A Pasture Visit

For four years, we have kept the dogs out of the pasture.  The chickens from the big henyard run free during the day, and the llamas were in there, and even though they knew our dogs, we did not want to take any chances. 

Now, they can go back in with us after the birds are locked up.

Lilly was taken in tonight..

and the pugs....

Lilly went in the barn, and sniffed around, then went around the barn sniffing.  Then she came out into the pasture.

(she doesn't have a feather in her nose, it was on the ground!)

She almost matches the grasses on the pad.

She went to the northwest corner, proceeded all the way around the entire perimeter of the pasture...

Here she is going up the south side... she stopped and investigated in several places, and finally, came to Keith and me when we called her.  Lilly Ann is VERY strong-willed, and we praised her hugely when she came to us.  In fact, she got a treat when we went in.

Of course, the pugs were causing trouble.

I finally had to remove them, since they had the mille pen in an uproar.

(you see there is no grass left, only weeds growing, our poor pasture!)

This is the mille pen, that the pugs were circling.  Yes, there were three new chicks in there... and today when I got home, there were five eggs at the door of the pen.  I believe the snake was back today, because two of the eggs were broken... and bloodied... and chicks were in them, dead.

I took this picture this morning... but by tonight, the hens were in defensive mode, and I only saw the yellow chick, not the two brown.  (click on the photo, there is a brown chick in between the two white hens, and one under the breast of the hen on the right)

That's starter feed in the ubiquitous frisbee I start all chicks out on in the foreground, and there is a waterer just outside the door.

Neighbor Kathy will be making another smaller pen for us like the one we are using for the chicks in the little henyard... and it will go in this dog pen, to sit a foot off the ground with rabbit wire on the door so snakes can no longer get in.

Poor little hens, poor little chicks.

Keith shook his head, he is working as fast as he can on the new henhouse (and it's looking good)... we will have a brooder set up in there. 

These happy little chicks, on the other hand... say goodnight!

(six cockerels, three pullets) 

Uh huh.