Winter chicken coop - check!

So, the sistahood has been successfully moved into their new crib and they are happy as can be. As I have said before, we had an old run-down shed at the back of our property we didn't really have any use for, so Adrian has beefed it up a wee bit, insulated it, put a heat-lamp in, built a bunch of laying boxes, put a window in, created a little chicken playground with various ramps and roosts, threw a bunch of straw around and voila - new sistahood head-quarters are off the to-do-list.

It's one less thing we have to worry about and a big weight off our shoulders since we started feeling pretty bad for not getting them out of the cold weather sooner. But time is money and we don't really have either :-) Anyways, it's done now, the girls are pleased and have been clucking happily ever since they've moved in. It was so much fun to watch them check out their new home. We've also bought some ground oyster-shells to provide them with some extra calcium and hopefully their water won't freeze anymore. Right now it's getting dark here at around 5 pm so we're leaving the light on for them until we go to bed, usually anywhere between 10 and 11 pm, which gives them about 14-15 hours of light. We're staying positive and expect them to start laying again very soon. One of them has started molting which, as I have explained in my previous post, is the process of shedding old feathers to grow new ones and every time I look at her I can't stop laughing. Poor thing does definitely not look pretty right now. I've tried taking a picture for you guys but she got real cranky and told me to get out of her house. Guess it's understandable. I don't really like having my picture taken on a bad hair day, either. Hopefully she'll get through this no problem and will be able to supply us with eggs again very soon. We're happy we got it done and won't have to worry about our gals freezing anymore. It's one less thing at the back of our minds and we're ready to move on to the next job. There's always something that needs doing around here after all.

Here are some pictures of Broody and her homegirls.

 

Hopefully the next good thing I can write about is going to be the move of Sir Hendrix, since the weather has been fairly mild these past few days. I will keep you guys in the loop.