Chicken, Goat Field Trips and an Animal Magnet

I got motivated a last week to create an enclosure so that I could take the chickens out to forage for grass and bugs, a place for our guinea pigs to get out and enjoy some grass and fresh air, and possibly the goats, sheep and llamas, too.

Ranchman John wants to totally mow over my little, grassy, weed covered side yard, but I love to bring Baby Doll there to munch the tender grasses and flowers as a treat, as well as the other critters.
Up here in the dry, southwestern mountains, real grass is a luxury so I want to keep it a bit wild and unkempt, even though Ranchman John wants a more manicured look. It's a never ending 'battle'. I did compromise a little, though, and gave him permission to snip the tall weeds as long as he left the shorter stuff.
But for now the critters are having a ball in their field trip 'yard'. I have to sit out there with them because of the threat of flying predators and stray dogs, but it's one of my favorite things to do anyway.
Looks like Rita the Rhode Island Red is checking out Betty, "Is my eyeliner smudged?"
Here's Rita again along with with one of our Speckled Sussex, 'Spotty Dotty'.
Not all of our chickens got the class pass to 'fly the coop'. The Brown Leghorns, and oftentimes, the Silver-Laced Wyandottes are just not willing to be picked up. And the Silkies and Polish are still too small and quick for me to let loose in the 'low-security' prison. Only those girls who are calm and easy to pick up are invited to a field trip. I always end up with the Barred Rocks, Rhode Island Reds, Speckled Sussex, and my Ameracauna girl, Annie. Today I also had one of the Silver Laced Wyandottes who wanted to attend the field trip,too.
This is very sweet Barred Rock Betty.
Because my kids and I hand-fed our chickens as chicks and handled them every day, our girls are as tame as puppies. They all adore Jenna. She is a serious Animal Magnet.All animals gather around her and are calm when she's around.
Jenna was plucking grass for the chickens and hand-feeding it to them.
These girls were all very polite and gentle and took their turns, too.
Jenna adores the barn cats, Jones and Mac. And they are like putty in her hands.
Even our newest Nigerian Dwarf goat, Mud Pie (Moon Pie's brother) is drawn up close to Jenna. He's much gentler with her and tends to be nippy with me. He nips me until I agree to allow him to sit in my lap. Silly goat.
I brought down both Nigerians thinking they'd enjoy the grass and weeds, but all they really wanted was to go back up to the barn with their goat, sheep and llama herd. And Mud Pie is a pest. If I turn my back he's always into something, climbing, chewing, or exploring. I was glad to take them back up to the barn so I could relax with the chickens again!
The chickens were curious about the goats, but noone was really fazed about each other sharing the yard. Moon Pie is battling a weight problem. He loves to eat. And even though all he is eating is grass hay, with his small stature, he can sure pack on the bulk. He's cute though, eh?
This is Beaulah. She is the chicken who we almost had to cull because, when she was about 12 weeks old, she went lame for several weeks and we had to hand feed her and clean her several times a day while she lived in the house in a wire cage.
Right before it was time to move all the chickens into their newly completed chicken house, she finally stood up and started walking.
Strangely enough, over the past couple months, she has developed a bump on her beak. It's still pretty small and doesn't affect her eating or moving her beak at all. It's weird looking as you can see from the photo, though (click on photo for larger view) I wonder if it's related to her early ilness or is just one of the weird things that happens.