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Today was the start of spring break and my task was to create a chicken run for our four hens. During the fall and winter, they had plenty of time strutting and digging around the backyard. But now that the flowers are coming back and the garden is sprouting, the hens seem to peck at everything green. So to give them some real space beyond the small run attached to the coop, I extended their run.
Clara and I hit Lowes for some wire and stakes and while she played, I started laying out the addition to the coop and the small existing run. Actually, I made a small chicken tunnel for them along the back fence from their coop and once they got into it, they seemed pretty happy.
It was a fairly easy job but I did have to dig up a row of irises and do some manipulating of the wire fence to bend it into a nice tunnel. All seemed to be going well until the last bit.
I attached the wire tunnel to the chicken wire wall on the coop. Now all I had to do was make a door. Grabbing my trusty wire cutters, I started snipping the chicken wire from the inside of the coop, trying to be careful of the sharp edges. I was feeling pretty pleased that I had bought some new work gloves since my old ones had holes in the fingers and I could now bend the sharp thin wire with relative impunity.
Crouched in the coop making the last snips, I looked at my leg and saw several spots of fresh blood. I checked my forearm and there near the elbow was a bloody mess, about the size of a chicken egg, half-dried and sticky. I never felt a thing but obviously I had gotten sliced by a stray wire edge somewhere. Since it didn't seem to be bleeding much I finished the job, called my wife over to see the hens use the tunnel for the first time and as a bonus got to show off my wound.
As the hens raced and scratched in their new digs, I went inside to wash my elbow and inspect the damage. It's amazing how much blood can weep from a tiny scratch and this was no exception. It was barely the width of my pinkie nail in length and could be passed off as a mild cat scratch if necessary. Even my wife was disappointed when I showed it to her.
Our hens don't really care about the blood sacrifice I made today, but they like the run.
Today was the start of spring break and my task was to create a chicken run for our four hens. During the fall and winter, they had plenty of time strutting and digging around the backyard. But now that the flowers are coming back and the garden is sprouting, the hens seem to peck at everything green. So to give them some real space beyond the small run attached to the coop, I extended their run.
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| The chicken tunnel and our four hens |
It was a fairly easy job but I did have to dig up a row of irises and do some manipulating of the wire fence to bend it into a nice tunnel. All seemed to be going well until the last bit.
I attached the wire tunnel to the chicken wire wall on the coop. Now all I had to do was make a door. Grabbing my trusty wire cutters, I started snipping the chicken wire from the inside of the coop, trying to be careful of the sharp edges. I was feeling pretty pleased that I had bought some new work gloves since my old ones had holes in the fingers and I could now bend the sharp thin wire with relative impunity.
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| Guess I should have worn less nice shorts |
As the hens raced and scratched in their new digs, I went inside to wash my elbow and inspect the damage. It's amazing how much blood can weep from a tiny scratch and this was no exception. It was barely the width of my pinkie nail in length and could be passed off as a mild cat scratch if necessary. Even my wife was disappointed when I showed it to her.
Our hens don't really care about the blood sacrifice I made today, but they like the run.
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| Ginger, Cinders and Snow White |
I didn't know you had chickens. Does Clara like to play with the hens at all? Sorry about the cut.
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting way to give your chickens a little bit of room to roam. I really want chickens. It's on my bucket list! lol!
ReplyDelete