Sunday, May 12, 2013

Here we go again!




Well, we've got chickens again.  Chicks, to be precise.  We took a break from chickens last September.  We had to separate them into two groups, since our larger group was pecking and attacking the other two, and we could not get them to get along  It was a hassle keeping them in two different coops and runs.  Also, to be honest, I was sick of the flies and the rodents, and we were cutting down the back trees which meant we were going to have to take down the coops anyway.

So, off the chickens went to a life on a farm inland somewhere, and for awhile it was a big relief to me to have them gone.  It was one less thing to have to do, one less chore for the kids, and when the coops and runs were down we had so much extra space in our back yard! Fairly soon, though,  I began to miss them.  I missed their soft cluckings.  It lent such a homey, peaceful feel to our back garden.  I even missed their loud squackings as they proudly told the world that they had laid yet another egg!  But most of all I missed how they completed the loop in our little urban farm.  They, even more than our compost pile, were the consumers of our kitchen scraps, and they provided us with the richest, most delicious and healthy eggs, a well as with an abundant supply of nitrogen rich manure.  They also were my tractors, working over areas of my garden that were done for the season, clearing away debris and bugs, leaving more droppings, and getting it ready for new plantings.  More than anything, though, my children missed them!  Ever since last September not a week has gone by where my youngest son, Jack, an avid chicken-lover, has not begged for more chickens.  My five-year old, Lily, has asked when we can start collecting eggs again, and my 13-year old daughter, Madison, has studied chickens zealously, in the hopes of getting chickens soon.  Chicken care, chicken healthy, chicken behavior, chickens breeds, you name it, she knows it.   Only my 11-year old son, Cooper, who shouldered most of the chicken responsibility before, was happy to be sans chickens.

So, yesterday we took the plunge and drove to Wagon Train Feed and Tack to get our new chicks.  We decided to get a lot, a dozen, assuming that a couple either may not make it or may be roosters.  We eat a LOT of eggs and we would like them all to be home-laid, or at least most of our eggs anyway.  That's a lot of chickens for our suburban lot, but I think it was will work out!

Our kids are now in chick love and chick heaven.  Our puppy is an excited, nervous wreck, staking out his post by the garage door in hopes of sneaking in for a sight of those peeping, moving, succulent toys, and our kitty is licking his chops!  Welcome home chickens!