we've had chickens for years now, usually six or seven at a time, nicely contained in a pen a pleasant distance from the house. we feed them, we watch them do their chicken things, they lay eggs, all is good. we'd lose one occasionally to whatever it is that lives in our woods that likes to eat chickens, but even that felt sort of okay, in a circle of life kind of way. the kids have been present when it is time for slaughter, they have helped bury chicken parts when an animal gets into the coop. we got this farm life thing down pat.
this year we raised chickens from chicks. rabbit and eric researched and decided on a farm that would send us 25 chicks of various breeds in the mail. the post office called us one morning to let us know they had arrived and we hurried down the mountain to pick them up. we could hear them peeping as soon was we opened the post office door. it was exciting and heartbreaking to open that box. such cute little bundles of fuzzy, but five didn't make the trip alive. it felt like a sad way to go about starting a flock, and we quickly decided we'd never go the mail order route again. I especially had a really hard time with all those little tiny lives on my conscience, a new feeling for me, not being particularly fond of animals in general. but now we know. and now we know better.
the difference in raising chickens from chicks and just "having chickens" is huge. the girls we have now are pretty much pets. jamin and cora LOVE to play with them, carrying them around like babies and singing to them in some strange falsetto southern accent that is reserved for two chickens in particular, bebe and brobro. seriously, they can be in the yard for over an hour carrying these birds around and talking in this obnoxious voice. we've given all our birds individual drinking lessons (from a fancy waterer that rabbit built, complete with something called "chicken nipples"). eric brings home throw-away produce from the splat to feed them. they also love soured yogurt and cottage cheese, so our yard smells AWESOME. we had big plans for this fancy moveable electric fence so we could ease the wear-and-tear on our yard, but our ladies (of the chicken variety) quickly showed us they had other plans. so now we are free range homesteaders, by default more than design. now we have chickens waltzing into our kitchen on a regular basis, and we had to designate one broom solely for poop sweeping on the deck.
but this week we got our first eggs, little tiny things with the orangest yolks you have ever seen. we even got one egg without a shell. cora and rabbit put golf balls in the laying boxes to teach the girls where to do their thing, and it seems to be working. jamin and cora probably check for eggs six times a day, a novelty that will wear off in a week or less, I'm sure. but for now it is fun to see them excited and proud of the flock they have nurtured, even if they are totally partial to two of their babies in particular. I am thankful that they have had this time to chase chickens and make an investment that they know will end in due time when nature takes it course. and while I will probably never be a huge fan of those nutty hens (they jump into my car with me if I take to long with the door open), I can appreciate the lessons they are teaching my family. and the eggs. I can certainly appreciate those. and the photo opportunities they provide. and the free babysitting service they offer. okay, so maybe I do sort of like them after all. just don't mention it to them directly. they'd probably strut into the kitchen again just to thank me.
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