with a chicken house attached to the side and held on with clamps. We moved it to a spot in the back yard and the girls (six of them) lived there for about three weeks. I didn't intend to leave them there long because it's a part of the yard where I want to keep the grass.
Finally John got the greater back yard (pasture) cut and we picked the spot where we are going to move the chickens. I had to plan a little in advance. The hen house doesn't have a door on the front, just a hole so they can get in and out into the run. But the plan was, once they had roosted for the evening, clamp a piece of wood over their door-hole so they couldn't get out the next morning.
I figured they probably wouldn't like it, so I told John once we boarded them in, we needed to move them as early as possible the next morning. That worked GREAT. (The boarding them in.) I went out about 8 the next morning and boy were they ever ticked off!!
It was like a cartoon. There was a one inch gap at the top of the door hole (so I could get the clamps in) and there were peeking out and trying to stick their heads out and they were angry! clucking and complaining. (this is not the fun part, btw) But if you think that was bad, you should have seen them when John picked the house up with a dolly and moved it. Omg they were FURIOUS!
We (meaning mostly John) moved them and moved the run and hooked them back together and let the hens out onto their new spot of freshly cut pasture (not much grass here, mostly weeds and straw.)
They were so happy!! They love their new spot. They ran around like crazy scratching bugs up out of the dirt and digging down into the soft dirt and dust bathing and all that fun stuff chickens do. To watch them having such fun just felt like a big ol' seal of approval.
How silly is that. It made my day just to know they were pleased.
Cassandra
Finally John got the greater back yard (pasture) cut and we picked the spot where we are going to move the chickens. I had to plan a little in advance. The hen house doesn't have a door on the front, just a hole so they can get in and out into the run. But the plan was, once they had roosted for the evening, clamp a piece of wood over their door-hole so they couldn't get out the next morning.
I figured they probably wouldn't like it, so I told John once we boarded them in, we needed to move them as early as possible the next morning. That worked GREAT. (The boarding them in.) I went out about 8 the next morning and boy were they ever ticked off!!
It was like a cartoon. There was a one inch gap at the top of the door hole (so I could get the clamps in) and there were peeking out and trying to stick their heads out and they were angry! clucking and complaining. (this is not the fun part, btw) But if you think that was bad, you should have seen them when John picked the house up with a dolly and moved it. Omg they were FURIOUS!
We (meaning mostly John) moved them and moved the run and hooked them back together and let the hens out onto their new spot of freshly cut pasture (not much grass here, mostly weeds and straw.)
They were so happy!! They love their new spot. They ran around like crazy scratching bugs up out of the dirt and digging down into the soft dirt and dust bathing and all that fun stuff chickens do. To watch them having such fun just felt like a big ol' seal of approval.
How silly is that. It made my day just to know they were pleased.
Cassandra
