Funk

I spent over two hours doing a complete Spring cleaning of the chicken coop this weekend. We've just been adding fresh pine shavings over the winter without removing the old, dirty shavings; the shavings were at least 8" deep. The top layer was mostly poop. Under the poop, was a layer of funk. And, finally, the bottom layer was a layer of wet yuck that reeked of ammonia. GROSS! It's been shop-vacced, bleached, scrubbed and dried, and we're set for another 3-4 months.

So the chickens have not been very fun over the winter. Partly it's been cold so we couldn't be outside hanging out watching them. Instead, it's just been drudgery of going out in the dark, cold mornings to let them out and again in the dark, cold evenings to put them in. Hubby and I have decided that if we do not enjoy the chickens this summer, we will enjoy them on our dinner table before next winter.