Day 2 of Chicken Pen Build (in the barn)

 Today was day 2 of the chicken pen build.   The bottom row of hardware cloth is now done from the inside of the pen.  It still needs to be stapled into place on the backside, then boards screwed in place on the back side.  I was prepared to work another hour, but the batteries on both drills were dead, so I called it a night.

We got 2 more eggs today-so 2 more hens are now laying.  Todays eggs were white, so it  would be my leghorns that laid them.  The color of a chickens eggs are determined by their breed.  Leghorn chickens originally came from Tuscany Italy. They came to North American by ship in 1828 and were first called "Italians".   Later, their name was changed to Leghorn.  This group of hens are 5 months old. 

The bottom row of hardware cloth is now all around the pens.  I have been working on this in the evening, and by doing that I have the lights on in the barn, which gives the hens a couple extra hours of light to help with egg laying.  During the late fall and winter months, when daylight hours are shorter, hens tend to stop laying due to lack of light.  They require 12-14 hours of light a day to lay. 

The dog is sitting where the gate will eventually go.

Our lab keeps a watchful eye on the hens.