Bungee Cord

The bungee cord is a great invention and a useful tool on a farm. It should be noted however that they should be replaced every year. We have been using bungee cords on our gates since we moved here. It was easy to operate even one handed. This morning dh came home to find the gates open and the cows sitting by the chicken coop. In a way it was almost like daring him to try to stop them from escaping. When he got to the gate he found the bungee cord broken and on the ground. He locked them in with another and we left to make deliveries in town. Please pray that they love it and refer us to everyone they know ;)

Anyway, I got my tags done on the way home and given that it was the hottest part of the day we thought nothing of not seeing the cows immediately. That is until I suggested we go over there, that's when I saw it. The bungee cord was just hanging on the gate as if they had taken it off and left it there. They weren't by the chicken coop this time, they were split up, with Judd and Treva in the neighbor's corn behind us and Lot and Quinn across the street in the wheat field. NOT GOOD!!

I drove down the side street where they were and Quinn and Lot began to take off into the field, I was getting stressed. Dh got out and they turned back to the road. They walked for a bit and crossed the street once they saw Treva and Judd. Dh continued to follow them through the neighbours corn and as he'd get a couple moving along, 1 would fall back and stop. He'd go and get that one and it would start all over again. I am thankful that he stayed calm the whole time. In fact he dropped Treva and Judd off by the barn as the boys ran off toward the east pasture. I walked Treva and Judd into the third corral. Not five minutes later dh was bringing the boys back in. Treva and Judd walked out of the third corral and I walked the boys into it and locked them in.

Treva and Judd are now happily in the barn and promise not to cause any further problems. :) Quinn has already made his way to Buttercup via the small opening between Corral 2 and 3, much to the dismay of Lot who is 2 inches taller and many more inches wider, lol. I have talk to them both and explained that they will meet the butcher sooner rather than later if they break my fence or gates. I'll let you know if they listened.

The chickens are laying rather slowly right now :( I am a bit discouraged. I know that the heat is a factor and I received a lovely tip via email from someone in Wichita:

I was just reading your blog and I thought I would let you know what I do to combat heat stress in my flock. I always give them watermelon as a snack because chilled it helps cool them down and contains a lot of water. I also freeze gallon milk containers as well as juice and 2 liter pop bottles, it doesn't do much for the air temp unless it is in the hen house but they will gather around them to cool off. This seems to help.

I am thankful for any tips on keeping my girls cool so that they can lay well again :) Feel free to send me tips on anything you can think of, I enjoy learning from other. :) I will also post tips for everyone in a series of posts.


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