Pullet Bullets

Here are most of our pullets that currently reside in our chicken tractor.  We've shown them to you before.  Barred Rocks and Rhode Island Reds lay the brown eggs and the Easter Eggers lay blue, green and pink eggs.  On January 25th, we posted about how they started to lay their first eggs.  Tiny eggs slightly larger than a golf ball at first, but they'll get to normal size soon.  I call these first eggs, "Pullet Bullets."

I tried to put some nesting boxes in the tractor full of hay, but the pullets (young hens) would have nothing to do with them.  In fact, they scratched all the hay out of the boxes and now they just lay their eggs all over the ground.  I'll have to work on a solution for this.  You can see the four brown eggs from either the barred rocks or Rhode Island Reds lying on the grass.

And there is a blue egg from an Easter Egger near the nesting box (egg crate).  I had a nice nest of soft hay for them to lay their eggs in, but nope.  She said, I'll just lay it straight on the ground, she says.

Take a look at the photo below.  This is a zoom-in of the door to the chicken tractor.  You can see the latch on the outside.  It is hanging down right underneath the leaf caught in the chicken wire.  That latch is the door latch on the outside that must be opened to enter.  Let me tell you the reason for the installation of the new shiny latch on the INSIDE of the tractor.

One afternoon last week, Tricia went out to feed the pullets.  She entered the door like she always does and began to feed them.  The Easter Egger birds are wild.  They get spooked easily and they fly about the cage in a rampage.  Tricia had closed the door, but there was no way to latch it from the inside.  The wild birds flew into the door knocking it wide open.  Then every single bird escaped.  

Tricia was by herself.  She went and got a net and trying to corral them back in.  She got a few in, but then she had to open the door to let others in and they all got out again.  Tricia told me that she was convinced that the neighbors were watching her and laughing at her follies, running about like a chicken with her head cut off.  Finally, Benjamin showed up and was able to help his Mom get them back in.  Tricia asked me to see if I could figure out something to fix the problem.  I installed a latch on the inside and now the hens, though they mount up with wings like eagles, they won't be able to escape!

But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.  Isaiah 40:31

The Great Houdini - Annie the Nubian Goat

Each morning while we milk the cows, we put Annie, our Nubian dairy goat, into the goat milking stall.  You can see the gate leading into the stall in the photo below. To the left of the gate inside the stall is Annie's milking stanchion and her trough that we pour dairy ration for her to eat while Tricia milks her.  I'm not a big fan of drinking her milk plain, but we make goat kefir (a drinkable yogurt) that we make delicious smoothies with by blending in berries, figs, honey, and cinnamon.  It is a great, healthy breakfast-on-the-go.

So while we milk the cows, Annie waits (sometimes) patiently for us to finish up and then go feed her and milk her.  Except we have a design problem with the gate that has allowed Annie to figure out a way to escape.  Can you see the gap between the gate and the post that has the gate latch below?  Annie has recently found that she can stick her nose in the gap and wedge her nose underneath the latch and pop the latch up.  Animals can be smart sometimes, can't they?

She then gets out.  It may not be as dramatic as getting out of a straight jacket or a chest with chains and padlocks, but she is crafty, calculating and deceptive.  Since we are busy milking the cows, we don't notice she's escaped until she sticks her neck into Daisy's trough and begins eating her food. Daisy will have none of that!  She uses her big old cow head as a weapon and knocks Annie out of the way.  Annie is a stubborn, persistent creature and she will keep on trying.  All sorts of shenanigans follow.

I broke an old broomstick in half as a temporary workaround and used it as a doorstop.  It worked!  Annie was frustrated that her escape act had been foiled.  But a sharpened broomstick handle isn't a long-term solution.  It is kind of dangerous, too.

I rummaged around in the barn and found some lumber and nailed it in two angles on the ladder that leads up to the hay loft.

If you notice in the photo below, look at the bottom latch.  You'll see the gap no longer exists.  There is just a small sliver - way too small for Annie's goat nose to fit between.

Four screws and two scrap pieces of lumber was all that was needed to put an end to Annie's escape artist routine.  There is peace and harmony around the barnyard now - for us at least.

Soon...

Annie, however, is plotting her next escape, biding her time until she pulls off her next Shawshank Redemption prison break.