Today at the urban farm there were a few projects to be worked on: move the chicken coop, install the new automatic door on the chicken coop, and move the composters. R, Z and A got to work, while I played with Sidney…good division of labor from my point of view.
The new door for the coop, “Pullet Shut”…will open and close according to a timer, allowing the humans freedom from the chore of herding chickens morning and night. It turns out chickens go into the coop when it gets dark, so the coop door will close, then reopen for a minute or two to allow any slacker a chance to get in for the night.
Chickens do NOT like change…they hid by the garage waiting to see how things went…(this is Red, Toes and Kiwi…Red and Toes are Rhode Island Reds and Kiwi is a Brahma)
This is Pearl… an Australorp…
…and while all this was going on, Red was in the coop, so was the first one to try getting out the door…
It WORKS! and amid the chaos both Pearl and Red produced an egg…urban farm life is good.
On The Way 
wow. how fancy! we both lived on farms, in dave’s case as a homesteader in northern idaho and in mine, a cherry orchard & chicken farm on mt pisgah between monmouth and dallas. we didn’t have automatic chicken doors in our day. darn.
Bonnie, you definitely got the best assignment. By the way, Happy Happy Birthday to you! (pretend I’m singing to you on key)
Well, hope they adapt to it… Chickens have minds of their own.
Heck with all that art stuff. This was my favorite post ever, since I love chickens, or at least the idea of them, and I am pleased to be able to be a vicarious chicken farmer. I hope the chickens cooperate with the timer. Please keep us posted, as it were. I guess we didn’t get a picture of you at YOUR job because they were all too busy to pick up a camera or an iPad or anything. Darn.
Love to all, including Red, et al., E.