Chicken run

Last weekend, at long last, we finished building the chicken’s run, fencing it in, and engineering the chicken-sized door that allows the chickens access to the run.

We opened the Door to Freedom for our flock, and… they stayed huddled indoors. They will stand and peer out the door, like this:

But only a couple of the females have actually ventured outside. Yesterday, for the first time, two were out at once! Adventuresome, bold, daring, curious, these are words that Do Not describe our chickens at all. 

Except for one.

No only did she fly the coop, and head outdoors, she flew over the fence of the run, and took up residence under the pine trees for the day. I purposely located the run next to the trees so that it would be shaded. I didn’t take into account the futility of trying to chase and catch an escapee chicken through a cedar bush.

I hoped that at nightfall, Escapee Chicken would find her way back into the coop. Unfortunately this didn’t happen – head count at bedtime was 24. 

So this morning I headed out to see if she had survived the night, and I found her roosting in a pine tree behind the coop. 

Hopefully when I go out to open up the coop for the day and water & feed the chickens, she will remember where breakfast is served.