Chickens in the Barn

Most of the chickens know their place on the farm.  Most of the chickens roost in the hen house or in one of the two chicken tractors.  But some of our chickens just think they're too special to roost with the others and insist upon sleeping in the barn.  It wouldn't be that bad of a thing except for the fact that the roosters that sleep in the barn crow LOUDLY in the morning when we're milking.  They begin crowing in the barn and the shrill sound echoes.

Barred Rock Rooster

When the Barred Rock Rooster goes to sleep, he twists his head around and buries it in his feathers.

Putting his head under the pillow

You'd think he'd be easy to move and I could simply pick him up and put him where he belongs, but the old boy has some weapons on his legs.  He's packing heat in the form of two inch spurs.  If he wasn't playing nice, he could do a number on you with those things.

Spurs!

But it's not only the rooster that sleeps in the barn.  He has a harem of Aracauna hens that roost in the barn with him.  Aracaunas are cool birds in that they lay blue and green eggs.  They are a smaller chicken than the other laying hens we have and are a little more wild, too.

Aracaunas on the stall rail

A couple of them will fly up into the rafters to bed down for the night.

Just like a barn owl

Here's another one...

Whoo Me?

They've got personality and I wouldn't mind them much in the barn if it wasn't for an annoying habit they have.  Each morning when we pour a scoop of feed for the cows as we're milking, these hens come running. They jump up on the feed trough and start eating, too.

The Breakfast buffet

They will jump in the feed trough and compete with an animal that weighs easily 800 pounds or so more than them for food.  Sometimes Daisy and Rosie will use their enormous heads to sweep the hens forcefully out of the trough.  This causes a lot of squawking and drama.

Having to compete to eat!

They've turned a peaceful process (milking) into a loud, stressful one.  My next project is to 'chicken proof' the barn.  We'll see if I meet with success in this endeavor.