Harland: "Mommy, how many chickens do you want?"
Me, a little embarrassed: "Why? How many chickens do you think we should have?"
Harland: "As many as you want."
Obviously even my children have learned not to intervene in my chicken obsession....
But, in my defense, I was on Facebook trolling around when I saw this posting for free chicks. FREE CHICKS, people! Not just any free chicks, either: 4 week old free chicks from a local hatchery! I mean, the poster had me at "free chicks" so I private messaged him/her and asked if I could have five, thinking that was a pretty reasonable number. I figured we had lost two from our original brood and I was going to order Easter Eggers, Wyandottes and Buffs in the spring when I had to cancel my plans due to a family emergency (there are some things that are more important than chickens). And this person was giving away guess what? Easter Eggers, Wyandottes and Buffs! I felt as though God Himself was giving me a little mid-June present....
"You're only going to get three, right?" Jim asked me as I put the rubbermaid chicken transporting contraption in the car.
Sometimes it's best to let these things be a suprise.
Here's one of my problems, though: I have a hard time containing my joy. Especially on social media. So of course I posted about the free chickens and my complete and utter excitement. Unlike some people who use social media, I don't have hundreds of friends I don't know. Most of the people on my Facebook page are family, close friends and then somewhat distant friends. I talk to them all, and most of them I see on a fairly regular basis. And the chicken obsession is not something I can hide: my chickens are often the topic of conversation and the subjects of photos on my Facebook page.
All was well until a neighbor posted a comment about our local zoning ordinances. This wouldn't be so odd if this same neighbor didn't have chickens herself--she does! Not only that, it was her coops I visited before building my own. I have consulted her all along the way as I planned for my own chicks and even invited her over to inspect my coop after it was built. In fact, it was awe-inspiring how many chickens she had when I first met her: by my own count, there were more than 20! And a rooster! Only a couple blocks from my house!
So I found her comment odd...and was further flummoxed when she messaged me later, saying, "Please be careful with quantity...Don't get all us chicken owners in trouble." Wait! This was the woman whose brood had at one point eclipsed mine by more than 15 chickens telling me to cool it? Whoa. I had to take a moment and pause. Perhaps my chicken obsession was out of hand....
That moment passed. I brought my five beautiful chicks home--two Easter Eggers, two Wyandottes (so gorgeous!) and one Golden Buff Orpington. I had just finished transitioning some pullets in with the bigs and these chicks were just too small to go in with all the others. For a week they were inside, but I quickly realized they needed a more permanent solution, one that did not make my house smell like a barn.
Hence the chicken tractor! I cajoled Jim into helping me build yet another chicken coop, albiet a smaller, more portable one.
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| Chicken tractor in process |
The little girls are now in their lovely chicken tractor and very happy, pecking and clucking away. The brood has grown, but not out of control. And I am learning to temper my chicken obsession: the final number of chickens has been reached.
No more chickens! At least not for a while....
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