Sun and Shade

Chickens need lots of daylight and sunshine to grow good eggs.  What they don't need is to be beat down by the hot sun and high temperatures that we are having right now.  Chickens have a hard time keeping cool with their layers of feathers.  Did you know that chickens pant like dogs when they are hot?  It's true.  I did not know that until last week!  To give the birds a break from the sun, we hung tarps on the East and West sides of the chicken run.  They don't look pretty, but they do the trick! 

The person you see standing there had the great idea to cut out little windows for light and ventilation!

Fitz, Bill, Lou, and Bruiser are fun to watch!

That's the other side of the coop next to our raised garden beds.  Can you see the big letter N on the side of the coop?  That's the door we open to collect eggs from the nesting boxes. 

And there's Bill in one of the nesting boxes.