A Sliver of Hope

A few weeks ago, the chickens started escaping from their little yard. Every day it was the same routine: the automatic coop door opened, chickens appeared by my front door by 6:30 a.m. Normally, I wouldn't mind looking outside and seeing a few hens peck around in the grass. I found it rather cute - until I went to collect eggs and found that instead of the usual ten eggs, only three sat nestled in the boxes. These hens were clearly not doing their job, which is to feed my family and lay enough extra eggs to sell and pay for their feed.

This morning, while the kids were still in bed, I pulled on my work jeans and boots and headed to the shop to grab the tools I knew I would need to fix this problem once and for all. Hammer and staples (not the kind for holding paper together) in hand, I made my way towards the coop.

"Here chickens!" I said to the hens who had freed themselves. I learned a while ago that rather than chasing them back into their coop, it was much easier to allow them to follow me. After all, they think I'm their mother. It all works quite well.

After putting the hens back into their own yard, I inspected every inch of fence to see where they had managed to escape. I found a few places where it appeared the hens were planning to dig their way under the fence, but none of the holes were deep enough yet.

With thoughts of naming this expedition "Alcatraz," I kept inspecting the coop grounds.

Here's what I found...

I believe it was the horse manure that lured this hen to the other side.

Yep, I caught her in the very act of escaping. The chickens had found the one place where I had failed to secure the fencing.  Eight minutes, four staples, and one very large sliver later, the fence was tight once again.

Removing the sliver from my finger felt like minor surgery, but if it means ten eggs will be waiting for me this afternoon, I'd say it was worth the pain.

That got me thinking...

What would lure ME to escape? Chocolate perhaps?  LOL

What would lure you over?

<3  Sharon