Thanksgiving School Feast & a Move for the Chickesn

   My school had a fabulous Thanksgiving feast last week. This is a great picture of my class, in that it protects my kids' privacy, yet lets you see how adorable they looked in their Wampanoag & Pilgrim costumes. I was happy they were served the turkey I cooked (some of them said I was a good "cooker," lol).

   Only in Cuddy Valley, can you have such a lovely view on a Sunday morning, when you run out to get some coffee at the local mini-mart. We had just enough rain & snow on Friday night & Saturday morning to make mud, but it was still lovely on Mt. Pinos.

    After a hearty breakfast of pumpkin pancakes, bacon and scrambled eggs, it was chicken moving day. The outdoor area would be too difficult for the hens, especially if we get any deep snow (we are two years overdue). So, we moved them to a sheltered area under the deck, that doesn't get more than an occasional dusting, even in the heaviest of snows.

   We are providing them with artificial light, since it is so dark, AND as part of the monkey's science fair project. We were hoping his teacher would approve our idea on the effect of changing the dogs' food on their noxious gas emissions, but she chose our chicken idea (maybe next year!). We are going to see how much light will stimulate them to lay eggs again (they have stopped for the last month).
   We had to remove the 'china ball,' as it diffused the light too much.

   Here are the girls as the hub commences the catch and move...

    The hub has a brush pile that needs to be chipped, we have named the "Habi-quail,' as several coveys have moved into it. A hen that we have named "Baka," (short for a bad word for idiot in Japanese), evaded capture, and kept hiding in the habiquail. Here, the monkey has a box trap (a la 'Looney Tunes') to try to catch her.

   The other three hens settled into their new area quickly. Their names are: Rocky, Scruffy, and Sweet Pea.

After HOURS of evading capture, the hub was successful in putting Baka in with the other hens. Here is their new area, with the current lighting arrangement.