The weather [weather.com] is forecasting warmer temperatures for the next few nights than they were last week. That means that we won’t be below freezing at all, if it turns out that way. That’s good news for hens and plants.
The Weeping Willow tree is putting out it’s greenery, and a few other trees are also starting to leaf out, minimal at the moment, the W.Willow is the furthest along. The flowering trees are close to doing their Spring Thing.
I was outside for awhile late this morning. I did some more with the hen-pen, it’s getting close to being done. The openable top is not functional yet, we need some hinges and to figure out a light frame to use for the lid. Then the boxes for laying still need constructed. And a more permanent roosting rail. Right now we have a 2×4 hiked up on a plastic box on one end, and a pile of fire wood on the other end. It’s functional for now. Just needs re-arranged when we move the pen each time.
I’ll rig up a watering dish to hang on the side of the pen, and a feed dish eventually that does something similar. The thing about it is, all you need to get started is something with sides and a top, and open to fresh grass on the bottom, and dishes for water and feed, and something for the hens to roost on, and if they are laying, or when they start laying, you’ll need a dark box for them to do their thing in. We’ve read different things for sizing the box to so many hens, and we’ll start out with two of a certain size and see what happens. Our hens are 20 to 21 weeks old now. White Leghorns, so they are due any time. With warmer temperatures now, that’ll help them get going. We keep the backyard light on from sundown to when we go to bed, to give them more light. One thing we read says they need 14 hours of light a day for good laying to happen. So, if that’s so, a porch light on, or a light near them, is not a problem.