Things are hopeful in the CJ department: she is starting to assume a, for want of a better expression, submissive posture, which precedes laying. So we are ever hopeful. The days are longer and all should start increasing production again.
What has been plaguing us is the flying. Initially charming and entertaining, the flying has become a habit. Again, it's Patty and Peanut, the Easter Eggers who are the instigators, followed in a close second by the Welsummers, Hazel and Dottie. The goal is a generalized desire to expand horizons and look for bugs. This, combined with a sense of 'heck, I can, so I will' mentality. I am hypothesizing here, as who really can tell what is in the mind of a chicken?
As I put out bird seed in feeders, what is particularly motivating is the seed cast to the ground by the little birds on the feeders. This makes my back yard the prime spot for escape. Again, all of this was amusing in the fall and early winter. And periodically, I enjoy having the girls come out for a walkabout.
What was a harbinger of things to come was the broccoli. That and the carrots. I put out overwintering broccoli this fall, which the industrious girls readily found and consumed. Oooh, look a snack! Then they found, dug up and ate my carrots. Oooh, look a buried snack! My amusement began to wane rapidly.
It was clear that this behavior would need to be curtailed by the end of the winter, as I would be unable to police the flying and keep the girls out of the garden. That would mean a failed vegetable garden. A collision of my two urban gardening projects! What to do?
Brandis' inspiration proved to be effective toward the front of the run. Score one for the Alpha Chicks! This involved culling multiple hangers from our closets and those of our friends, cutting off the 'elbows' and inserting them into drilled holes to create a barrier on top of the gates. We also added barriers to prevent flying onto the roof, to further deter their escapism.
However, this was a minor delay for Patty and Peanut, when motivated by the seed desire. They merely landed with their claws between the elbows and then hopped over. I will say that none have figured out how to get onto the roof yet. Score one for the Beta Chicks and another for the Alphas!
Okay, we added jagged fencing between the elbows. No problem, they figured out how to simply fly over. Another score for the Betas! This has been so exasperating!
Time for the big guns. After chasing Peanut around both runs, we finally captured her and clipped a wing. Wing clipping is painless for chickens and the idea is to essentially ruin their aerodynamics by shortening the flying feathers on one side only. Brandis tells of how she did both wings to her erstwhile flyer, Yum Yum, and she duly figured out how to fly with shortened feathers. So one side only. As we released Peanut back into the coop and turned around, who should fly over? Patty! Ok, we captured her and proceeded to give her the same treatment. Release and feel smug. And turn our backs and WHO should again fly over? Peanut! Score another for the Betas! We again capture her and cut some more, as we determined (with a google search) that perhaps we were too timid the first time around.
Peanut, pre-clipping
Peanut, post clipping
Current score: Alphas 3, Betas 3. It's a draw for now, and time will tell. We will assert our dominance however, Brandis and I. Stay tuned for further developments as they unfold!
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