The homestead has been growing and with it I've made a few new changes. When I first got my chickens I confined them to the chicken run. With fencing and string hung over head to keep out birds of pray and of course goober the rooster for protection I thought they would do well. The last few months has proved otherwise as many of the leghorn chickens are able to fly enough to get out of the enclosure and even fly up on the roof of the coop lol. I've thought about clipping their wings but at the moment I'm not sure how to do it. After months of this and losing two of the chickens who escaped I decided it wouldn't hurt just letting them out to free range. I treated them to watermelon and some veggies from the garden.
I'm happy to report the free ranged chickens are doing great! I've had no issues so far! The dogs are staying away from them and understanding they are not to go after them. There's been no issues with birds of pray, bears or even a mountain lion that a neighbor said they saw in the area lol it's wild out here!
Moo my Jersey milk cow has also been escaping and finding her way over near horses on the other side of the property (while still saying in her area, there's a charged fence between them.) Because of this I've decided to let her free range as well during the day. It's funny opening my kitchen window in the morning and seeing Moo there looking in. It's brining a sense of an even deeper connection and I feel the animals are happier this way. Of course at night they return to their shelter but as long as I'm there and the dogs are out for protection this has been working great.
I've been able to capture some really cool moments in pictures like the rooster and Moo seeing each other for the first time which I included here lol
I've also found myself out nightly visiting Moo. She enjoys the time I spend with her keeping her company and she's due to have her baby any time! I'll be sure to update you all when we have the first baby on the farm. Do you think Moo with have a boy or a girl?
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