November 18, 2012: The Girls Survive 2 NIghts Alone

Actually they did better than survive, they thrived, and Barbara gave us two eggs. 

You see this was the first time we had left the girls in the coop, with the attached outdoor covered chicken patio Cal made, for more than one night, and there was a big storm expected. 

I am learning that chickens are hardy creatures, and already know how to weather a storm as long as they have a warm dry nesting area.  However, being the anxious, fairly new chicken wrangler that I am, I devised a nifty tarp cover for the entire coop and enclosed chicken patio. 

Under the plastic tarp were our 2 chaise lounge pads covering the roof, especially the nest area, a towel over the actual outside of the nest boxes which protrude from the end of the coop, to doubly ensure warmth and a towel over the window and door into the actual nest area which I feared might leak.  I used big rocks and other stone garden art to hold down the tarp in case of strong winds.

To make it even more ugly, I added huge gray plastic bags on top of the patio and hanging down the sides in case the rain came in sideways.  Turns out it did and the plastic bags were worthless, but the interior of the coop stayed dry.

It was not the way I imagined my darling coop to be, all charming and bucolic.  It looked more like Ma and Pa Kettle had moved in to our yard and were crouching under a tarp/towel/ plastic bag tent.

New plan:  Move coop under the patio when we go away for a day or two and rain is expected.  Face the coop door towards our house so the back of the coop takes the brunt of the rain.  It is almost all solid wood, and what is chicken wire can be covered with a piece of plywood sheet we have handy.

Still will need the chaise lounge pads, and the chickens will have a limited view of the sliding glass door into the dining room,.  But  I should not have to hang plastic bags or towels.  I'm thinking the big blue plastic tarp could go up to the cabin to cover the firewood.  Dang it's ugly.

Then we could by a smaller, more attractive water-proof tarp, camouflage patterned?  No.  Pink?  No
Something more charming.  I'll have to look at the local  feed and farm store.

P.S.  No eggs from Mabel yet.