Moving the Chickens

The chickens spent the winter in a coop by the barn to keep them warm when the ground was frozen, and dry in the muddy spring. Now that the weather has warmed up and the grass and bugs are abundant they have been put back to work in the garden.

They are now back out in their mobile pasture shelter. I originally had great plans to tow the whole thing all the way from the coop up to the back (very slowly, with chickens inside). In the end, we had the fortune of friends lending extra hands so we just carried them all. 

I took the troublemaker (barred rock rooster on the left) on the first trip to make things a bit easier.

The helpers / audience check out the winter housing.

Not big enough to carry one, but still part of the team.

The mobile shelter is on grass now, preparing ground for a potential garden expansion. The chickens are obviously happier with the grass and bugs, although it's a bit dirtier without dry straw keeping everything clean. They will be on the grass about one more month and then I will move them to start cleaning up garden beds for me. If all the timing works out, they will in turn clean up and fertilize the alliums (garlic and onions), potatoes, and squash once those areas are harvested.