As much as possible I like Beege and Odin to explore (safely) on their own terms. I think encouraging their natural curiosity also boosts their confidence.
This morning we started the usual morning routine: hay, water, open the gate to the upper pasture, pick poop. Even though they eat pretty much the same thing, except for the pound of grain they each get in the evening, their poop is different from each other. I could write a whole blog post on poop but will spare the few readers I have.
After my breakfast, I adjusted the fence so that I could start introduce them to the paddocks, barn, and stalls. They were in the upper pasture so didn't appear to know I was in the vicinity. I should know better: they know everything. They were content in the upper pasture so I started the very nasty chore of scrubbing chicken poo off the stall wall that will be used for hay storage.
I was spraying a nifty disinfectant/cleaner/neutralizer product and scraping and scrubbing while listening to a podcast. Later I will post an "after" photo because it cleaned up very nicely. While scrubbing away I hear a snort on the other side of the barn wall.
Beege had apparently come up all the way to the barn and was likely startled by my scrubbing and other weird noises I might've been making. I love it that they'll come all the way in to see what I'm doing and explore new territory on their own. This is what I mean by encouraging their natural curiosity to boost confidence. You can see that Odin is more wary and will let Beege do the exploring. Odin did eventually come all the way into the paddocks, which will be their winter home, but he didn't want to stay. And that's part of the idea: they can get used to it on their own terms and when I need them to stay, they will.
Beege explored all the way into the first stall:
Thanks Beege. He's like an indoor/outdoor cat and must come indoors to poo.