Illinois...

[BReeder!]

I finally got the new coop article up.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/shed-coop-2-0.79274/

 

[Molpet]

L

I finally got the new coop article up.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/shed-coop-2-0.79274/

looks good
I also say hardware cloth over the field fence. I was chasing a opossum and it went through the same size fencing. If the head fits they shift their shoulders and ooze through.
Also my favorite mink and weasels go through a hole larger than half inch. I seen the same field fence wiggling and the jakes looking at it. I found a mink trying to pull a freshly killed pullet through the fence. A piece at a time.

 

[Faraday40]

Baby Seramas

Baby Spitzhaubens

 

[BReeder!]

L

looks good
I also say hardware cloth over the field fence. I was chasing a opossum and it went through the same size fencing. If the head fits they shift their shoulders and ooze through.
Also my favorite mink and weasels go through a hole larger than half inch. I seen the same field fence wiggling and the jakes looking at it. I found a mink trying to pull a freshly killed pullet through the fence. A piece at a time.

I will likely add the hardware cloth eventually. Winter is when the possums are the most aggressive it seems. I assume it's that their food supply is limited. So perhaps I'll try to get hardware cloth up before then. The automatic door helps too though as it closes in the evening just as the possums are getting active and opens again when the sun is up and it's much safer.

 

[BReeder!]

The chicks are out of the dog crate and in the coop with A'hole and the rooster. So far, so good. They've spent roughly the last two weeks seeing but not touching. Fingers crossed everybody gets along!

 

[BReeder!]

Getting plenty of cicadas. I was curious about nutritional value. I was hoping their shells were rich in calcium, but it's just fiber. Plenty of value in the actual cicada though.

From Google:
Cicada shells are made of chitin, which is edible and nutritious, but they only contain fiber and not protein. Cicadas themselves are high in protein and low in fat, and contain 21.4 grams of crude protein per 100 grams, which is about 1.6% more than pork and eggs. However, the FDA cautions that eating too much of the exoskeleton can be irritating or even a choking hazard.