Funny thing happened...

[gardener]

I went out to the coop tonight to sprinkle a little DE and give some cracked corn, keep in mind it is dark now so I cant see much, so I open the coop door and I hear at least one pullet land on the ground outside of the coop door and I dont have an outdoor run for them yet, they were all laying right against the door. I am thinking oh great now I have to catch a chicken in the dark!!! And also it happens to be one the Black Austrolorps. I was lucky the chicken was just standing there in shock maybe and was able to pick her up and put her inside quickly. So I went inside turned the light and and did a quick head count, all there!!! WHeeew.

 

[Redfeathers]

Wonder is she'll have any of those dreams where you jerk awake because you feel like you are falling....

 

[lurky]

Thats funny.... i had a situation tonight also. I went out to do an egg check, and while i had the door open a big bird snuck into the bantam side. So we caught her and put her back. A few minutes later we realized that a silkie had gotten into the big bird side too. I think i will eventually just tear down that wall.
My biggest fear is not getting an accurate head count and having one get stuck out in the cold and at risk. FYI...we got a couple rolls of that green plastic garden netting and the green posts about 4 ft high....and gave ours a big area and in months only one ever got over and all she wanted was to go back in. Its cheap-ish and easy to use.

 

[gardener]

LOL. I hate those dreams. And the chicken actually lived it, poor thing.

The green fencning sounds like an idea. I just want to keep them in their own area. so I dont have them scratching in the garden or in say something like dog doo.

 

[lurky]

DH wanted them to have the area so he is not filling the treads of his shoes with chicken poop....then coming into the house. We got a HUGE are for them under the egde of a row of pines for cover. They love to scratch in the needles. They have a covered coop just as big as the open one. I can close them into the covered one if i felt the need. But you can see the green stuff i mentioned.

 

[gardener]

Cool that blends in to the grass very nicely. I have a similar flock to yours. I have BA's and SLW's too but with RIR's instead.
For the chicken poo I have garden clogs that i slip on for the backyard and coop use only.

 

[IHeartChickens]

The run fence is really nice. The chickens have a huge area and the fence is such that it blends into the yard. It looks very nice

 

[lurky]

Thanks. We used that big old bird feeder for the corner. They hang out under in alot. The rolls were $11 or $12 and what you see took 2 rolls. Then we used a few things to save on the stakes...like the bird feeder....a few garden stakes. DH even added a 4 ft dog panel with a door for me to get in....that is to the right where you can see a wood fence panel we used when we first put it up. I worry a little about hawks....but they are so happy out there, it almost seems worth the risk just to see them so happy.