Saturday swap!

We shifted the Fox-proof Fowl Fort to surround a tree last December.  Our two original girls used the area from then to the end of February.  While we were away, they enjoyed a holiday with our landlady.

Judge Judy and Jo arrived home in early May and had the fort to themselves till late July, when we recruited four new chookies.

As the yard has well and truly been scratched over, it was time for a new location.  Shifting the fort is a larger job.  (The move was on the agenda for last weekend but put back due to Oscar's funeral).

Nick and I chose the new location a few weeks back. By using the back wall of the house as part of the yard boundary, we were able to increase the overall area - so our six girls will have more space for scratching.

Our landlady has given permission for us to use the existing aviary as a chook-house. It would need some modification though, which we are pondering. For now the girls will continue to roost in their usual wooden house. They have to snuggle in quite cosily together but as it's still cold overnight, I expect they appreciate the extra insulation!

It took about two hours to shift all the fencing panels from one place to another.  As before, we kept them in two-panel sections.  Nick and worked together to drag the pieces across, then re-assemble the enclosure with new cable ties.  While we were doing that, the girls spent some time in Tea's old yard, slowly preparing it for use as another garden area. 

I'm still getting used to looking out from the kitchen window and not seeing our chooks.  However Erin has mentioned that each time she walked out to the clothesline today, she was closely supervised by all the girls!