The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

y'all know when I do something stupid with the flock, I feel better after posting my errors, idiocy, and regrets here......so......I did it again
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Been working for a few weeks on getting the flocks into one coop. A slow process, made harder because the chickens moving to the other coop have a hard time learning to use the chicken door and instead prefer the people door, which is open all day in the summer for air. They have to learn to use the chicken ramp not the people door. this is Important since in winter I leave the people door shut all day to prevent snow drifts in the coop.

Since I spared the small rooster on the grounds there wasn't enough meat on him, I have Eddie aka Edie and a sulmtaler mix pullet left to convince to use the chicken door to reenter the coop. Day after day I find them at dusk on the steps outside the closed people door, longing to go in and roost. If it is a bit later, they retreat to the pines, and I then spend an inordinate amount of time shaking pine tree limbs, getting sap all over me not to mention spiders, and sometimes have to resort to hosing, yes I said hosing, them out of the trees.

So last night just barely past dusk I got home, having left the people door shut all day, and went in the coop to do a head count. The flock was pretty antsy, trying to escape through the people door. Took me longer than normal to count, and after a few retries, I figured out, Hallelujah! the flock was all in the coop!!! Eddie and the pullet figured out the chicken ramp! I was totally delighted.

THis morning, went to do chicken chores and stopped dead in my tracks when I saw one of the chicken feeders full of food. should have been empty. then another feeder, full.....and I realized that the reason the feeders were full from yesterday, and the chickens were all in the coop last night was that some ditzy idiot NEVER LET THEM OUT IN THE MORNING!!! and that ditz would be me.

Opened the chicken door and out they came. ravenous and thirsty as hell. had to put out some extra water pan so the littleer ones could drink up without waiting til things calmed down.

worst thing is, as some of you can remember, this isn't the first time I've done this. THe chicken door is on the back end, and you can't see it from the run as there are pines in the way. I have a little routine about mixing the feed, distributing it in feeders throughout the run, the water, etc....and the last step when I am in a hurry is to let the chickens out. If i let them out first, it is hard not to trip over them and they are trying to eat as I am mixing feed, ....so on workday mornings, I leave them in. geesh.
 
Not quite sure how to receive your post but I guess you are lucky I'm not one who is quick to hit the red flag.

I'm sure there are many 'crazy dads' out here but your're on the mark, to a point. You should be so crazy as he is. In fact, that is my dad and he has three kids...I'm Son #2 and we have a younger sister.

Your post is equivocal so have care when posting about my family in the future.



Turk
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