Henkeepers Anonymous

Some people end up with a huge number of cats, because they have no will power when they go to the shelter, or see one on the street. I'll admit to having picked up a few more kitties than strictly necessary for keeping the rodents at bay, but my real weakness is chickens. Horses, rabbits, dogs, cats, a very silly goat, ducks, geese (also frequently silly, that saying was made popular for a reason), and a whole bunch of chickens live here with us in beautiful Central VA.

Perhaps not as weird as it used to be, the movement towards growing your own fresh foods, less wasteful living, and other such admirable ways of getting back in touch with doing for oneself, rather than being dependant on grocery stores, henkeeping has become a popular hobby in the US. In the UK, anyone in the country with more than 25 sq. ft. of yard (or so it seems) can keep chickens, and enough do that it's not considered unusual to see a handful of colorful egg-layers roaming in English gardens as you drive along the back roads. I read an article in an English poultry mag that gave advice on keeping your chickens' natural tendency to make noise at all hours from disturbing your non poultry-savvy (and clearly uncultured) neighbors.

Here in the US, if your neighbor is awakened at 3am by your lusty rooster who thinks the full moon is close enough to sunrise, you're likely to be sued.

So, here begins my comments on farm life, as requested by a friend. I'd like to say I'll write each day, but the way farm things go, that's not too likely! I will try at least for a daily egg count when nothing earth shattering is going on.

 

Do you see the dirty look this hen is giving me? She says "what makes you think your morning coffee is more important than the fact that I am STARVING?!"

Huh. As if.

I think I need to get my own copy of the sign I got for my mother's aviary. "A Very Spoiled Chicken Lives Here" it says....