New Old Hens

The "free" section on craigslist gives rise to all kinds of craziness.

Yesterday I saw an ad offering two 3-year-old hens, still laying, along with their coop. Thinking how our little chickabiddies won't be laying for a while yet, I figured it would be nice to have eggs this week. And although they probably won't keep laying for long, these new old hens look healthy and happy for now. Later on maybe they will make a nice stew. Besides, having full grown hens will spur us on in our efforts to create an outside chicken habitat. (Penguin and Dundee are still box-dwelling birds, pooing on old socks for bedding and basking in the light of my mother's hand-me-down heat lamp.)

So early this morning Chris and I tossed a couple of hens in the trunk of the car to wait for us as we dismantled their chicken coop. We made a little tarp tent to keep them from getting into the back seat and turning the car into a latrine. It was effective at keeping the car clean but also fogged up the windows. I think the chickens could breath all right through the gaps, and hopefully they enjoyed their chicken sauna.

After removing a few dozen rusty screws from the rotting wood of the chicken coop, we had the roof separated from the sides. We bundled it on top of the car and rolled back home. My grandmother would be livid if she saw the things we put her car through. Sorry Boo, we know you wouldn't approve. But we are very, very grateful!

Once we had unloaded everything else into the backyard, we gave the chickens free range to explore their new digs. And dig they did. It must be nice to never doubt your purpose in life; if you are a chicken, it's all about scratching about in the dirt for grub.

The coop went up more easily than we had feared. Chris still complained that I have turned him into my farmhand, but at least we finished before I had to leave for work. And I don't think he was really too put off by it. After all, he got to name them: Swinkles and Turnip.

New old hens in their new old house.

A couple of years ago, I would never have thought we could do this, all in a days' work. Not that there isn't a long way to go, of course. There are a couple of gaps in the chicken wire that I want to fix, and we'll have to figure out a new housing situation once Penguin and Dundee move outside. And there is always the to-do list, all my mantenimiento that cries out to be dealt with. But it gives me hope to think that just by saying, "yes, let's do it!" we can be on our way to where we want to be. It just takes that spirit of possibility to take off running with a project and end the day feeling satisfied.