Repurposing the blue tarp

Our chickens always surround us when we walk out to milk the cows.  I'd like to say it's because they like us, but that would not be truthful.  They like the rice that I throw them.  In anticipation of the rice I throw to them, they'll crowd around the gate to the barn.  This causes issues because the cows come walking to the barn to get milked and they walk right through the flock, with feathers flying and chickens squawking.  They don't get out of the way and inevitably, a hen or two will be left limping.

Feeding time!

After I throw rice to them, they're all heads down, scratching and eating rice.

Chickens love rice

Penelope the peahen also likes rice too.  Somehow we've adopted her, I guess.  She just showed up one day and has never left. We can't catch her.  She flies on top of the goat barn and then up on top of the big barn and roosts at the top of a tall oak tree to stay safe from predators.  She kind of does her own thing. 

Penelope

After the hens have eaten all of the rice, it would be great if they would all head out to the pasture and eat bugs and worms.  They eventually do this, but they've figured out that first, they can come into the barn while we're milking the cows and jump into Daisy and Rosie's trough and eat the cows' food.  They can hop right over the gate to the barn.  The cows don't like to share their food witht the chickens.  They'll take their big heads and swipe them out of the trough.  Feathers and dust will fly and these are two things you don't want flying while you are milking.  Chickens in the barn during milking time creates drama that you just don't need. Milking time should be peaceful, pleasant, and pastoral.

Rosie

After the hurricanes that blew through the area, we have a lot of blue tarps still around.  Blue tarps became very popular and were used to patch holes in roofs that had shingles blown off of them by Katrina, Rita, Gustav and a few others that I've forgotten their names.  We also use the blue tarps when raking leaves.  We rake all the leaves on top of a blue tarp and then drag it to the compost pile.  It slides effortlessly through the grass and holds a lot of leaves.

Image Credit

Well, Tricia figured out a new use for the blue tarp.  This blue tarp is an effective chicken barrier and has brought peace back to the milking parlor.

The big, blue, bird barrier

It may not be pretty, but sometimes things don't have to be pretty as long as they work effectively.