Raising Chickens, Week 8: Over My Head

I neglected to take photos immediately of the next move we made for the pullets, from the plywood brooder my husband John made, into the outdoor dog kennel, which we temporarily moved into our basement to give them more space until we could get their permanent housing arranged.  Ahem... that last part has yet to happen.  Largely because there's been a lot of rain this year... and partly perhaps because we really have no clue what we're doing.  This would probably be why people say to be sure you have everything arranged *before* you get the chicks in the first place.  But did we listen?  Nope.  And now?  There are mostly-grown chickens who still live in our basement.  They stink, and they shed feathers and fine white dust that get all over the basement.  Not exactly what I had in mind.  So, in the words of the famous Papa Bear from the Berenstain Bears, "Let that be a lesson to you..." :)

I do have some photos of the new arrangement that I took a little later, which I'll try to get up eventually, but during week 8, which wasn't long after they were moved (we were later than intended with that move too -- also not ideal), I went to check on them one evening, and discovered that one was missing.  I could hear her making sounds, but at first couldn't tell where they were coming from.  I couldn't see her anywhere else in the basement, either.  Finally, prompted by another sound, I looked up.  Straight above my head was this:

Yep. Sitting on the duct and wiring.

Zooming in for a closer look.  I had to get a chair and wrestle with her a bit to get her down -- she was a little nervous, but she was just fine. 

I haven't seen one up there since, though Bethany has, and some have gotten up on the garage door track in recent weeks, where they also get a little stranded at times.  Thankfully, other than that they do stay pretty confined to their area, unless someone leaves the door open...

Yes, they need to get out of the basement.  A few dry days in a row would be helpful.