Girls Gone Wild

My babies are babies no more.  They are wild teenagers.

They had been refusing to sleep in their coop.  Instead, they have decided that roosting in the Camellia tree in their run is more desirable.  They are still inside their predator safe run.  But they are right up at the top of the tree which is super close to the welded wire that covers their run.  A raccoon could probably reach through and nab one.

And not only do I not one to lose one to a raccoon.  I REALLY don't want a raccoon discovering that I have a run full of fat, tasty hens and to stalk it at night.

I have Solar Nite Eyes all around my run.  For those not familiar with these, they are small black boxes that charge up in the sun all day long and at night, there are two red lights that blink on the front of the box.  Predators think they are being watched by another predator when they see these blinking red lights and it can deter them.  And I believe that they work.

When I first got the hens, I would find evidence of raccoon spending time around my run.  I was also finding evidence of rats.  Which nobody wants.  But after putting up several Solar Nite Eyes around my run, not only have I not seen evidence of raccoons, but no more rats either.  So I'm totally sold on these little black boxes.

You can order them on Amazon.com if your local feed stores don't sell them.

Last night I trimmed the little one's wings to see if I could ground them, so to speak.  They are so small and nimble, that I'm not sure it will have any effect.  But I figure it can't hurt.

I tucked them back into their house after trimming their wings.  As our nights get colder, maybe they'll decide that sleeping all snuggled together inside their cozy little house isn't so bad after all.  And once it start to rain, sleeping in that tree is going to be, well, cold and wet and not at all desirable.

And tonight, they are all tucked into their little house all on their own.  Thank goodness.  I hated going out there after dark and trying to snag them out of the tree.  And they hated it too.  I was afraid the neighbors were going to think I was butchering chickens, the way they screamed.

So I'm very pleased with our progress.  It's a baby step.  But it's huge for me.

Sorry for not having photos.  I hate to take flash photos of them when they are sleeping.  I know I hate it.  And I've been tearing up my garden as we get ready to do some landscaping.  Which I SUPER excited about.  It will rock their world for a bit while they tear out our old, ugly cement patio.  But we're putting in some things that I think will make them very happy so stay tuned...