Military farming?

We had a small problem. Having butchered the older chickens, we found that the young flock would not enter the chicken coop at night to roost, because the old flock used to beat them up. We needed the young chicks in the coop and locked up. Monday evening, I developed a detailed plan, then called my strike team together for a pre-op briefing.

Based on good intel concerning where the turkeys and chickens roosted in the dairy shed at night, I created a tactically sound plan to solve the problem. Once everyone knew the who, what, when, and how of the plan, we grabbed our flashlights and proceeded to our assigned positions.

First, the 2 large turkeys who like to roost on the gate (on the left) had to be gently herded out of the shed without spooking the chicks (some of whom did jump off their perches). Then Danny and I blocked the shed entrance with a large tarp. K8 opened the coop door while K7 moved through the gate to sweep the young chickens toward K8. K8 started picking up birds and carrying them into the coop, putting them in nesting boxes or on the roosting bars, or just chased them into the coop. Mom brought the camera along to record the action, and was the coop door keeper, opening and closing as needed to assist K8.

In less than 5 minutes, all 12 young chickens were in their new home with food and water, and the door closed. Mission accomplished!

We'll leave them in here for a week, so they get used to the idea that this is home, where they lay eggs in the day and sleep on the roosting bars at night.