RIR are notorious for being something of a bully, especially in groups. When you put them together again, I'd do the 'Meet & Greet' thing (see the link to my chicken info site, below for how-to's) and act as 'mama' to defend the bantam. Also, make sure that any bullied birds have a couple of places to hide--a couple of bushes work well. Just so they can get away from each other and out of sight. Your bantam is no doubt distressed--she's going to be sore at first and unhappy. Keep her warm and quiet, and offer her some extra protein in the form of live mealworms or crickets, or scrambled eggs or cooked ground beef to help her heal and grow new feathers. Clean her wounds if needed and apply a bit of Neosporin to them (just a thin layer so she doesn't preen it all off) and watch the wounds to be sure they don't infect. Unflavored Pedialyte (get it at the grocery store in the baby aisle) for her to drink instead of water for the next day or so will help boost her electrolytes--a good thing for sick/injured/stressed birds. Keep her company and talk to her in a soothing manner. The fact that she was pecked this hard was not a 'pecking order' thing--it was bullying, possible from stress and boredom/overcrowding. How big is your coop/run? Do they get access to fresh greens and allowed to free range? If not, consider tossing them interesting, time-consuming things to eat--heads of cabbage, raw corn on the cob--anything that diverts pecking from their flockmates and keeps them occupied. More info on my chicken site, here: http://jackshenhouse.com/ Enjoy your chickens! Velvet ~:>

First thing would be to set your posts. Are you going to use the steel T post that you drive into the ground or wooden post that you will have to make a post hole and put the post in? I do not know if you need to bury a little bit of the wire under the surface of the ground to keep out digging pests or if that is a consideration or not. If so, you need to make your trench in line with the posts. It is kinda hard to do without any help at all if you want to do it right, but if I were going to try to do it myself with what you described I would attach the wire to the beginning post firmly and tack a board over the edge to help hold it steady. then unroll the amount of wire needed to go just around the first corner (You did not say the total size that you want to fence). Depending on how long that run is and how strong you are, you might be able to pull hard on the roll and wrap it around the first corner post, and get a staple or two into the post to hold it. Then stretch and fasten to the posts in line on that side as you go. You may need to take the first staples out to take up the slack when you get back to that corner. Any of the equipment that you mention could easily rip and tear a flimsy roll of chicken wire. To try to use any of them, you would probably need to pinch the wire between a couple of pieces of two by fours and hitch the come a long or riding mower to each end of those with a rope or chain, then tighten very carefully and easily in the lowest gear, kill the motor with it in gear and the brake on when you get it nice and tight and then fasten it to the posts. Tractor Supply Co. has a lot of good information on many subjects. This may be a bit of overkill for your little garden fence, but they have some diagrams and details which could possibly be helpful. You probably get the picture, you would continue this back to the point of beginning or near there where the gate will go. If you have further questions, post them and some one will try to help. Let us know how it goes. Bill P.

Since I discovered Marcella Hazan's technique of roasting chicken, I haven't done it any other way. It involves putting a couple of small lemons in the cavity to provide moisture to the bird as it cooks. As Linda has noted, organic chickens don't have all the solutions pumped into it so the meat probably is a little drier to start with and hence more prone to dry out. I have used the lemon technique successfully on organic chickens with great success. It has been posted a few times here before. Give it a try. I'm amazed at how simple and good it is: Roasting chicken is one of those allegedly simple tasks which a lot of cooks can't do right. Here's a great recipe from Marcella Hazan's 'Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking' which is foolproof and absolutely delicious: If this were a still life its title could be "Chicken with Two Lemons." That is all that there is in it. No fat to cook with, no basting to do, no stuffing to prepare, no condiments except for salt and pepper. After you put the chicken in the oven you turn it just once. The bird, its two lemons, and the oven do all the rest. Again and again, through the years, I met people who come up to me to say, "I have made your chicken with two lemons and it is the most amazingly simple recipe, the juiciest, best-tasting chicken I have ever had." And you know, it is perfectly true. For 4 servings Ingredients # A 3- to 4-pound chicken # Salt # Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill # 2 rather small lemons Directions 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 2. Wash the chicken thoroughly in cold water, both inside and out. Remove all the bits of fat hanging loose. Let the bird sit for about 10 minutes on a slightly tilted plate to let all the water drain out of it. Pat it thoroughly dry all over with cloth or paper towels. 3. Sprinkle a generous amount of salt and black pepper on the chicken, rubbing it with your fingers over all its body and into its cavity. 4. Wash the lemons in cold water and dry them with a towel. Soften each lemon by placing it on a counter and rolling it back and forth as you put firm downward pressure on it with the palm of your hand. Puncture the lemons in at least 20 places each, using a sturdy round toothpick, a trussing needle, a sharp-pointed fork, or similar implement. 5. Place both lemons in the birds cavity. Close up the opening with toothpicks or with trussing needle and string. Close it well, but dont make an absolutely airtight job of it because the chicken may burst. Run kitchen string from one leg to the other, tying it at both knuckle ends. Leave the legs in their natural position without pulling them tight. If the skin is unbroken, the chicken will puff up as it cooks, and the string serves only to keep the thighs from spreading apart and splitting the skin. 6. Put the chicken into a roasting pan, breast facing down. Do not add cooking fat of any kind. This bird is self-basting, so you need not fear it will stick to the pan. Place it in the upper third of the preheated oven. After 30 minutes, turn the chicken over to have the breast face up. When turning it, try not to puncture the skin. If kept intact, the chicken will swell like a balloon, which makes for an arresting presentation at the table later. Do not worry too much about it, however, because even if it fails to swell, the flavor will not be affected. 7. Cook for another 30 to 35 minutes, then turn the oven thermostat up to 400 degrees, and cook for an additional 20 minutes. Calculate between 20 and 25 minutes total cooking time for each pound. There is no need to turn the chicken again. 8. Whether your bird has puffed up or not, bring it to the table whole and leave the lemons inside until it is carved and opened. The juices that run out are perfectly delicious. Be sure to spoon them over the chicken slices. The lemons will have shriveled up, but they still contain some juice; do not squeeze them, they may squirt. Ahead-of-time note: If you want to eat it while it is warm, plan to have it the moment it comes out of the oven. If there are leftovers, they will be very tasty cold, kept moist with some of the cooking juices and eaten not straight out of the refrigerator, but at room temperature.

chemocurl, if you respond to old messages it moves them to the TOP, not the bottom.