Sleeping Arrangements

It's possible we may be spoiling our animals.  

For instance, the chickens have not been laying any eggs for two months now.  Of course two-thirds of them are our new chicks and they have been too young to lay eggs.   Still they look full grown.  And I have no idea why the other four hens quit other than they were molting for awhile.  So maybe they were too busy growing new feathers to lay eggs.  

These chickens have a pretty good life.  They have a great coop.  Mike built it.  They have a chicken play structure that my son-in-law Heath built them a few winters ago.  They have an electric door opener so they can be outside very early in the morning (while Mike and I are still sleeping) but also safely inside at night (and no one ever forgets to close the door).  They are fed treats everyday despite me telling him Mike not to do that so much.  What more could we do for them?

I did some research online and found a chicken heater on sale.  Maybe our chickens would benefit from one.  It is called a cozy coop heater and it is a safe low wattage alternative to heat lamps that have been known to cause fires.  It mounts to the wall.  Its does not heat the whole coop but just provides some low temperature warmth near the heat source.  When Mike put it up near their roosts, I thought it looked like our chickens could now watch television in the coop.  

We have proof that they like it.  First, Mike snuck out there last night when the temperatures were below freezing to see if they were appreciating the heat source.  He reported that they were.  As many chickens as could be were huddled on the roost above the heater.  We figure that the heat was rising and this is how they could get the most benefit.  

And, more to the point, we are finally getting some eggs!  

So now that the chickens appear to be living in comfort and giving us eggs.  We are turning our attention to the outdoor cat.  Given her choice, she would like to move into our house now that it is winter.  Given my choice, that is not an acceptable option.  So we have been trying to make her outdoor living arrangements more attractive.  

First, we put a litter box in the shed apartment and let her check it out.  She was only happy in there if Mike and the dogs stayed with her.  Otherwise, she threw a hissy fit, literally.  

Then we bought her a second heated kitty house.  The first one is outside against the wall of Morton Building #1 on the concrete sidewalk.  It is a favorite spot of hers to hang out.  However, it obviously was not where she wanted to be in the winter.  So we bought another one and put it on Mike's workbench inside the building.  

To entice her to use this new home, Mike put treats in the kitty house.  They remained uneaten.  Obviously, she was not choosing this very warm option.  However, at least we did something right.  When Mike placed this new house on the workbench, he threw the kitty bed and blanket that was already there off to the corner of his bench.  Apparently, that is where she is now sleeping- on the kitty bed on top of the blanket.  Whatever works!

At this point,  all I can say is that I am ready for warmer weather and more contented animals.