Temperatures are dipping, but the lights in the coop are keeping production up; 59 eggs this last week.

My daughter's doe came home pregnant on Saturday. I was up (relatively) early to try and get some things done for her arrival. Last minute touches on the big goat gate (fixing some flaws which a test involving the two wethers showed). Then I had to add a bottom slat because, once in their pen, the wethers were able to squeeze underneath to get out.

Then the time came to build another portable barrier and separate the broody hen from the others. I originally moved the nest box she was in into the now subdivided nursery, but realized that it would be too tall for the chicks to get back in once they hatched. So I took the unused plastic container I'd converted (with handy doors on the top), filled it with straw, and then set about the risky business of moving the hen.

I reached in and lifted her wings, keeping my hands cupped underneath in case she had any eggs there. Took her out. Like before, she pecked at my hand, but once out, she stayed squashed down like she was still sitting. Moved the eggs. Then put momma back in. She spotted the eggs and settled right down.

The next morning was a problem, though. She was off the eggs to go eat and was extremely upset that she couldn't go outside. She managed to hop over to where the Cochin/Silkie chicks are, upsetting their food while looking for an escape route, and starting to peck at them in frustration. So I let her out, thinking: okay, she'll come back when she's done.

She did, but when she did, she came back to the wrong place. I found her in the old nestbox, but in the wrong section. Her old one was empty, so she sat in the one that had eggs in it. I know, chickens can't count.

The next step was to create a barrier that would prevent her from getting in with the chicks. I happened to have a Dell computer box I'd brought home from work, so I cut it up and stapled it to the new barrier. It won't keep her from knocking it down if she gets a mind to challenge it, but I'm counting on the fact that she doesn't have a mind, and that simply the visual of the barrier will keep her in place. All seemed right with the world this morning, and it looked like she'd gotten into her food dish, so maybe it worked. Just a few more days and then things will get really interesting. The chicks should hatch this Friday or Saturday.

This morning the rest of the flock (with the exception of the two surviving Reds) saw their first snow. I opened the door and they all stood at the edge of the coop, looking at me and clucking like, "So are you bringing breakfast or what?" I tossed their scratch down in the usual place, but there were no takers. They all chose to stay inside and scratch around in the straw.

The fun just doesn't stop...