Chicken relocation

I finally got the old roosters butchered about 10 days ago so last week it was time to move the younger chickens out of the intermediate coop into the “adult” coop. Integrating chickens can be tricky because when you hear someone talk about “pecking order” it is a real thing in a chicken coop and when mixing two batches of chickens figuring out the pecking order can be an ordeal, and even fatal to chickens. 

These had been running the yard in common all summer. They hadn’t really intermixed, the younger hens never went into the older hen coop. the older ones though went and ate food in the younger one’s coop all the time, a good example of pecking order. They had been kind of running together all summer, so once the older roosters were gone, I figured it would go smoothly. It actually went way smoother than I thought it would. 

The younger rooster apparently decided he liked older women, because he moved himself to the adult coop a whole day before I moved his girls. I went out one night and there he was in the coop with the old hens. I told Rick I guessed he liked his women older. At least that was one chicken I didn’t have to move. There were still 14 hens in one coop that had to be carried to the other coop. 

A person can move them with food, but it takes several days and I like to just be done with it. So my method is to wait until they have gone to roost. While it is dark, I put on a headlamp that has a red light on it. The red light allows me to see, but it doesn’t make the hens excited. Angie offered to come help that night, but when I went out to shut the doors, I just decided to get it done. 

The roost in the one coop is one 2x4 the full width of the coop and they all roost on that one board. That made it easy; I just reached in, grabbed one leg of one hen, then grabbed one leg of the hen sitting next to her with each hand. That gave me 4 hens per trip. I pulled them gently off of the roost and walked them over to the other coop. It has a light on a timer in it and it was still on so they could get themselves settled. Three trips and all that was left was two hens. 

They fussed a little that night until the light went off. The next day they were pretty much settled in. I did hear a few squabbles that day, but nothing major. The coop they are all in now is kind of crowded with 24 chickens in it, but they have a big covered run for daytime and the crowd keeps the coop warm at night. 

They haven’t been out to free-range yet since I have moved them, but I will probably let them out in the next day or so. They needed to get settled in the new house before I let them out so they won’t try to go back to the other house. A chicken is pretty stuck in its ways. 

Grandma’s Graham Cracker Date Loaf

½ pound graham crackers

¼ pound miniature marshmallows, or big marshmallows cut in small pieces

½ cup heavy cream, whipped

½ cup chopped, pitted dates

½ cup chopped walnuts

Crush crackers, reserving 2 crackers for later. Combine crackers, dates, marshmallows, walnuts and whipping cream. Form mixture into a roll, crush remaining crackers and press to the outside of the roll, wrap in plastic wrap and chill, overnight is best. Slice and serve. It is nice with a dollop of whipped cream on top.