Trials and tribulations

We are winning the war on starlings in our chicken coop! We think. . . we're not sure how they are getting in, we re-fabricated screens, window coverings, doors, latches, vents and anything else we could possibly improve on. We scraped and bleached every surface and re-bedded the coop for the 4th time in a few weeks. Our neighbors had tried an anti-bird sonar device for their barn with limited success, so after ditching the threatening plastic hawk (the buggers perched on it) we tried an old internet method we ran across.

CD's and reflective objects apparently disorient and terrify birds, so 48 hours in to our experiment, so far so good! My next idea was sticky traps, Rog rolled his eyes. Again with the ornithophobia.

Its a milkroom! Complete with walls, lighting, a sink, heating, cooling and hopefully far fewer flies than we are generally blessed with. As you recall from last years Christmas wish list it was a far-fetched 'want' of mine. Rog and his dad decided to move forward of their own accord with little pressure from me - I swear!  I'm doing my part as supervisor and lunch / snack provider. 

The pigeons laid two more eggs shortly after their first chick died. They should hatch any day now. 

My reaction to the new clutch of eggs. . . 

In other news, sweet little Hemi didn't make it... :-(   We think he contracted a virus, possibly from one of the local strays that coincidentally occurred at the same time he developed a nasty infection in his leg, likely from a fight. Poor little guy had quite a lot of sickness in his short life.

Hemi as a kitten making himself right at home.

Up next - last minute birth preparations. We've been building walls, scrambling to make order of the new milkroom (yay!) in order to erect the pens in time for the first babies to arrive. Time to wait out this second blast of cold weather and out soon to buy some thick wool socks and a heated blanket in case it sticks around until the first.