Chickie Taj Mahal

No longer do we worry about escapee hens OR uninvited deer and foxes. Mr. Fox still has us on his list but he just runs by as he checks out the neighborhood. Word has it he asked Santa for wire cutters. Tom and Camille built this incredible fortress. The corner posts are set deep in the ground. Two opposing walls were made as kennel walls for very tall dogs. The other 2 walls are made of cattle corral wall wire covered with chicken wire. The roof is yet to be complete but will be a continuation of the cattle wire. The base of all walls have an apron of chicken wire, one foot up the wall and one foot out pinned to the ground. This will thwart any predator digging.

The birds and squirrels think it was all built for their perching pleasure. It has already served one squirrel escaping from the cat. The pen was closer than the tree! The hens love it. They can run around, even fly (a bit), in safety. I love the people door. It is very secure, yet easy to get in and out.

Tune in again for how to keep chickens warm, happy and laying in freezing weather.

Deer in the Hen Yard

The photo on the right was taken through the kitchen window screen. The chicken run is covered by brown, green and blue tarps, the eglu is covered by the silver quilted insulation material. One buck and one doe are standing left of the eglu; the other buck is on the right with his white butt showing. Two chickie girls (one red, one black) can be seen in the upper center of photo on right.

The hen scratch made of corn, millet and other grains which I scatter on the ground must have attracted the deer. There was less than a ½ cup of it remaining after the hens pecked at it earlier. Until now the remnants of grain have only interested the squirrels and LBBs and LGBs, (Little Brown Birds and Little Gray Birds).

Queen B sounded her alarm 'sqwaaaak' and I went flying to the kitchen window. Queen B and Arriauna were in the far corner of their yard as three deer stood in the middle of the yard. One doe and 2 bucks were staring at the chickens in puzzlement. In the 3 seconds it took me to get to the backdoor, all the hens were outside the fence leaving the deer to stare at me. The deer were not afraid as I photographed them. I suggested they leave because this was a yard for chickens. Well, OK, they seemed to say as they sauntered to the 3 foot high wire fence. They paused, then turned slightly and leaped over it. In no apparent hurry to go elsewhere, they meandered through the yard, nibbling and sniffing as they went. I looked around to see what the hens were doing…afraid they had run for the hills, but like the sweet shortterm-memory gals they are, they were busy scratching for bugs under a bush, having forgotten why they had jumped the fence. Clinking a dish of Basmati rice with a spoon, brought the girls running back into the deer-free pen and all was back to normal.

Big Ears in the Backyard

This lovely deer is one of three who frequent the yard. The mom brought her two fawns through earlier this year when they still had white spots like Bambi. Now in just a few months they are gray/brown like the mom. They still have the curiosity of youngsters, consequently, this young one turned back to look at me as they were leisurely exiting the backyard. As charming as they look, they still do damage to plants. They have munched on the new apricot tree branches and the new cherry tree branches. Who knows how much they will enjoy the fruit in the spring! I camp out during the day to watch over the chickens, from Mr. Fox. I might as well be shooing the deer away from the fruit trees too.