Wednesday, February 27, 2013 with 0 Comment(s)
It's been a very long time...
I first started blogging in February of 2004. It was a way for me to stay in touch with faraway family and friends, as well as a means to document my life as the young mother of a child with special needs. The good, the bad, and the ugly went into that blog: the challenges of providing the best resources I could to help my beloved son, our attempts to have a second child, the birth of our amazing daughter, my own struggles with anxiety and depression, and my journey to pursue a degree in Special Education in order to help my son and others like him.
But in September of 2010, I just stopped writing. There was no sign-off. I just quit.
Recently, my family has become interested in starting a backyard chicken flock. Yes. Seriously... Look, I know it makes absolutely no sense to those of you who know us and are pretty in-tuned to my daily life and interests. Chickens have never really been a part of my vocabulary unless they were to end up on my dinner plate. I'm the Dork Girl... the one who always seems to make others laugh, the one who loves horror movies and video games. I find interest in things that others would never admit. I ooze Weird.
So, here I was, deciding to start a chicken farm, researching chickens, and designing plans for a chicken coop, when my mother and husband approached me with their idea to have me start blogging again: about chickens.
Chick-ens.
Now, just let that sink in a moment...
Not only that, but my mother immediately announced the name she thought I should go by as I write this blog: The Chicken Bitch.
Have you ever been referred to as a "bitch" by your own mother? It's quite humbling. But I'm pretty laid back... and well... awesome, so I thought it was pretty brilliant. So here I am... and here I go...
We moved into our home in early 2007, and I remember it wasn't long after that Thad first mentioned the idea of keeping chickens in our backyard. I never grew up on a farm (in fact I have never stepped FOOT on a farm) so the idea was totally lost on me. But since we have moved in, Thad has become more Eco-Freak than I ever imagined. Those of you who know us can recall the many stories I have shared of my husband's unhealthy obsession when he first started composting in our backyard. I would barely finish a banana before he would rip the peel out of my hands to throw into his bin behind the shed. He would practically watch my every move when I would peel a potato or cut into an enormous watermelon.
"What are you going to do with THAT when you are done?" he'd ask, staring at me, his eyes big as saucers.
The Dude was INSANE!
He mentioned the idea of chickens several more times over the years, and it has always been the same: chickens are nasty, freaky little birds that I don't want any part of keeping in our yard. Period. I'd never seen a chicken up close and I just wasn't interested. Even though he assured me it was just for having the eggs, I just couldn't fathom it. No. Absolutely not.
About a year ago, as I was scrolling through my Pinterest feed, I noticed that my mother had gone a little chicken crazy... pinning this or that about chickens, and all I could do was shake my head. It became a running joke. I constantly made fun of my mom when seeing all her Pinterest posts.
Fairly soon after my mother began her chicken obsession, we had some new neighbors with chickens move in next door. Do you know how I knew they had chickens?? Their rooster. It crowed all damn day. It crowed in the morning. It crowed in the afternoon while Cate was napping. That thing drove me bonkers.
Then. IT happened.
One Sunday morning, Thad opened the door to our front yard and I heard him say, "There are chickens in our yard."
Have you ever watched "Shaun of the Dead?" It's one of my absolute favorite movies of all time, but there's a scene which shows Ed at his best friend Shaun's apartment just as the Zombie Apocalypse has begun. (Side note: don't you hate when that happens? The Zombie Apocalypse starts and you are at a friend's house without all of the things you need??) Anyway... that is what it felt like... just very surreal and unbelievable.
Well, just watching those chickens for a few seconds made me realize how vulnerable they were. They could have crossed the road to get to the other side and gotten run over, or some dog could have run up out of nowhere and snatched one of them. We were also expecting some strong storms in the afternoon and I was bound and determined to get those chickens back to their yard where they would be safe.
As I first approached them, I noticed they were only slightly wary of my presence. I'm not a huge girl, but I'm not what you would call graceful. I kind of own a room when I walk into it. I'm a chick who knows where she's going. I don't meander, and I was pretty much trying to herd all these chickens into their backyard fence with no idea what I was doing. I'd approach them, they'd make some noise and walk slowly away, picking up a bug or a piece of grass along the way. I wasn't scaring them at all judging by the fact that they did not miss a single bug between my yard and theirs. Inevitably they ended up in a corner near *my* backyard fence. And there they stayed for several minutes as I watched them jerk their heads around looking for things to eat, and listened to them make the cutest and most hysterical sounds I have ever heard. I tried to use my "Oh My God, I'm Talking to Chickens" voice, and boy, it had only been a minimum of 2-3 minutes since I had laid eyes on them, but guess what?? I was IN LOVE. I wanted to pick them up and carry them into their yard, but I own a miniature macaw with about 500 pounds of bite pressure per square inch, and I know better than to approach a bird and think it's just going to sit happily on my shoulder or finger while I croon Snow White forest songs.
After getting my son outside to help, we finally managed to corral them into their yard.
The next few days I would crane my next over the fence next door to see if I could see them. A few times I'd hear them, other times I would see one and I would go over to say hello. One or two would greet me. And then there is one black hen in particular who seems to be the Houdini of the bunch. She's gotten out several times, and even though I make a big fuss about having to corral her back into her yard, I secretly adore it.
After my first chicken encounter, Thad and I started making jokes about actually getting some chickens of our own. And before I knew it I was becoming a virtual authority on everything "backyard chickens." We started planning our coop, talking to other chicken owners, and today, we actually ordered our very first batch of baby chicks.
My goal in picking our chickens was to find some that first and foremost were docile and friendly around children. Being reliable egg-layers was important, as was appearance and hardiness. It gets kinda warm here in good, 'ole NC so I don't want to over-stress my babies.
We decided that 6 would be a good number to start with as chickens are social animals and there is a definite pecking order among a flock. We only want hens, and any surprise roosters will have to find a new home. So, here are the breeds we chose:
Buff Orpington (x2)
Easter Egger (x2)
Look at their gorgeous eggs!
Barred Plymouth Rock (x2)
Needless to say, we are very excited. The crazy thing is that when we ordered them by phone this morning (from the local Feed & Seed), they gave us no indication of *when* they will arrive. They will only call us once they are at the store and they need us to pick them up. I honestly feel like I am 9 months pregnant again and waiting for labor to start.
We are definitely going to have to get in gear...