Chickens on the Lamb

It was hot today. Really hot. The chickens were roasting in the tractors so we propped up the corners on two ends to let the air circulate. In a few hours we went to check on them and several had their heads poking out of the bottom, gasping for breath. A little while later we checked and several chickens were sitting outside the tractor. Wow! How did they do that? By evening time we had a good dozen chickens hanging outside the tractor, scratching in the fresh grass and grateful for the extra water that Hadley had set out for them outside the tractor. I went out to water my garden beds (no, the irrigation is still not in) and one little guy followed me. Every time I walked him back over to his tractor, he followed me back to my watering. I finally had to pick him up and carry him back. He got the message. He didn't follow me again.

When dinner time came, the ones on the outside kept wistfully eyeing the ones inside the tractor who were happily eating from the feeders. I was able to get about half of them back in, but little did I know that a fresh batch was sneaking out the propped open end as fast as I put their brothers in through the top on the other side. I finally decided they could wait and I went in and finished fixing dinner. We didn't put the rest of them back safely in their home until after 8:00. Once the sun starting going down, they were no longer panting and were obviously happy to be hanging out. What a sweet picture they made -chickens sitting by the tractors, chickens venturing out a few feet from the tractor, one chicken playing King of the Mountain on the compost pile. Sadie did great with them too. I call her "Chicken Dog". She is so good with them. She keeps good boundaries and just sits and watches them. She doesn't bother them and they don't bother her. Of course, she has a selfish motive. She loves to be by the tractors because she has a penchant for chicken poop. Gross, I know. Still, I'd rather her eat that than the chickens.