Experiments with video

Today the rain missed us to the north, something of a change of pace from  all the times it has gone south of us. The effect, however, was the same.

I drove Mom and Dad to IKEA yesterday. I planned to get the cucumbers picked when we got home. I forget what traffic is like in the real worlds. We didn’t get back until 3:30. I’d had the zucchini and cucumbers on an every-other-day rotation, but I couldn’t bear the thought of putting on my gardening clothes and going out again. Thus, we had to pick both zucchini and cucumbers today. Already I am spending more time at the sink than in the garden. I don’t mind so much when it’s so darn hot out.

I was alarmed yesterday when I went into the coop to install the “air conditioner.” We’ve been putting ice frozen in gallon jugs into a covered storage bin with a little water at the bottom to create a cool microenvironment. On top of the storage bin was a small puddle of water that could have only come from the back end of a chicken. Did someone have a disease? If so, how on earth would we find out who? Was it the heat?

Thank goodness for backyardchickens.com! I put “watery poop” in the search box, and sure enough, I got several hits on the disease discussion board. Someone had posted my same questions using the same terminology, to which another more knowledgeable person replied, “It’s just the heat.” Well. That seems maladaptive, doesn’t it? Losing water when one ought to be conserving? But then, I get a little crampy on a hot day sometimes myself.

I made short videos of the morning ritual. The first clip is the charge out of the coop.

In the second, a chicken fight between Bridget (all white) and Julia (grey head) is visible on the right side of the screen.

While we were in the Farm and Fleet in Mandan, ND last week, I found some Happy Hen Treats, which are freeze dried meal worms. The label was careful to state that they were not for human consumption. In case they looked good to you. I bought them to help us train them to come when called.

The claim that the chickens would go crazy for them is true!  We had them eating out of our hands, which was a bad idea because both Hilda and I got painful nips. There was no long-term damage, but it wasn’t pleasant. The chickens do seem to have learned to recognize the container.

I mentioned before that we have electric netting powered by a solar unit around the chicken run. We tested it with a tester after we first got it installed, and it showed 3000 volts, just like it was supposed to. But was it really working? At the Grand Opening on Sunday, whether by accident or as a result of unrestrained curiosity, someone put a finger to the electric netting. Nothing happened. So we all had to try it. I could detect a very faint pulse. I thought I’d have to call the company to see if that was right.

On Monday, however, Terry told me, “If you grab it with your whole hand, you’ll wish you hadn’t.” He held his fist out horizontally to demonstrate. Then he added, “I tried it three times.”

I didn’t ask.