Can you outsmart a chicken? Here go my redneck renovations again!

Not if you play nice, it seems. So now I'm increasing the pressure! Awhile back I made a post describing how I crafted a nice big perch for my chickens, to try to coax them away from sleeping in the nesting box area. I ended up finding a thicker branch and redoing the perch after that, and I have personally witnessed the chickens flying up there to sit in a nice comfy roosting manner to look out the window. But did they quit sleeping on the platform? Oh noooo.

In their opinion, this is the place to sleep and make a big mess:

There was a bunch of straw up there, but they kicked it all down

And this is the place to lay eggs...in the most inaccessible spot possible. Hooray for small children who are willing to crawl under there!

So, yesterday I put on my DIY hat and did some more chicken coop renovations, thrifty redneck style!

I am self-interrupting this post to observe that I really don't know how the Husband thinks that I am ever going to have a "regular job" one day in the future, because he has already interrupted the typing of this post three times. One cat, three dogs, and two preschoolers in the house, but the Man distracts my "work" more than all of them put together. Men!!! I guess that just means I'm indispensable :-))))

It was one of those days that are beautiful to look at from indoors, but there was a hefty and chilly wind erratically blowing. Still, it was good to spend the whole afternoon outside in the sun! And the wind is helping dry up all the mud, so I'll take it!

Apparently her hat has gone missing, so the Husband put his own hat on her, haha

This spot in one of the outside barn stalls is kid heaven

The Husband had left his hunting blind up on the hill after hunting season was over (don't ask me why) and the heavy snowfalls we got in January and February collapsed it, breaking the fiberglass rods. A couple weeks ago he hauled the wreckage down and put it on the trailer behind the barn. The fabric was perfect for what I had in mind--a curtain on the end of the platform in the coop. That way I can close it off in the evening and open it up in the morning to let them access the boxes. In hindsight, I should have done this at the same time that I put up the perch, but I was kind of hoping the chickens would just migrate on their own. Lesson learned.

First, I measured the opening I wanted to cover, then we cut the top square out of the blind, and then I trimmed it down to the right size.

Harvesting some fabric. Camouflage, so stylish! :)

I got some scrap wood that was laying around the barn, rolled it in opposite ends of the fabric piece, and stapled it into place.

Now to take the whole apparatus into the coop. Oh, here's the new and improved perch:

It's funny when they get up there to look out the window

The Husband obligingly fastened the top of the curtain onto the platform supports, while I held it in place.

Then, he fastened some screws into the lower edge of the platform, and I used some elastic scrounged from my sewing room to make loops that would hold the curtain down. Observe my super skillful stapling abilities :)))

Two more screws in the upper edge create a way to use those same elastic loops to hold the curtain open, as well!

I didn't bother to wash the mud off, oh well, I don't think the chickens will care!

Elsa escaped the garden and came strolling along to see what was going on.

Now what are you doing this time, crazy lady?! And where are my treats?

She seemed quite approving of the overhaul.

Coop renovations complete, I assisted the Husband in attaching the tiller to the tractor. He wanted to go up on the hill to create some food plots for deer at the edge of the woods.

I honestly don't see how people could do this by themselves...not without taking the whole day to do it, anyway.

I gave the chickens a piece of mackerel as a treat and dumped the extra liquid from the can into the bowl. It was funny watching them fish (pun intended) pieces out of the soup :)

Meanwhile, the kids had tired of the sand pile and had moved over into the next stall to have some more wonderful kid fun, climbing on the bags of sawdust and jumping onto the thick pile of hay next to them.

On top of the world!

Wheeeee!

After being outside all afternoon, I was very happy that I had actually remembered earlier that day to thaw some meat for dinner ;) and the Husband grilled venison burgers to perfection while I made salads. I'm looking forward to eating this same meal later this summer with our own garden produce!!

The ironically funny part is that after all that, at 10 PM, I remembered that I'd forgotten to go back out after dinner and close the curtain in the coop (facepalm moment!) Looks like I'll need to create a reminder on my phone till I get into the habit!