Chickens Are Eggmobiled, Nicole Is Sick And The Workshops Are This Weekend....

This was a very busy weekend for a lot of reasons. First off, my beautiful wife was sick with the flu and was in bed most of the weekend. We had plans to try and get several things done this weekend, one of which was getting the tiller out to soften up the soil and plant radish, lettuce and beets. The other was to move the chickens to their new home.


Thanks in large part to Gene and Linda (my father-in-law and mother-in-law), we did move the chickens.
We started out by loading the chickens from the brooder box into a large crate on the back of the truck. Once we got to the farm, we put the chickens in the fenced in area after we got the poultry netting up. The problem was that I couldn't get the netting electrified. Apparently the grounding rod wasn't as good as it should be, even though we had rain and it was down about 2 ft in the ground. As we put the chickens in the fence, they all congregated together right by the edge of the fencing, walking right through the netting. In my effort to scare them back, I cranked the truck up, thinking that would scare them closer to the "Eggmobile". Before I pulled the truck out, I saw my father-in-law waving his hands to stop. Well, they all ran through the fence and under the truck. REALLY!!

So, then became the tedious task of catching all of the chickens and taking them to the "Eggmobile" two, three, four at a time. What fun! After nearly an hour, we did it. We shut the door and let them become acquainted with their new home.


Maddux's First Day....

As for Maddux's first day in the fence with the chickens, he did well. He licked what seemed like every one that we had put in the fence and began to paw at a couple. He pawed a few chicks throughout the day and was told very strongly "NO" several times. The pawing was a little concerning, but he is still a pup and he certainly doesn't realize how strong he really is. I didn't feel comfortable leaving him there alone, so with the chickens secured in the "Eggmobile", he came back with us.

Sunday, Mason and I took Maddux over again (not leaving him at night, just during the day until he gets a little older). This time he seemed like a totally different dog. He came over and sniffed the birds then walked over to the hilly side of the fence. He just laid there and watched. I was amazed at the difference of one day. Maybe he just got it? I don't know, but it was remarkable.


So I took Mason back home and left Maddux their on his own. I forgot Maddux's food bowl and the food for that matter, but I figured it would be a good test to leave him for an hour or so alone. Swapped Mason out for Camron and headed back over. We had been gone for a little over an hour and I was hoping that a) he was still in the fence and b) there were no dead chickens that he had decided to cuddle with. I was pleasantly surprised to see him lying in front of the trailer just watching.

Camron and I left again, this time to go make some dinner and left Maddux to the chickens. We were gone for a couple of hours this time and came back to see Maddux lying in front of the ramp watching the chicks. No problems. In fact, Maddux didn't want to come back with us. He moaned a little bit when I told him it was time to go and he was very hard to get back in the truck. Could he have bonded with the chickens that quickly? Only time will tell.


Weekend Workshops...

We have Jay Salinas flying in Wednesday night and we will be preparing for the workshops through out the week. This should be interesting to see everything come together by Saturday. I'm already tired and to think this is only early Monday morning.

Quote:

"Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no help at all."

Dale Carnegie