A new approach to 'deep-litter'.

 
Alex spent her first full day here today.
We started her off easy with some landscaping work.
She had the chance to visit the mill down the road,
and drive a truck.

There is a lot of sand and mud around the house and buildings.
Mostly in places that see too much traffic to grow in with plants.
The sand gets everywhere and harbours no-see-ums, which are a biting fly,
and fleas, which are a nuisance.

The big plan was was to pick up as much shavings from Paul's mill as we could,
and spread them all over the place.
And so Alex did a few runs with Auren and Fern in tow.
They did a great job.

Then later on, we got a surprise.
Paul's friend was moving logs with a dumptruck, and they decided to bring us a full load of shavings to save on our driving back and forth.
A dumptruck can carry quite a lot of shavings.
Much of the afternoon was spent spreading it out.
It looks great and should do well to keep the dust and mud at bay.
We also hope it cuts down on the pests.

The chickens approve of the new surroundings and proceeded to help spread the shavings out.
There are better products for this sort of job, but the shavings are a waste product and it makes sense to use them for landscaping.
We don't want mud and sand; nor do we want any grass to keep trimmed.
Eventually, the shavings will darken and blend into the ground.
But I did feel like a hamster when walking around the yard.