Phoebe says that the nesting boxes are also climbing structures.
Getting in is a fun hop, but getting down takes some gymnastic skill.
It’s a good thing that refreshments are provided at this playground.
Monthly Archives: June 2013
Camping With Your Hen
Are you going camping this summer? Bring your dog. And your chicken!
Robin Babies, Day 5
What an astounding transformation in just a day! The robins are no longer naked babies, nor are they small. They fill the nest, the down has changed color to grey and there are pinfeathers coming in on their wings.
While the parents were off finding food, I was able to take this photo.
One look at these animals leaves no doubt that not all dinosaurs died out. Some evolved into birds.
Phoebe’s House
Phoebe is making full use of all of her housing options. She stays safely closed up in her hutch at night, and then first thing in the morning, runs down her ramp to join the hens. During the course of the day, Phoebe spends time inside the coop, in the compost pile, stretched out on the dirt, and uses her chosen bathroom spot in the corner (given the option, rabbits are very tidy about their business.) Lately, she’s been digging a hole, seemingly just for fun and to keep her toenails worn down. (The hole is not near the fence, so no chance for escape, but we’re keeping an eye on it!)
She also goes in and out of her hutch, where there is hay on the floor, both for eating, and because it’s not good for a bunny’s feet to be on wire. Phoebe also has a cozy box to sleep in. But, on nice days, she uses it as a sleeping porch.
You never know where you’re going to find her. (She does nibble on the chicken food, but the bulk of her diet is good hay, rabbit pellets and greens from the garden.)
Robin Chicks, Day 4
Baby robins are such odd little creatures! Here they are on the fourth day after the first one hatched. They are still mostly bald, with large, out-or-proportion heads that they can barely lift, but look at how they’ve grown to fill up the nest.
American Robins, day four
Here is a view of where the nest is hidden in my window box. You can see why the robins thought that it would be a good place. The roof gives it some shelter from the elements, and the nest is inaccessible to predators.
They rightly determined that Lily was not a threat. Lily spends much of her day up there, but she ignores the robin parents that fly back and forth with insects, and they ignore her. The robins, however, don’t ignore me. If I go out there I am glared at, and then the parents fly off, and so I have ceded the space to the birds and the dog.
