The edition wherein I give helpful “tips” about owning
chickens. AKA: I convince you that it may just not be worth it after all. Also
AKA: why those farm stand eggs cost so much.
Chicks will die. They are really really cute at first, and not very hearty. Brace yourselves.
 |
| Very cute. Very fragile. |
--- 2 ---
Actual tip: Have everything prepared in advance
of actually having the chickens. This would include appropriate housing for the
chickens at each stage of their needy needy growth. Also includes fancy
videographic equipment to record yourself chasing chickens around the yard so
that you can make a viral YouTube video and become a millionaire—because it ain’t
gonna happen by sellin’ those eggs.
 |
| Fancy housing for little chicks. Tote w/ lid cut out and chicken wire attached w/ nuts & bolts. |
--- 3 ---
Actual tip #2: A fishing net is THE BEST chicken
catcher in the world.
 |
| source |
--- 4 ---
Own only so many chickens as you can devote 15
min/ea per day that they escape from your age-appropriate housing that you
have prepared in advance. (Translation: all the days you own them.)This is known as the chicken:actual-time-you-have
ratio of the farmer and is expressed by the equation:
[x=15c]
where x=amount of time you will spend running around your yard like an idiot
trying to catch your chickens (amusing
for your neighbors!)and c=the number of chickens you are naïve enough to
have purchased.
{Bonus take} Actual text sent to my sister today: "There is not enough chocolate for single motherhood to be a viable option in this world. Idk how they do it. Well, lemme rephrase. Idk how they would do it and have chickens." Translation: major props to you single moms out there. Steve's away on a trip right now, and this makes all the excitement with the chickens you know WAY MORE FUN (ha. ha. ha.).
--- 5 ---
Actual tip #3: chickens are WAY WAY easier to
catch once they have “roosted” for the night. They basically act as though they
have had a few too many gin and tonics (gins and tonic?), and you can just pick
them right up, saving yourself ALL KINDS OF TIME.
--- 6 ---
I haven’t had to buy any eggs from the store
since whenever it was
last summer that the chickens started to lay eggs.
--- 7 ---
Chickens eat ticks. I loathe ticks. QED...
For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!
A ma zing. My friend here has chickens and she's hosting a class: $20 to come once a week and "play" with your chicken. At the end of 6 or 8 weeks or whatever the chicken gets killed and mama gets a good dinner out of it. Obviously not an option for layers, but in case you want to branch out into eating chickens.... (yay! more chickens!)
ReplyDeleteAnycase, major props to you.
Okay, so an update on that class:
ReplyDeleteDue to the extreme heat, my friend, after putting down fresh bedding, left the door to the coop open. The next morning was Chicken class day, so we all go traipsing down to the coop: Liam first in line. All of a sudden, we get to the bottom of the hill, and the coop, and what do we see? Pure. chicken. carnage. Yep. All 70 of my friend's chickens were dead as doornails. It'd be funny if it weren't so expensive! The current hypothesis is that a weasel got to them....word to the wise.
What a sad/funny thing! We have definitely had our share of chicken carnage. We learned a lot from last year, and we're still learning this year. (Learning, in farmer language about chickens = chicken carnage).
DeleteDo you live near your chicken farming friend? Do your little guys like to see the farm life? :0)
p.s. I still don't have your email address so that I can plague you with more updates! ;) Mine is katherine-dot-s-dot-friedman-at-gmail-dot-com