I am quite sure the Ameraucana hen was thinking she was done for. At the back of the nest baskets in this coop, there is a little door to stick my hand through from the outside to get the eggs. The door to this coop is very small and difficult for an adult to go through. Basically one has to bend in half like a pretzel and in insulated coveralls and big boots, it is seemingly not possible.
There was the last check to be done on the animals before going in from the chores.The sheep were fine, the goats were busy eating as they always are, unless they are sleeping. The chickens seemed to be OK too. I looked in the nest boxes for eggs, for they would be frozen for sure by morning. I almost missed the little hen. She was stuck behind the wire and behind the plywood, but on the inside of the two tarps. There were several options to retrieve her. One was to cut the wire, which would weaken the coop, even if it was well repaired. Another was to get to her from the ouside, but the tarps were frozen to the ground. Well, they were not entirely frozen and a person with a long arm might be able to reach her from the outside in the small opening that was still there.
I could not get at her. My son is 6'2" with very long arms. It was no trouble for him to open the tarp a little more and reach in to grap a leg, lifting her off the plywood so her wing would not be injured, and pull her out. Thank goodness. The little hen would have frozen in that position over night with our frigid temperatures. Tonight it is minus 21 with a wind chill. As long as the chickens are crowded together on the perches, they remain warm enough, but a single hen on her own in this position would have been chilled to the core and her feet would have frozen.
The hen in front of her is a Sumatra. She is wondering what the heck is going on and likely is glad it is not her stuck in that position. Thanks to my son for helping rescue the little Ameraucana. She was happy to be free and had a big drink of water and made quite a fuss to the other chickens, telling her tales. Poor girl.
There was the last check to be done on the animals before going in from the chores.The sheep were fine, the goats were busy eating as they always are, unless they are sleeping. The chickens seemed to be OK too. I looked in the nest boxes for eggs, for they would be frozen for sure by morning. I almost missed the little hen. She was stuck behind the wire and behind the plywood, but on the inside of the two tarps. There were several options to retrieve her. One was to cut the wire, which would weaken the coop, even if it was well repaired. Another was to get to her from the ouside, but the tarps were frozen to the ground. Well, they were not entirely frozen and a person with a long arm might be able to reach her from the outside in the small opening that was still there.
I could not get at her. My son is 6'2" with very long arms. It was no trouble for him to open the tarp a little more and reach in to grap a leg, lifting her off the plywood so her wing would not be injured, and pull her out. Thank goodness. The little hen would have frozen in that position over night with our frigid temperatures. Tonight it is minus 21 with a wind chill. As long as the chickens are crowded together on the perches, they remain warm enough, but a single hen on her own in this position would have been chilled to the core and her feet would have frozen.
The hen in front of her is a Sumatra. She is wondering what the heck is going on and likely is glad it is not her stuck in that position. Thanks to my son for helping rescue the little Ameraucana. She was happy to be free and had a big drink of water and made quite a fuss to the other chickens, telling her tales. Poor girl.
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