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Friday, June 29, 2012

Frugal Friday--Chicken Barrier

I am running a little behind on my Frugal Friday tip this week, but better late than never.  I just wanted you to know I recognized I was a little behind.

A few weeks ago as our tomatoes started to ripen I began noticing that they were getting eaten with a little more regularity than previous years.  Turns out that when the chickens go in for a little snack of bug juice, they also like to take a nibble off of a tomato.

I could show you pictures of the mass destruction, but I just didn't have the heart to snap any photos.  They were sneaking in through the 4" square openings in the gate.  While that was sufficient to keep Missy out last summer, it nothing for them to squeeze their little bodies through.

But if I could block the gate with something and allow the gate to still be accessible, then I would have a win-win.

Two months ago my mom cleaned out her sewing room of all things that she no longer wants to keep and I ended up taking a few things into my collection.  You know important things like hook & eyes, small velcro buttons, short ends of ribbon, yarn, cut pieces of applique,

a nice 2.5 yard piece of cotton duck.  Some of them had to be at least from 1988.

So I combined a lot of these items and made a gate cover.  At least that is what I labeled it on my 'list'.
Isn't it cute???
The good news is that it does keep out the chickens.
The bad news, the rabbits are still getting in and boldly feasting on the green beans.  The one I ran out last night keep squishing up its nose saying hold on, just a few more bites before it finally left.

The tomatoes are already starting to look better.

It might be time to make salsa.


1 comment:

Unknown said...

This is practical AND pretty at the same time! I have been thinking about getting a cover on my pond to protect my fish from the insecticide that the city has been spraying at night (to protect us from West Nile virus), but didn't like the idea of an ugly tarp, and now I am inspired to look for something more decorative that will also do the job :)