Chicken-proofing the barn

A while back we talked about our chickens that have made themselves at home in the barn.  This causes a multitude of problems for us, including:

1. They poop all over the place.  
2. The roosters crow LOUDLY in the barn in the morning while we're milking.
3. The roosters and hens in amorous delight chase each other causing major drama when we need peace during milking.
4. The chickens jump up in the cows' feed trough and battle the cows for feed causing more drama.
5. Finally, they fly up into the hay loft and lay eggs in hidden nests that we don't find until much later.  The other day we found a nest of 19 eggs and they were much too old to eat.

So I had on my list to 'chicken-proof' the barn.  The chickens can climb underneath the edge of the barn since the siding doesn't go all the way down to ground level.  I was going to purchase a load of dirt and spread it in the barn, closing the entry into the barn.  It rained, though, ruling that option out for a long time. But our ditch had silted up and I needed to dig it out, so I figured I'd kill two birds with one stone and bring all the dirt/mud from the ditch and use it to fill up the areas in the barn where the chickens were coming in.

"Dredging" the ditch out

I shoveled out the ditch, placing the mud/grass in an old molasses tub.  When full, I would then pull it in our garden wagon out to the barn and shovel it in the holes where the chickens were getting in.

Digging ditches

You can see where I'm filling in the gap beneath the barn with mud that will harden and build up that area, keeping the chickens out.  I did this all around the perimeter of the barn.  This was a long, hard job (and very good exercise for someone who sits behind a desk in an office job all day)!

Filling in the holes

Right in front of the front gate to the barn, there is a big mud hole.  I filled it with the mud that will harden and hopefully fill in that low area.  The gutters we just hung on the barn should help out as well.  This also closed the gap beneath the gate where the chickens were doing the limbo dance to get under the gate and into the barn.

A muddy mess!

One more thing:  Not only were they climbing under the barn, but some were flying over the gate and into the barn.  I waited until evening and went to the barn and caught all of the birds that were inside.  I used my clippers to clip the feathers on one of their wings.  This will make them off-balance and they won't be able to fly over the gate.

Shave and a haircut - two bits.

When I was finished there was a pretty good pile of feathers beneath my milking bench.  Speaking of that bench, I made it years ago with lumber from a pine tree that lightning struck and killed at my parents' home.  It is heart pine and is still sturdy and strong after many years.  I've milked out hundreds and hundreds of gallons of milk sitting on that bench.

Milking bench, clippers, and feathers.

So the next morning when Tricia and I went out to milk... It was peaceful!!  There was only one chicken in the barn.  It was one we had missed when clipping wings the other day.  We'll take care of her tomorrow. All of the other hens have found new places to roost outside of the barn.  

Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Men, indeed!