Moving Day

Bella & Stella

Raquel

It was the topsy-turvy event the chickens had with my Dad and the fact I was cleaning their box out nearly twice a day that determined it was time to move the foul fowl out to larger quarters.  The lovely red-painted triangular coop had been set up on sandy ground in the backyard, edged in bricks (so no predators could dig underneath) and covered with a fresh bed of pine shavings and straw.  A stone path led to the door, a small solar-powered light had been staked into the ground nearby (a chicken night lite?) and an overturned metal milk crate left out so I could sit nearby to keep them company; the only things missing...Stella, Bella and Raquel!  I carefully carried their box out from the house placing it by the door to their new home.  One by one I lifted my chickies out of their tiny confines into their roomy new digs and quickly shut the door.  Peeping and squawking they spread their wings, ran then flew from one end of the coop to the other checking out their open space.  The girls (mostly led by Stella) chased each other in circles around the ramp that led to the roosting space but did not venture up to the new height.  I set them up with their water and food then sat down to watch them play.  After an hour or two...maybe three of being mesmerized by their hysterical antics I decided I had to get something else done!  It was hard to leave them outside by themselves.  These were my babies and this felt a little like taking my now adult children to their first day of Kindergarten. They were growing up. I hated to admit it but I think moving day was harder on me than the chickens.