Full perching potential

Well the chicks are all out.   I figured it was today.  The hens let me know when it’s time.  They become dissatisfied with the playpen and start doing this. 

Can you let me out? 

Then usually a chick leaks out (all of them can jump out the top anytime and sometimes do), and instead of helping it back in, I let all the rest out. 

Ursa Minor came out first, and launched into a scratching demo the likes of which have never been seen.  She was scratching and scratching, like crazy, like she meant to dig a hole.  Very excited. 

Fierce!  Don’t get near her.  She can be a bit of a Major Ursa, in fact.

Start of day:

The overseer

After Ursa Minor was out, I propped a stick under the other chickery, and the chicks figured it out pretty quick.

Philippe seems to like chicks.

There’s a tiny chicken at my feet

The hen had more trouble finding her way out.

I’m helping.

there ya go, Mom!

Then, minutes later:

I swear my chickens are more connected to their bird source all the time.

I have to zoom out here to show you how many chickens  there are in the pine tree.

 There’s three dark ones in upper right.

Including Pepper.  So many chickens in the tree.  

I pruned the lower branches of this tree last year hoping to make it more useful to the birds, and scythed under it, because there are thorny raspberry vines, and mulched it to kill the vines, because chickens can’t resist mulch, they’ll scratch it all up and kill everything.

Um, it worked.  I never expected this kind of response.   Best half hour I ever spent.   I’ll have to do the same to a couple more pine trees.

Habitat tree

The teen roos, hanging out in the abandoned chickeries.

We used to live here.