Spring cleaning, barnyard style

The experimental strawbale chicken house does an outstanding job of providing a cozy home for the flock - they came through the winter in full production with only a heat lamp during the coldest most bitter weeks in February. The heated water helped, of course, but all-in-all we couldn't ask more of the 600-pound bales of straw that formed the walls.
During the winter, we used what is termed the deep bedding method - just keep adding more shavings on top as the bedding becomes soiled. Chickens put out a lot of high nitrogen fertilizer, and as the moist bedding composts in place it produces heat that also helps keep the flock warm, even with 3 feet of snow piled up outside.
Of course you can't continue that method indefinately. Thus, spring cleaning. Which usually coincides with garden prep.
Flock-keeper Collin called on his brothers for help. That's a mighty big job for one person.
With narrow doors, the trusty wagon was also enlisted. Plus a few buckets.

" Hey! Girls! Come looka what dey did to our digs! Girls? Girls? Are you listen'?...HEY! Whoose da man around dis here joint! Girls???"

"Yah, dat's more like it. Clean 'n fresh. Huh, girls. Girls? Girls! Dat's right, look up to da man!"

"Look, look what I found!" "No, over here!" "Look at this, look at this - " "Mmmfff, peck, mfff - hey, I think they changed this feed to MASH." "Whaddaya mean, MASH? Where's my scratch? Where's my Layer Crumbles? " "If they think I'm gonna lay eggs eating THIS stuff, they gotta another think comin'!" " But - but - it's so nice and CLEAN. They worked so HARD. We musn't be ungrateful..." "Speak for yourself, Baldette, you always WERE Collin's favorite, climbing in his lap like a hussy - uh - hen. Well, you know what I mean!"

"Well, would ja jus' looka this! The nest boxes are all spiffy, too ! I'll just give them a good inspection, you can't be too careful with these humans - they jus' don' think like a good hen, never can tell what they might slip in there... I hear some of 'em even try to fool us into layin' more by puttin' GOLF BALLS in the nest, for cryin' out loud. Like we couldn't tell the difference, like we're dumb clucks or somethin', like our eyes are bigger than our brains or somethin' - oh - wait - they ARE. Well, I'm checkin' this out, anyway."

It worked.

PRODUCTION NOTICE: No chickens were harmed or intimidated during the shooting of this footage; no golf balls were used for increased production. All photos are natural and untouched or otherwise manipulated. The male chicken survived to crow another day.

(Chickens will lay multiple eggs in a single nest - one chicken at a time, of course. Unless they are bantys - but that's another story.)