Sunday was the pullets’ first day out of the nursery; I opened up the wire so they could come out if they liked. In my experience, they virtually never come out the first day; more often, one of more adult hens will barge into the nursery to eat the feed the little ones have scattered. Last year’s brood were unusually brave, but these are more typical so I didn’t expect that (though I did think the turkey chick might come out, given her boldness when they were still in the bathroom and the fact that she’s managed to get out on her own twice in the past week). And yet here they are exploring, though they all ran right back into the nursery when one of the hens came in just after I put the phone back in my pocket. The chicken wire on the nursery has begun to fray and break, and will need to be replaced this year; really, I should’ve done it during the winter, but I was not really in the headspace. But this summer I plan to replace the henhouse roof (which has become too rotten and leaky), so I’ll redo the nursery at the same time and probably make it a little more “user-friendly” while I’m at it. Anyhow, for the next three weeks I’ll let them out every morning and shut them in every night; the heat lamp is now plugged into the timer rather than being on 24 hours a day, and by the time three weeks are up they won’t need it at night, either. And by the time autumn starts, they’ll just be part of the flock.
Archive for May 6th, 2025
Diary #775
Posted in Diary, tagged animals, Sunset, video on May 6, 2025| 1 Comment »
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