chicken tractor wheels and morning chores

yesterday staal put wheels on the chicken tractor (mobile, bottomless chicken coop)---it's much easier for one person to move now.  he tried bicycle wheels at first but they didn't work so he ended up putting on some small wheels which work quite well and give the tractor just enough ground clearance to move easily but still keep the frame low enough that the chickens can't get under and out while the tractor is being moved.  he set the wheels on levers---push the levers down, insert the pins, and the wheels engage and the lift the frame off the ground making it ready to move.  once it's moved to the new location, pull the pins and the frame lowers back to the ground, keeping the chickens safely contained---it's pretty slick...

the bicycle wheels looked pretty cool but the long shafts they needed for attachment had too much wobble and weren't quite strong enough to handle the load.  so staal switched them for some small wheels that could be attached much closer and tighter...

so this morning i went out to move the chicken tractor, feed the chickens, and remove a couple of the fiberglass panels that i'd put on the chicken tractor for winter insulation.  got one panel unscrewed and looked up as zane was taking off towards a strange dog that had wandered over.  i went over to them and tried to keep zane calm enough not to start a fight---he did just fine.  i put zane in the greenhouse and went to find a rope so i could catch the stray.  he was some kind of pit mix, quite friendly, wearing a collar but no tags.  as soon as i got the rope tied on to his collar i noticed a car driving slowly past the house so i trotted down to the road with the dog to see if they were looking for him.  the car had passed by the time we got down to the gate but i waited a minute and it came back our way, slowed and stopped.  turned out to be a neighbor a few addresses down---she was thankful i'd found her dog (i was thankful she came and got him).
i let zane back out and we finished getting the chickens set up for the day.

 we both ended up a little soggy but it was a nice morning anyway.