They are also expensive in terms of time and emotional energy. We'll take the time element first. In order for them to get the maximum daylight they require for optimal egg laying, I have to let them out of the coop at sunrise and return them at dusk. So what's the problem? The problem is that I occasionally (like always) prefer to stay in bed past 5:45am and as dusk falls I prefer eating chicken to chasing chickens.
As twilight creeps over the mountain, here I am darting to and fro chasing our feathered friends. I am convinced that chickens are really very bright and I read an article recently that confirmed it. In some areas chickens out think human toddlers! It's for sure that all 6 of my chickens can outthink me. They can also outrun me.
For a few days I thought I had trained them to come into the coop at dusk as I poured that dearer than gold chicken feed into the feeder. Then just as I was congratulating myself, 3 showed up and 3 were AWOL. I spent about a half an hour searching in the gathering gloom before they magically appeared at my feet. I still have no idea how they do that, but it is becoming a regular thing now.
Emotionally they are very taxing. They seem happy enough but they won't leave me alone for a second. I can't weed the garden because they hop up onto the beds and peck away right next to my trowel. I can't walk with my granddaughters because both of the girls are needlessly terrified of the chickens and Naavah's screams could pierce the clouds. Alessia runs for the fence, bolts over and dodges into the garage. I don't have to do anything to protect the kids since the chickens are totally uninterested in any human being but me. They walk with me weaving dangerously around my feet and chatter constantly.
And that brings me to another thing, my 8 month old grandson has perfected the chicken squawk and I am constantly whirling around thinking that one of the hens has gotten into the house. Why not? They get into everything else. Frankly it has been a nightmare. There is chicken poop everywhere. The gardens are a hen scratched mess and I back out of the garage at 1/2 mile an hour because they KNOW I'm in there somewhere and are determined to flush me out.
So far the fences and the gate have not been enough to confine them so on Sunday we pulled out all the stops. We clipped the wings of every last one of them. Now perhaps I'll get some peace.
No comments:
Post a Comment