in some ways it is almost obligatory:
you move out to the sticks, you get chickens
amidst all the pintrest-fluff on self sufficiency
there is something deeper and richer about the food on your own plate coming from your own toil
a brood of fluff ball chicks
it is simply the easiest and cutest way to first step that 1,000 mile journey of being more self-sufficient
may i add,
frugality should not be the primary motivation
like all projects the start up costs are always steeper than advertised
we did everything as creatively cheap as possible but building a solid, dry, yet well-venalated, racoon-and-fox-proof 8×8 coop cost money
however, our CLUCKINGHAM PALACE was fun to plan and build and all six of us were involved, and so higher cost was more easily swallowed
not to mention
have you recently woken up on a saturday and thought
hey,
how about we all see that new disney movie today…
and get popcorn…
and then go out to eat afterwards…
all six of us as a family…
our lumber cost probably neared that typical saturday at the mall with the family excursion
another thing:
almost everyone told us:
“don’t name them”
i almost always never listen to given advice
and so,
“josephine”
“lady”
“flo”
“myrtle”
“eggs”
&
“toast”
met an untimely and messy end
and i kid you not:
the chickens we never really got around to naming were the only ones to survive!
graphic life lesson?
six laying hens that include three different breeds remain
we have a pretty assorted half dozen eggs each morning for the eating
we have come to love quiches and french toast
even a family of six can’t eat three and a half dozen plain cooked eggs every week
we realized our name-less breakfast providers were being executed by chicken hawks
keeping them cooped up
{hey, that is where that term comes from!}
in their coop seemed mean or corporate or something…definitely not hip earthy organic cool like we like to THINK we are
a pretty cool solution emerged:
the solution that presented itself does nothing if not laud the natural eco system circle that emerges when a family starts to lives more natural and organic
let me explain:
we have a big ole vegetable garden
of course
because like chickens it is pretty much something you have to do or you are just pretending to be a hick
i love gardening and love growing my own veggies
however come august, i am like:
“…meh” when it comes to weeding
{i should also mention i am real cheap when it come to mulch in may}
so,
“pick some veggies” turned into “try to find some veggies” by september
it is the folowing spirng
i am lamenting my cheap–may-self and lazy-august-self
i now have two problems:
my chickenS being air raided
my vegetable garden flowering so many summer weeds i cant even find the garden stakes left from last year
let me plant another visual in your mind
chickens are good at three things:
scratching the earth
pooping
& laying eggs
the last we are reaping the protein rich rewards, aplenty
the first two we have recently put to good use in our unsightly weed garden of doom:
plop our six ladies inside our fenced garden every morning
{after their morning job has been accomplished}
the ladies then are employed to do nothing but paw at the ground, eat the weeds and their weight in bugs {many garden pests} to boot, and poop…and chicken poop is another word for fertilizer
however before we could put our girls to work we had to hawk-proof it:
that entailed stringing about half a mile of various string, rope, and cord from post to post, criss-crossing it over and over until there were no spaces left wider than a foot
{hawks have a very wide wing span}
it is beyond humorous to see family members
corner
catch
carry
squawking hens each morning to then fling them in between stringed spaces inside our garden fence
because we kept them contained in their coop for about two weeks once they were feathered their instinct to go back to the hen house every evening is strong
when the shadows get long we look out
the ladies are gone
they have put themselves to bed in their hen house
yet all wild things wander
that is partially why we got a dog:
Padfoot was a
hyper
willful
nipping maniac
puppy that for weeks i feared had ruined our life,
but perseverance
common sense discipline
a strong bond of love for the furry beast
and careful controlled use of a shock collar
has transformed out menace of a puppy into
watch dog…ever on duty
he is as viligant as he is enthusiastic
he herds and gently nips his feathered charges
tail thumping with glee the whole time
again, the cohesively working together; we bought chickens, and a dog, and seeds, and plants not to just buy and consume and dispose of, like so many of our purchases
each purchase has a purpose, and that purpose improves our life
enriches it in terms of:
food
nourishment,
beauty,
companionship,
or entertainment
A movie in a theater or stuff for sale on a rack can’t compete with that

WATCH DOGS DON’T GET SNOW DAYS
Cheers!