After a barely noticeable summer we hit autumn hard, so it's time for Winter Coop 2.0. combined last year's panels into one for hopefully better coverage. Also added a stick to the top to help it stay under the protection of the roof. Fingers crossed on that one.
Bunch of things have been going down in chicken land, though the main even was definitely Gourry's Month of Broodiness.
Cluck off
For about 3 weeks she was the terror that boks in the shadows. She glared everyone out of the coop, attacked both cats for getting within a meter of her, and was overall such a misery that Galo also stopped laying eggs and at one point walked indoors to jump on my desk, out of what I can only presume was loneliness.
This led to me kicking Gourry out of the coop several times a day, which she disagreed with. Also took the opportunity to put a ring on her, but this she also disagreed with and she actually managed to get the thing off...
A few days in I repurposed an old pet carrier into a portable nest box so the Bantams at least could lay an egg without being shouted at. This went pretty even if locked-out-the-coop-Gourry decided that ANY nest will do and somehow crammed herself in there given a chance. Which all led to...
Broody Jail (TM)
Well damn.
We were three weeks on, everyone was fed up, and the local second hand store happened to have a small dog kennel for 5 euros. At night Gourry slept with the others, but in the morning I'd drag her grumpy butt of the nest and into jail.
Three days later she finally stopped being broody and became a normal chicken again.
Right in time for the annual molt, which made her look like a battery farm escapee.
We're a few weeks on now, and Gourry's feathers are starting to fill in again. Galo started laying again as well, and everyone is more or less molting as expected (though Nebs is either still starting up or some kind of stealth agent).
Colder weather means less green treats as both my garden and the parental allotment settle down for winter, but it does mean fermented grains are back on the menu!