This new place has a chicken coop already in place, which is more awesome than I can describe. There are two stalls in the barn which had obviously been used for birds before, but this coop is where we are putting our flock of Icelandic Chickens. It’s plenty big enough for all of them, and I’ve had them all cooped up inside (poor things) to get them bonded to it so that they’ll go back into it at night and not roost in the trees. Let me repeat that. There shall be NO ROOSTING IN THE TREES damn it. I am very tired of chickens in the trees and am going to make a very strong effort to not let that happen at all anymore.
We have a good ratio of boys to girls right now, about 9 or 10 to 1, so there shouldn’t be too much fussing amongst the boys which is part of the reason that some of the harems would end up in the trees, I know. We’ve culled boys hard, especially because I want to give our two new boys a chance to spread those gorgeous new genes around when they are old enough. I might still have a couple too many roosters, but when I look in the coop right now, I see rows of hens, all different types and patterns and colors, and I’m really happy with the flock right now. I’m so used to looking in and cringing — too many boys.
(Logi is the sweetest bird I think I’ve ever had. He would like to ride around on me, gentle as can be, as often as he can. He loves to be pet and sit on my lap. If I squat down, he runs to me, even away from food, silly boy.)
The coop needs some work before winter. La la la la winter isn’t here yet and there is plenty of time. That roof has a couple of small leaks and must be patched. Frank says the rafters are way too small for the job, but I’m not sure we have time to fix that. We need to get a pop hole into the door that is big enough for chickens but too small for turkeys, ducks and geese, because I really want a spot just for the chickens. They are so much smaller and so much less aggressive than the turkeys and the geese. (No one can possibly be less aggressive than the ducks, my silly wimpy girls.)
I’m still missing three chickens — the all black hen, the black and white with a crest, and a nondescript rooster. I am going over tomorrow and hope to catch them then. Cross your fingers and toes! Winter is coming and I have very few trips left to try to catch the wild things.
Oh, and I still need to run an electric extension cord out there, get a water heater in place, and get some lights working. It really is too dark inside. Maybe next year we can add a bunch of windows on the south side. I also want to paint it, but that too can wait for warmer weather.