Honest to god, I've been dead excited about this garden project. For some reason, the thought of chickens having a tunnel to cross one part of the yard to another was super exciting for me.
Poor Jamie though - the amount of times that he's had to build me a coop for the chooks. He tends to (jokingly) call them 'your fkn chooks' although he appreciates scrambled eggs and my love for me. Me, I can't imagine a yard without them. They keep bugs in check, eat kitchen waste, and provide fertiliser, plus, it stops me buying eggs from miserable chickens at the super market.
This image might explain the where a little better - the white arrow is the tunnel, and the yellow arrow is the main coop. The tunnel transports them to the area behind the shed, when we open it. There's sun there in the afternoon they love to bath in, and it gives them something to do without destroying the main garden.
The tunnel also uses up some dead space behind some trees, without taking up too much room. Whilst we've seen some made of looped over chicken wire, we decided to make it out of stronger reinforcing mesh used for concreting. It rusts, so it looks nice rather than shiny galvanised mesh, and you can't even really notice it in the garden.
Of course the little pullets walked straight through it, so we put a row of mesh we had for the guttering which didn't work. We'll take that off once they fatten up. We think one is a rooster actually so we may need to swap him - he's been croaking in the morning, dammit. The two - which we call the twins - are still small and look identical, so I'm struggling to figure out which one will go in the pie.
They do seem rather happy, by their a'clucking. Once you've had chooks, you start to learn their sounds - the 'get off my nest, it's my spot' sound, the 'there's a magpie bothering me' sound, the 'I'm very happy here' sound.
It's not me imagining things. Check out this via Chatty:
Cluck β General communication; contentment.
Purr/Trill β Happy, relaxed, often from mother hens.
Alarm call (aerial) β Warning about hawks or predators in the sky.
Alarm call (ground) β Warning about ground predators.
Food call (βtuk-tuk-tukβ) β βI found food!β
Egg song β Loud cackling after laying an egg.
Distress call β When frightened or separated.
Rooster crow β Territory marking and announcing presence.
Submission call β Used in social hierarchy situations.
Broody growl β When a hen is protecting eggs.
If you're attentive enough to animals you find their intelligence is far more sophisticated than the 'dumb chicken' stereotype we assign them. The above is just a guide - there's different clucks for different ground predators, or aerial predators, annoyance, calming chicks, and so on.
I bet theres a noise for 'we love this chicken tunnel'.
With Love,
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For sure, so much of work done to make them happy....
I hope they appreciate it! Haha it's worth it for happy hens.
Interesting idea with the chicken tunnel. I think they benefit from being able to walk back and forth between parts of the yard.
I used to think chickens were dumb and crows were smart. But I haven't observed chickens for long, only as a child at my grandmother's.
Crows are definitely smarter!
Chooks are curious creatures and they do get bored if they are locked up in a small space. Ice put some ladders at various angles with containers of treats to climb up and the tunnel and second yard keeps them busy too. In the late arvo they love being in the sun behind the shed. I do sometimes let them out in the big garden but not for long or they destroy everything. The tunnel was a great solution. I joked with Jamie we will build a monorail next a md a shed roof garden.
He didn't find it funny.
Here, I'd have to use hardware cloth if I made one. Otherwise the hawks and raccoons would have a feast...
We have a shade cloth (same thing?) over the big chook coop. But the secondary one, I think it's all good. The neighbours chooks don't have anything and they're fine..
Those are some chunky chickens :-) They are eating well for sure. My wife's friend raises chickens and sells their eggs. They converted an old worn out tow camper into a coup. Then made them a run outside of it. However, during the day they let them free range in their yard. Just love fresh eggs better than the store bought ones.
Fresh eggs are so much better,plus they come from happy hens so it feels better too. That's cool they make a bit on the side. We used to sell eggs at our work but we have a third less chooks now so just supply family when we have excess.
They almost have too many and feel overwhelmed at times. But they love their chickens and even named them all. I am more a person who would prefer to see them on my BBQ :-)
I always wanted to own chickens. I don't have the yard for it though.
I would end up getting attached to them and wouldn't be able to kill them for meat. But having endless eggs would be amazing!
That's quite the set up in the back yard. Looks great!
Thanks! Yeah I haven't been able to kill one for meat yet. My neighbour has. His wife is French and they said next time they'll invite us for coq a vin. It's great having fresh eggs when everyone else is paying $10 a dozen!
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STOPThis looks like a great chicken tunnel - chunnel! Im sure this will keep them safe
Ha, I think we will call it a chunnel now!
I remember my father in law and I preparing dinner one night. Spesh, the mother on laws pet chook was wandering around doing the tuktuktuk. We distinctly heard her say "fukfukfuk" the moment we turned on the oven.
One guess what we were eating that night. It wasn't Spesh. She's still alive and well.
Ha, my Nana had a Chook called Billy, the result of us bringing a chick home from school. It used to sleep on the couch at night though I think she rigged that to entertain us kids. When she plucked it over a bucket with a kettle of hot water we were horrified. How could you do that to Billy? It's not Billy, it's not Billy she replied. Strong German farm woman she was.
Your chicken tunnel project so amazing! Smart, functional and give the chicken fun space while protecting your garden.
Wow, what a great project! Itβs more than just the tunnel, itβs the whole placeβ¦ I like that youβve even got chairs for sitting and thinking. Haha.
Chickens and hens are not at all dumb. Iβve had them in my garden and they were my pets. I had a hen that would run towards me when she saw me; I would pick her up and she would fall asleep, letting her neck rest on my shoulder or in my armsβ¦ I only kept them to collect their eggs.
I love a chicken snuggle! π₯°
The garden is a work in progress! We do love it creating it. The chooks are a big part of it. Thanks for this week's interactions @nanixxx - you've gained a follower!
Yeahβ¦ hahaβ¦ another positive thing I owe to the hens. Thanks, @riverflows. π
Oye en encantΓ³ esta idea π‘, estΓ‘ sΓΊper genial la iniciativa, asΓ tus gallinas estΓ‘n felices y ustedes no tienen que estar velando por que hagan estragos en el jardΓn π
They can really ruin a garden fast! Someone said once that the most patient persons peace is ruined when a chicken gets into their vegetable garden ahah. That's me. π‘
This is such an interesting idea! My hubby has been planning something similar for our future chickens. I guess I was worried that they would need guidance to get from one end of the tunnel to the other, but maybe that is me falling into the 'dumb chicken' stereotype :) You have proven to me that this can work and can be a great way to get the chickens from the back yard to the front without them having free reign in the gardens around the house.
Oh mate they learn in two seconds flat, and if they don't, they'll learn the first time you tempt them with food - watch them run-waddle down the tunnel then! It's a fab solution - I love it so much!
What a great idea, the chickens will surely love it... I can hardly wait to have some myself. !PIZZA
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Hello @riverflows.
That tunnel is great for the chickens to walk from one place to another. You always have to make adjustments to improve it.
I like chickens and would like to have a yard where they can be comfortable. As a child, I took care of some chickens that my dad bought, but I cried a lot when they were killed for food. Of course, I refused to eat them.
That guide to understanding their different sounds is great. I think all animals are intelligent because they adapt to their environment in order to survive.
If you like English literature, your mind will be blowed by this: [Literature] Charles Dickens: The Pickwick Papers - The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick 6/426
Wtf
Oh, my goodness, what a great run for the chickens to move around. Poor Jamie, lol. You keep him pretty busy.
Hey, I gave him the day off the other day!