Good Morning Friends
Congrats on getting the run fixed up
Michelle 
Love the elephant cookies
DMC!
Diva I thought it was good luck if their trunks were facing a door?
Blooie .. love the story of how your mum handled the bills!
Note to self: need to buy a lazy susan
Kelsey I hope the coop and run plans went well. Looking forward to the pics!
Debby great news about the restaurant opening!
Hubby has a cold which he has lovingly shared with me; he is coughing and hacking up a storm but I am only early stages at the moment, hopefully I will not get too bad. Also, fingers crossed FIL does not get it
Not a typical Sunday for me today because I do not have to do the housework which I did on Wednesday
So, trip in to town for the big weekly grocery shop and home to water. Still tossing up whether to water the lawn .. we had some rain overnight but not enough but we have the chance of showers for the rest of the week. Of course, if I water the lawn, it will rain all week and if I do not water the lawn, it won’t rain
I will decide when I get home. Other plans, rest and relax and try and not get too under the weather with this cold.
The boys lost the game but the umpiring left a lot to be desired and they did not give up so it was not an embarrassing thrashing.
Thanks! It did go well! I'll post some pics in a bit. They were nervous though. I bribed them inside the run with sunflower seeds, which they gladly fell for, but then once they realized they were locked in they did a little pacing and clucking/squawking. Then as it started getting darker and darker, they really started screaming and pacing. They needed a roost and didn't see one and didn't realize they could go inside. A few finally did and went up but they kept running out, even with sunflower seeds on the ramp and inside. At one point I forced everyone up but then they all ran out lol anyway, long story short, I came inside, grabbed more sunflower seeds and my phone (for flashlight) and climbed inside the coop (making sure to place a stick in the latch so I don't lock myself inside, which I have done an embarrassing amount of times LOL) and just sat inside with them until they all came in and then went on the roosts. A few were already inside so it didn't take long for the others to come in with the light on. I think they were scared of the dark new place? But with the light on they all came in. But then they were like well where to do we sleep? Two had gone inside the nest boxes and the rest were confused. So I took one of my docilest, most confident chicken, and placed her on the roost bars. Once I did that the others started catching on, though it took a while for everyone to gain the courage to fly up there. It's funny though, some of them kept flying back and forth between roost bars lol and there's like 18 inches between them. They couldn't decide where to be I guess. But then they all started settling down once everybody was up there.
We did have an escapee though lol I originally opened the nest boxes for light before I decided to go inside and my broody Australorp came FLYING out. At first I was like "oh poop!!" And really scared because at this point it was pretty dark outside and I didn't think I'd be able to catch her if I went far. Then I realized where she was going and was both relieved and entertained. Silly thing had run straight back to the old coop and into the nest! That's also why, I realized, she was the most distraught and the loudest before. She had left her "brood" alone way too long!!! And so she was so happy to be able to get back to the nest!! I'm just relieved I hadn't gotten around to breaking her yet and that she only wanted to go back to the nest because I don't think I could have caught her otherwise!! So I just picked her up and carried her back to the new coop and that's when I did the sitting thing.
I think they are just a little nervous because it is a new place so hopefully they will settle down soon. I don't blame them, they've been in that other coop since 7 weeks old. They're now 2 1/2 years old. I guess it takes time?
I feel bad though and of course I am like a worried mother LOL
I locked them in rather than leaving the door open like usual and I only left the windows half open. Did the new deadbolt. We built it pretty well I think but I'm just as, if not more, nervous than them lol
I left a bowl of food inside for the first night or first few. Another food bowl and the water outside, along with the grit and oyster shell.
I think also that I need to keep them locked in this new coop for a few days or weeks?? Like not free ranging? So they learn this is their home now? Do I need to lock them in the actual coop or can they go in the run?
I hope they learn to like it eventually!!
Also, the old coop looks soooo weird without the fence around it. We are going to throw that out tomorrow once the tractor is fixed so we can use the trailer. They fixed it today but it broke again.
Also, when I was digging out the fence (the bottom has gotten buried about a foot, almost two in some places like the middle), there were sooooo many worms along the edges!! Like at least 5, 10, 20, every shovel full! Some babies, some HUGE. They were red, so maybe red worms not earth worms? A couple earth in other areas. Our garden is gonna be great this year!! Haha planning on liming and rototilling it all. Along with the two raised beds of course.
Pictures shortly. Might shower first.
