The chickens were all in one area, as the roosters age, they get to having minds of their own, and need to have separate places to be. I have a rooster, dear Ivan, that Light Brahma who is now over a year. He is king of that yard. I have a Blue Cochin rooster, that knows he is king of that yard. The Blue Cochin was with his girls and the younger birds in a separate house from Ivan and clan. It was time to put them all into one house, to hunker down for wintertime, to keep warm. The building that was their summer house, was just a little too large. So, we took Hercules' house (that's the Blue Cochin), divided it in half and now have them in one house. Well, that was a few weeks ago, until we decided again, with that broody Blue Cochin hen, that they need to have their own house again. So we did further renovations, took my bee house and cut it in half and put the Cochins in there, so they are again separate. Probably sounds a little confusing, it is to me too :? :shock: :shock:. Never mind, it is OK, smiling. A rather convoluted story for sure, one that mostly only I would partially understand, hee, hee.
It seems these chicken things are just like bee things. I cannot count the times my poor, devoted ol' Husband has revamped, rebuilt, revamped, built again, and then probably done it all over again -- all kinds of stuff for me -- oh those birds and those bees.. Poor soul, not many would put up with my antics, but he just says "whatever makes you happy", smiling, I am a lucky woman. He knows that a happy wife makes for a happy life 8-) :-D. I am a great go-for, I do make his life a little easier when I just go and get everything he asks me to -- but at the same time, I am a good learner, I learn by vision -- and he has taught me many things as I watch, and go-for.....
You will see these pictures, you will see that the chickens are very happy, and they gonna make me lotsa money one day (oops, did I say that, don't tell them, smiling). Have that most beautiful day, full of happiness and love, with great health. Cindi
Before they went in, and made that mess that chickens make :-P, don't they just love to mess things up, smiling, you know what I mean. The two blonde gals, Buff Orpingtons, that you see on the far left and far right are mother and daughter. I got them in August from a chicken friend. One is 2 and one is 1-1/2 years old. When I got them, they were so fat they could barely walk. With the exercise that they get around here, free ranging, over hill and far away, they have lost a bunch of weight, and are now looking mighty fine. I traded them for two Buff Orpington roosters (I can't call them cockerals, because the first four letters of this word are bleeped out, because of profanity stuff here (and let me tell ya, that is a good thing, I love the forum rules, BTW, keeps it family friendly) and you will see bleeperals, (but you get what I mean). The roosters went on Sunday, last, to the friend that I traded these gals for, I raised them for 3 months, from little chicks, he has a hankering for free range roosters), oh rats, me ramblin'......I have kept the 6 month old rooster, his name is Jimmy, and he is becoming a star for sure!!!
This is the older group, by a few months, a couple of gals are not in the picture, think they were still outside
This is the Cochin clan buddies, the Cochins are now in their own little spot
And this is what I found inside the Cochin barn the other day. Can't figure what end of the bird it came out of. Clearly, undigested grass, it was whompin' big and looked pretty disgusting. I thought it was a big poop, until I looked closer. Yes, I look at chicken poop. As with any animal, (or human), as disgusting as it sounds, the feces is really how you can tell if a creature, big or small, is healthy. I have a link to a site that has a whole whack of chicken poop pictures. It has helped me to understand what is a healthy poop and what is not, and has relieved my mind a whole bunch, knowing that some of the weirdest poops I have ever seen in my life are really, "quite normal" excrement from the vent of a chicken/rooster, smiling, hee, hee. If you want that link to that poop site, give me a PM, it is very interesting, if you like to look at graphic pictures of pooooooooooo.......
This was a bunch of mushed, muched, partially I think, digested grasses.
And this is what it looks like a little stretched out -- yes, I am basic, I don't mind touching stuff (I have some lovely blue latex gloves that I use alot, and I have a box of them, yay!!!) Look at the size of that sucker!!! About 7 cm long!!!