Fall Cleaning at the Barn: We Get By with a Little Help from Our Friends

The Thompsons helped us move the chicken coop to the safety of the barnyard back in July.  Herb was going to level it himself, but summer heat put a stop to most of our outdoor projects.  With fall upon us and winter approaching, it seemed time to finally put the coop to rights.  One of the Muscovy drakes realized that ground being dug up meant a bug smorgasbord was being unearthed.

 Robin showed off her sylph-like figure while checking to see if bugs had been living under the coop.  She also reminded Herb to be sure and nail a 2" x 6" around the bottom of the coop once he finished raising it on concrete blocks.  If Robin can get under there, so can rats.

Zephyr supervised Herb digging out a place to put the jack.

Misty practiced good LGD manners, that is, lying peacefully near her charges. One of the drakes kept a watchful eye, all the while letting sleeping dogs lie.  Herb calls this drake Alger Hiss because he is the boss duck and hisses at everything and everyone.  Muscovies don't quack, not even when frightened.  They just hiss louder!

When Misty showed signs of life, Alger kept a very close watch on her in case she needed an etiquette lesson. She didn't, and I was proud of her.

When I refilled the clean wading pool, Jemima Puddleduck played with the stream of water, trying to bite it.  She was very quick and got it many times; I  just wasn't quite as quick one-handed with the camera.

While Herb was busy with the "coop raising" and patching holes at the bottom of the barn, I cleaned stalls.  I hauled out loose litter to fill a low spot in the barnyard, swept cobwebs down, washed the buckets, and cleaned the feeders.  Now the stalls are ready for rainy winter days and for feeding the horses separately from the cows when everyone is in the barnyard together.

What a good feeling at the end of the day leaving a nice, clean barn and having enjoyed the company of our animals while we worked.