"Scarlett" the wild one!

Ms. Scarlett has a mind of her own!! I had penned her up, last week, in an effort to get her dosed a couple of times, with an anti-lice medication. Well, yesterday was her day to seek out some freedom and she found it, while I was loading alfalfa into a cart, for the rest of the animals! She is so wild, I could have spent all day trying to catch her, as well as her daughter "Daisy" who also got out, or just let things take their course. Deciding there were more pressing things to do with my time, I let her roam about the hillside, never going much farther than the fence line with the billies inside. Now, Miss Daisy, on the other hand, decided to jump in and out of the electric fencing, at will, to nibble on what there was to eat for everyone else! As the day wore on, MsScarlett laid down a couple of times and then as she began to get hungry, five hours later, I found a way to trick her into the garden area. I put a flake of alfalfa in the garden area, while leaving the gate open and in she went an "shut" went the gate behind her. Once back in her pen, and Miss Daisy jumped through the electric fencing, to be with her, I put young buck"Edward" in with them. Well, within minutes, Ms.Scarlett had put Edward in his place, standing on her hind legs and coming down with a crunch, onto Edwards forehead. I think they will have to work things out before any "new kids" are conceived. So for now, all are in their new pens and the breeding season is in partial swing. There should be a new population of at least 8 new kids, come next March or April. That is the best part of this whole gig, are the new cuddly kids!

It's A "Chicken Coop"

This little car is the greatest hauler!! I just acquired these 4 Rhode Island Red hens, from a neighbor, who had too many chickens. Now, they are coming to live with my other 12 hens. The first day here, the egg count jumped to 10 in one day!! Now, to find a marketing gimmick, to sell these eggs. Maybe a gingham envelope to tuck the egg carton into, might work. There is also a website for custom designed cartons, so will check that out. The "girls" had been cruising in the garden, til they moved all the mulch out from around the fruit trees, then I had to cage them back up again. Soon the angora goats and guard dogs will be back in the garden area, so if the chickens are let out during the day, they have a forest to hunt, dig and peck in, for worms. They really are happier "girls" when they can be out and about and the egg count goes up dramatically. We don't have any roosters anymore, as I got tired of carrying the pitch fork around with me, for protection from him. These girls have a cute, lavender with white trim, house to live in. I can't insulate it with the foam I was contemplating on using, as it is stacked up outside the coop and they keep pecking at it and eating it. So, if put inside, it would quickly look like Swiss cheese!