I have discovered that
chickens do quite a bit more
than drop eggs. They have
other virtues as well. I suspect
for those who have
raised chickens the novelty
has worn off a bit. But for
me the experience is new
enough that every day
seems to present us with
interesting occurrences.
A friend bequeathed us
with a fancy metal, two tiered
nest box `condo.’
About a week before we expected
the `girls’ to start
laying I filled each box with
fresh cedar shavings. Cedar
is supposed to be a bit more
mite-retardant than pine,
according to the chicken experts
I consulted. Our first
clutch of eggs appeared
when we were away. Our
chicken minder discovered
the eggs and left a piece of
white paper stuck in the
door for us to see when we
returned. The message was
clear: ``Eggs!’’
Our neighbor took them
home where she and her
family enjoyed what I suspect
was some delicious
French toast. I had some
myself this morning and
can say without any sense
of false pride that homemade
bread soaked in fresh
organic eggs is about as
tasty as it gets.
Since starting this husbandry
project I have discovered,
as is the case with
just about everything, that
there are as many ways of
raising chickens as there
are chicken raisers. As my
close friends know I am not
one to gab much. At most
parties or social gatherings
I tend to hug the wall closest
to the either the darkest
wall or nearest escape
route.
I am not one to go out of
my way to ``make’’ idle conversation.
Oddly enough, I
find myself jumping at the
chance to engage friends
and neighbors in chicken
discussions in the oddest of
places.
For instance, I saw a
friend and neighbor at the
concert the other night and
leaped out of my seat to run
down the aisle to ask her
about her chickens. Are
they laying? Do you incarcerate
them for the winter
or do you let them out? How
do you keep their water
from freezing? Etc.? We
chatted a bit about tactics
and strategies and then she
said, with a slight hint of
bemused exasperation, that
she was in the market for
some intelligent chickens. I
suggested that there are no
chicken Rhodes scholars
and that chickens will be
chickens. Given my firm
adherence to evolutionary
theory, I suspect chickens
are about as intellectually
capable as they need be.
As I was leaving the gym
one morning I bumped into
another friend who has
been raising chickens for
quite some time. She had to
stand there in the cold, gym
bag in hand, while I queried
her about her cold
weather practices.
A wonderful and very
generous person, she offered
up the information
graciously. I settled into my
car and headed home feeling
a bit more comfortable
about my methods — and
my instincts.
This afternoon, weather
permitting, I will nail on
the siding to the winter entryway
to the hen house I
framed last week. I picked
up the lumber yesterday
and, lo and behold, the
neighbor from whom I
bought the rough hewn
lumber passed on some
chicken raising info he had
gleaned from his mother
who has raised them for
years.
The primary topic was
the necessity of plugging up
any openings that might allow
a draft to chill the girls
while enjoying their beauty
sleep.
My sheltie Gabby and
the chickens seem to be getting
on famously. The first
few days she barked and
they scattered. Now they
pay her no mind at all. Unfortunately,
she’s a bit too
enamored of their droppings
and will spend an inordinate
of time following
in their wake on the days
we let them out to free
range a bit.
The other day, while I
was working in one of the
gardens, Gabby was snoozing
in her favorite spot on
the hill while the chickens
pecked the ground around
her foraging for their protein
supplements. I wish
we could find ways of
achieving such peaceful intra-
species accommodations.
Hawthorn Hill
December 10, 2009
Hawthorn Hill: We’re experiencing chicken mania
- Hawthorn Hill
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- Passing along advice of seeing the humor The best advice given to me many years ago when I started teaching had nothing to do with my discipline, English. Rather, a former mentor insisted on the necessity of having a sense of humor
- Swallow talk and bluebird vigilance I assume the swallows have returned to Capistrano. They have returned to Hawthorn Hill as well.
- 'Geezering: an act of doing stuff with another old guy It is a bright sunny day. I should be out back in our woodlot geezering with my neighbor John.
- Winter tree sparrow visitations have been rare on the hill Tree sparrows are lovely little birds, most conspicuous for their russet caps, white breasts and a distinctive charcoal smudge about mid-breast that makes one think that they are perpetual Ash Wednesday celebrants.
- Of Carolina wrens and crossbills We will remember this year for a number of reasons, among them first-time visitors to our bird feeders. Aside from reporting data to Cornell every five days as part of the Project Feeder Watch program, I keep on close watch over all the avian activity up here on the hill.
-
Think before you speak, tweet
One of our dearest and most valued gifts is our ability to both think about and talk about ourselves. That is the gift of language. I have always felt that every living thing has some sort of language, but we are so lucky to be able to communicate through speech and writing.
- Of bikes, fishing rods and philosophy Every time I go to the garage, either to get something or start up the car, I am reminded of at least two activities that I thought I might get to at some point, even in earnest. Intentionality is something philosophers give some thought to. I suspect I would be an ideal case study.
- End of the season; time for a break By tomorrow afternoon we will have harvested the last of our vegetables. Two lonely stalks of kale, today snow capped and a bit bent over after being buffeted by the hurricane's winds last week, will take up primary residence in a kale soup whose makeup we have yet to determine.
- Election Day thoughts I have voted, and despite my strong feelings about who the winner should be, I intend to focus on other things the rest of the day. Let the talking heads spin themselves into rhetorical dizziness until the wee hours of the morning. The sun is shinning. There are some late fall chores to turn to. I look forward to an outside day preoccupied with sunny thoughts.
- Walking, across the pond One of the best reasons to travel is to get out of one's cultural skin for a while. It is also a great way to pick up some pretty useful ideas.
- More Hawthorn Hill Headlines
