Coop Cleaning Day

I walked down to the plot early today, determined to avoid the worst of the rain that was forecast to last most of the day. I dashed around the coops and fed everyone. Geoff’s black rock came out into the run today which showed progress. She has been terrorising Geoff’s other hens and blocking their access to food and water. I told Geoff he could put her in our coop for a few weeks so the others could have a break. There is some evidence that if you remove the bully in the flock then reintroduce her a few weeks later, the problem will be solved. Obviously, this may not work, but we both thought it would be worth a try. Currently, she is at the bottom of the pecking order and Flora has taken a real exception to her presence. So the black rock is going to have a bit of a rough time over the next few weeks I think.

As I was finishing up, I ran into Will and we had a chat. It seems like forever since I saw most of the guys on site and we discussed some of the site news: Phil putting up a new shed, Will making a new movable chicken coop and Steve making wooden tables from logs and trunk slices. As we chatted, Steve appeared and said hello. He’d been away on a fishing trip to Anglesey recently and showed me some amazing photos. He definitely got the best of the weather!

Back at home, I fed Gertie and refilled her water bowl. The rest of the Topknot Gang were busy out and about in the garden so it seemed like a good opportunity to clean out the purple Omlet. I lugged the run off the front of the nest box and began scraping up the old bedding. When the rain comes in a specific direction, into the front of the run, it soaks the bedding on the run floor and makes it smell awful. With the old bedding removed, I washed down the patio and then used some patio cleaner. The cleaner takes about half an hour to work so I decided to work on Gertie’s coop. Even though she’s in the coop on her own, she has still made quite a mess! The removal of the old bedding and replacing it with new was a quick job. Gertie is able to get herself down from the perch but needs to be put up there in the evening. I rummaged around the garden and found a perfect piece of wood to make a ramp to let her get up and down more easily.

With time to spare, I moved onto Quail Mansions. I caught Queenie and put her in the pet carrier to keep her safe while I cleared her out. I swear that half of the stuff I removed from the coop was food. The quails seem to specialise in turning it out of their feeder and refusing to eat it. Fresh bedding and a new wicker house made everything look so much better. Poor Queenie is still on her own but I’m hoping to find a couple of friends for her in the next few days.

With the patio dry, I washed it down and scrubbed it again. It always looks so much better once it’s clean although with chickens, the patio never stays clean for long! Next, I got busy scrubbing and cleaning the nest box. Omlets are awesome and if you do end up with the dreaded mites (like we seem to have this summer), cleaning the plastic is easy and I have full confidence that all the mites have been removed. I will still clean the coop out again next week just to be sure. But it’s miles easier than having to wrestle with a wooden coop that is mite infested! As the rain began, I put the coop back together and filled up the nest box with fresh bedding. The entire time I was cleaning, Arcus had been desperately trying to get back into the run and to the nest box. The idiotic bird is insisting that she is broody despite it being far too late in the year to hatch chicks.

Seeing everyone was settled back in their coops, I promised the girls in the red Omlet that it would be their turn tomorrow, I headed inside for a well deserved lunch.