The Bovine Bugle

The laying hens get a new summer house

Today I was working on the laying hen's summer house. I made a set of laying boxes that would attach on the inside of the uprights of the shelter so that we wouldn't have to take the layer boxes out every time we moved the shelter. We move the shelter every 2-3 days to a fresh spot in the pasture. This keeps the hens clean and gives them fresh grass to eat and fresh ground to scratch.

I was working on the lawn so I had a view of the meadow where Scooter and his herdmates were grazing. Scooter had been a little stand-offish since last Thursday's procedure and we hoped he wasn't having any ill effects. As I worked, I could see Scooter and his mom. At one point, Scooter started jumping around as if he was getting excited about something. Then I spotted one of the older Angus steers walking into the grazing strip where Scooter was standing. Scooter ran up to the older steer and started butting heads with him. They played and wrestled around for several minutes, all under the watchful eye of Scooter’s mom. It was interesting to witness the social dynamics of these animals. Because we always separate our animals, we rarely have several age groups of animals interacting together. I wonder if it makes the animals happier in a group with animals of all ages?

--Jonathan, Howmars Farm
Franklin, Vermont

Posted by Blogger Chris at June 25, 2004 09:43 AM