Wordless Wednesday – Enjoying Spring

Some of us are really enjoying the lovely spring weather. Letting chickens have some freedom to scratch around in the yard is a good idea for several reasons:

• You save money on feed. Thrifty chicken owners know that they go through a lot more feed when they don’t let their hens forage for green stuff and grubs.
• Your chickens are happier. A caged chicken is a sad chicken.
• You get rid of pests. Chickens love to devour all kinds of yucky buggy things, including ticks.

Of course, if you allow your chickens to be free range, you do have to take precautions. A portable coop, also known as a chicken ark or chicken tractor, is one good option. Another is to use portable electrified chicken fencing. Since I have Banty chickens and a hawk that is hanging out in hopes that I go inside to leave him to his dinner, I can’t leave mine unattended in fencing that doesn’t have a roof. After I watch over them as they forage in the fenced run for awhile, they go back into their smaller enclosed coop.

Which brings me to a little hint – Find your chickens’ weakness and exploit it. Mine can’t turn down a piece of wheat bread. They know they’re getting shut up, but they want the bread so much that they trot on into their coop to get it.

And that wraps up another awfully wordy Wordless Wednesday!