Chicken wrangler

I guess I am what you would call a chicken wrangler. I am having to go out every night and wrangle these chickens into their coop. They are young and don’t have it figured out yet. Hopefully with me moving the feed back into their coop, the light on in the coop at dark, and me making the walk the plank – they will figure it out. If not, I am almost certain thy will freeze to death come winter. Ha!

Tonight they were a little more cooperative. I walked in the run, they came to me, I picked the first one up and put it in the coop. The rest I picked up and put on the ladder leading in. They all walked up the ladder as if they were starting to get with the program finally.

I looked up just in time to see a huge owl about to land on the holding tank next to the coop. I stood up and he diverted to the neighbors. Guess he was gonna try a chicken dinner or the dog. He can have the dog. Looked too big to be one of those burrowing owls we have around here, but hell, I am no wildlife expert. I just know he was hunting.

Good thing I made the run where he can’t get in. He is welcome to get all the mice he can get or the dog. Just don’t mess with Kaden’s chickens.

We have had some rain over the last couple days, and we have more in the forecast. We had hail the other day, but my pepper plants made it through ok.

I now have corn, onions, carrots, beets, green beans, Italian peppers, potatoes, and purple hull peas in the ground. Still need to get tomatoes and some more peppers planted and I am hoping this weekend I can do that. Depends on the weather I guess. Not going to mud them in like I did last year.

I am going to revise the waterer and the feeder for the chickens also. I think I have a better brand of nipples for the waterer. Plus I will make sure they are drilled straighter. That should eliminate the ones that are leaking a little.

I am going to modify the feeder that goes inside. I want to make it a little shorter for the part that goes in the coop, and I want the other part to exit the coop so I can fill it easier. With the test seals for end caps, I am not worried about any water getting in it. Besides, we don’t get much water out here anyway.

Oh, and I am now officially the Automation Project Manager for the Permian EOR Plants. No money to go with that new fancy official title that I have seen or been told about. Maybe one day.