There’s still a lot of snow on the ground.

I’ve shoveled (and re-shoveled!) a space in the pen so that the old hens have a place to stand around outside. I’ve put down sand. I’ve given them logs to stand on. But, as you can tell by Betsy’s careful stepping, it’s still wet and not to their liking.

Buffy is feeling better, she’s eating and drinking and her manure is normal. But she no longer has strength in her legs to stand for more than a minute or two, and there’s no good warm dirt for her to sit in. Also, the snow has shrunk the usable square footage of the pen. In such tight quarters, the hens are sure to go after Buffy again.

But, Buffy doesn’t mind. She is in her cozy retreat home. She can see everyone. They can see her and be jealous of her food (even though they have the exact same pellets in their coop.)

During the middle of the day, Buffy sits on the hay and watches the goings-on in the yard. The rest of her day is spent in the nesting box, sometimes peering out, and sometimes ignoring everyone.

I wish it wasn’t like this. It’s more work for me than I’d like. The bedding requires daily cleaning and the water freezes solid at night. But, it will stay like this for awhile longer. Buffy is quite satisfied with the arrangement.

UPDATE: This contest is closed. Cheryl (with the two border collies) won.

I’ve been friends with Lauren Scheuer since before her book, Once Upon a Flock, was just a gleam in her eye. So, I was more than delighted when Lauren asked me to be on her blog tour to celebrate the book’s publication. There were so many things that we could talk about. Chickens! Writing!

Instead of those on-subject topics, my spot on the blog tour is about my goats. Because Lauren and I are friends. Because her wonderful book will sell itself. Because Lauren decided that my goats need enrichment. Her daughter had been learning about how elephants that lived in zoos were kept busy. Perhaps we could do something similar for the oh so rotund (so, obviously not active enough) goat boys? We scheduled a visit.

We also planned on sitting and chatting over coffee and something sweet. I baked gingerbread. I tried a new recipe. It was awful. The chickens are always delighted at my kitchen failures. So, they were very happy that Lauren was visiting. (There, I got the requisite chicken photo in.)

If you’re familiar with Lauren’s blog, Scratch and Peck, then you’ve played the game, “Find Marky.” Her dog has a way of blending intro the scenery. We played the game here. Find Marky! (And Lily, too!)

Lauren told me that elephants are given cardboard boxes filled with hay. Opening the boxes and then eating the hay keeps the elephants occupied.

She filled a goat-sized box with hay.

The goats were occupied with watching her.

She gave the box to the goats. It took only a few minutes for them to eat all of the hay.

Pip was occupied watching Lauren take photos.

Clearly, the boys needed something more than a cardboard box to keep them busy. Lauren had something else up her sleeve. It involved using power tools. Lauren loves working with power tools.

Caper does, too.

Lauren and I designed a treat dispenser for the goats, which she hung. It’s made from a couple of old dog toys that Lily doesn’t like.

Filled with carrots, the goats like it very much.

But, like the cardboard box, the treats didn’t last long.

Truly, the best part of the enrichment that Lauren brought was herself. The boys didn’t want her to leave. Come back, Lauren!

Lauren and I were tired from enriching the goats’ lives. We had coffee and some good cookies (from a box.)

Lily was tired, too. She’d had an enriching day with Marky.

So, now that you know nothing about Lauren’s book, it is time for a giveaway!

Leave a comment below, and I’ll select a winner using a random number generator. The contest closes on Friday, March 22 at 10 pm EDT. United States addresses only, please, as the book is being shipped by the publisher.

A book will be given away at each stop on the blog tour, so go to these URLs for more chances to win:
Tuesday, March 19: Melissa Caughey, Tilly’s Nest
Wednesday, March 20: Terry Golson, HenCam
Thursday, March 21st: Kathy Mormio, The Chicken Chick
Thursday, March 21st: Kylee Baumle, Our Little Acre
Friday, March 22nd: Tammy Barani, Our Neck of the Woods
Monday March 25th: Wendy Thomas, Lessons Learned from the Flock
Tuesday, March 26th: Lisa Steele, Fresh Eggs Daily
Wednesday, March 27th: Amy Stewart, Garden Rant

Often, when we think about wildlife, we imagine that they live in deep forests, and would rather not be near humans, but many  wild animals prefer manmade fields on the edges of woods. The meadow across the street from my home borders a 700 acre woods. It has a path through it that dog walkers use daily. Recently another type of canine has also been enjoying it. In fact, because of that combination of overgrown field, near to sheltering trees, these canines have decided to take up residence.

The path is an ideal place to survey its hunting grounds.

Lily is beside herself. She can see the fox from my office porch. She barks. She announces what an affront it is to have this fox in view, in her neighborhood.

The fox doesn’t care. And clearly, in his body language, lets Lily know.

Scooter hears Lily. He has no interest in tangling with a fox. But, it is an opportunity to claim Lily’s bed.

I’ve seen this fox’s mate. I believe that their den is under the tumbledown stone wall at the corner of this field. Poor Lily, when the kits come out to play, it’s going to make her bonkers. She would chase these animals down, but I won’t let her. One has mange. They both have teeth.

Meanwhile, the hens are being kept inside of their secure pens. I’m calling the fence company to install a perimeter wire fence around my property. It’s the price one pays when you have fox neighbors living side-by-side with hens and a little dog. The fence won’t guarantee that my animals will be 100% safe, but it will lessen the chance that they’ll be snatched while I’m watching over them.

It could be worse. At least the bear that lived here a few years ago hasn’t been back.

I did four Skype visits on World Read Aloud Day. Thanks to technology, children from California to Maine visited my hens and goats. Today I received a packet of thank-you notes.

Here I am, dressed in pink, with lovely long hair. Tillie has her own fancy top knot. What a wonderful image! But, even better than the drawing is the sentiment that the first grade artist, Grace, wrote: I Love Boock’s.

I love books, too, Grace.

Flock dynamics don’t change “just because.” Hens don’t suddenly become aggressive because “they’re mean.” When a stable and content flock attacks one chicken, that behavior is provoked by something. But, we humans don’t always know what that something is.

Two days ago, Edwina turned on Buffy. Siouxsie also decided that Buffy should be pounded on. They got Buffy’s comb (what little is left of it from other past aggressions.) Blood spurted. Buffy huddled under the ramp.

So, I set up the Rest & Relaxation Coop to the left of the old bunny hutch.

Because wire isn’t good for a chicken to stand on, I bedded it with hay. Buffy can sit there, with food and water within reach, and watch the other hens. She spent a few hours doing that today. Meanwhile, the other hens were certain that Buffy had something much more delicious than pellets in the feed cup. (She doesn’t.)

What’s perfect about this hutch is that there’s a cozy inside area. It has a wooden floor, so it’s bedded with pine shavings which are absorbent and easy to clean. Buffy has difficulty walking, but she moves between these two rooms seemingly with ease. She rather likes her peaceful, alone space, and was not pleased when I opened the door to take the photo.

If it was any other chicken, I’d say that she has only days to live. But it’s Buffy. She’s a tough old bird. We’ll see what a little R & R does for her. In the meanwhile, she’s out of view on the cams, but rest assured that she’s living in top-notch accomodations.