Summer Update

I am loving being a backyard chicken owner.  It is the highlight of my day to look out the window and see what they are up to, and then to go outside and have four little friends come trotting towards me.  I have enjoyed coming to their aid in the fight against red-mite terrorists and keeping their feed and water fresh.  It is a more rewarding experience than I had ever imagined.

So this is what the girls are up to lately:

Our Scots Dumpy Bizzy Lizzy has been regularly laying eggs in a corner of the garden instead of in the nest box and has been leaving a lot of feathers in the nest, so I think she will soon go broody unfortunately.  She is a really good egg layer too.
Rosie has been the head of the pecking order since Matilda went broody but now that she is no longer broody, Rosie has somehow maintained her new status of top hen and Matilda seems happy to be second in command.
We haven't seen any eggs from Matilda yet, but I'm sure she will start laying again in time.
Whitey Didee is still at the bottom but is a resilient little bird who manages to stay out of trouble and still have a very full and happy day.  She has been doing some really loud warning calls for absolutely no reason.  She just stands there "her-ARK!  her-ARK!" over and over.  No other hens bothering her and even when I go up to her she just stands there calling as though someone is killing her.  I've even picked her up whilst she's doing it and tried to calm her, which eventually works, but once put back down she still seems jumpy.  It isn't every day though, so hopefully it will pass.

And this is what we have been up to lately:

We have had a lot of rainy downpours lately, despite it being Summer, and our hens don't really have a lot of shelter.  So my Mister made this shelter to sit next to their house.

He made it to have the same angle run-off as their house run.  It has three upright posts on the vertical side attached to a rectangle framework on the ground.  The rock is just to weigh it down during windy days.

He also made the small door to their run, it just slides in from the top at night to keep animals from getting into their run and their feed container.

Hope you are all enjoying your Summer with your hens!  I have enjoyed reading how other hen keepers are coping with the variety of weather we've all been having lately.  Thanks so much for sharing your experiences, it all adds to my knowledge so that I can give the best life possible to my hens.