Cavern Tunnels

Ohio History

Colorful Overhead Rock

As we opened the door and entered the rocky tunnel, the view changed dramatically. At first it seemed very dark, damp, and closed-in. Mounted lights shone from crannies in the solid rock walls, creating multiple shadows which blended into the deep darkness of tunnels leading every way off our path. However, as we became accustomed to being underground, we began to marvel at the rich colors of rock above our heads. The photo above is one such view. The camera flash brings out even richer colors than did the cavern lights.

A Tight Squeeze

The tunnels soon became even more challenging. This one was only about a foot wide at the center! Several others were so low we had to duck down as we passed through. It was amazing to feel so closed in underground and yet be part of such a large network of winding tunnels.

Ohio Caverns

Ohio History

Hidden Beauty

Ohio does not boast many amazing natural wonders: no powerful waterfalls, colorful canyons, snowcapped mountains, or scenery. However, there's more under the surface than meets the eye. In the photo above, what appears to be all-too-common sedimentary rock layers conceals one of the most intricate and unique natural features in Ohio. Behind and below that rocky wall, several miles of winding tunnels create elaborate underground caverns. Besides colorful rock formations, these caves are home to hundreds of snow-white crystal columns, ranging from 2" to 4' in length.

So let's head for that tunnel door and explore the Ohio Caverns!

Acorn's Escape

Backyard Poultry

Escape from the Coop

Destroying the grass isn't the only problem we had with our new pen. All those runs were made with wooden frames at the top. And to a chicken, a horizontal piece of wood equals a perch. Chickens have wings, after all, and they can easily fly five to six feet high if they have somewhere to land. So, essentially, we had fenced in our flock with a ring of perches. However, interestingly enough, six of the chickens did not even catch on to this idea at first. Only Acorn, the little adventurous acrobat, decided to try out the new perches. Did you spot Acorn in the photo above?

Acorn the Acrobat

Once up on the frame, a bird could easily tightrope it all the way around the run, and jump off the other side to . . . freedom! In fact, Acorn seemed to take great enjoyment simply in pacing the various bars on the tops of the runs, as though keeping watch on the rest of our flock. But soon enough it got down on the other side, off to make mischief elsewhere in our garden or flower beds. Still have a ways to go with this idea . . .

Chicken Courtyard

Backyard Poultry

The New Pen

Here's a view down into the open pen created by the runs. As you may have noticed, it's scattered generously with carrot and celery scraps from our kitchen. The chickens don't know what feast they have! Actually, that's true in more than one respect, since all that grass will not be there for long. It's very difficult to keep vegetation of any kind in a chicken pen because of their constant scratching and pecking. So we will see how long it takes seven chickens to demolish thick, healthy grass. Did you spot Peeper going for those dandelions?

New Chicken Pen

Backyard Poultry

Rearranging Runs

 Having failed at our wonderful plan to let all seven chickens run free on leashes, we turned to making a larger stationary pen for them. This way, the hens would have more room to run about all day, and we wouldn't have to drag a chicken run out to pasture and back at nightfall. It was quite simple: use all the runs as perimeter fencing and create an open courtyard in the middle. The poultry seemed to enjoying running in and out of all the chicken run doors!

Chicken Leash

Backyard Poultry

Chicken on a Leash

Dragging those chicken runs around was not getting to be any more fun the longer it went on. Neither was the size of the runs getting any larger. In fact, we were beginning to wish the chickens could have more space in which to run while we could do less work. Dogs and cats use leashes; horses and goats have tether ropes; even cows and sheep can be tied. What about chickens? So my sister and I proceeded to cut long, thin lengths from sheets ("leashes") and attach them to the handy chicken saddles the hens already wore. What could work better?

Leash Pinned to Chicken Saddle

Well...not so fast! Birds, it seems, are not nearly as accustomed to being restrained from behind as other animals. The poor test chicken (Pepper) proceeded to flap, struggle, run wildly about the yard, and nearly tear off its saddle! It certainly was not facilitating any grazing. Exercise, yes, but only in equal proportion to the person on the other end of the leash! So much for that idea... 

Spring At Last

Backyard Poultry

The Other Side of the Fence

Ever seen one chicken on both sides of a wire fence? No, I did not cut a larger hole in the wire, or touch any of the chickens. And yes, despite all that wonderful grass I described in my last post, the spoiled hens soon grew bored and began to look for snacks elsewhere. Peeper had a competitive advantage from the start since it had a naturally very small comb. This allowed easy passage through holes in the wire which would otherwise cut or trap a regular hen's taller comb. Dandelions seemed to be the first choice food once Peeper successfully had its head and neck outside to freedom. And I never even knew chickens like dandelions!

Enjoying the Sunshine

Acorn seems much happier outdoors than stuck in the coop. Or is that a bit of a mischievous look yet I see in those eyes?

Spring Grass

Backyard Poultry

Back to Grass at Last!

However, nothing can match the rich green grass of spring. Do you think the chickens were happier in their spacious house with specially-bought and prepared collard greens or out here in the elements eating self-producing weeds? Well, I'm not the one who asked for winter! Anyway, you can see that our hodge-podge collection of runs survived the winter and were ready to put to use on the field again. We discovered one time-saving change to make at this point: we used only one of the runs to take the hens back to their coop at night rather than dragging all three back every day . . . hummm, why did that take so long to figure out?