cooping-it: 6. Standing Tall!

Sunday, May 11, 2008

6. Standing Tall!

Whew!!!!

Mother's Day consisted of an entire day out hammering, measuring and cutting wood (after a fantastic breakfast out on the deck). We have the walls all up, the door and windows framed, and both the chicken hatch and sweep hatch marked out. The chicks arrive next Tuesday!!!

While we still have lots more to work on, the structure standing tall is a remarkable thing. This past week there was much rain which hampered our progress.

The chicks will live inside for the first month or so and I am behind in getting their indoor space ready. Time to crank it up!

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The Backstory.

In April of 2006, my husband and I went to an auction to benefit our younger son's public elementary school. Never one for the typical sports memorabilia or spa vacations that are frequently the sought after items from these events, I perused the tastefully decorated hotel banquet room's aisles looking for something that was more interesting. Tucked into a back corner, next to a handmade amber and silver drop necklace and tickets for two to a taping of the David Letterman Show, I found the something different that I had been seeking. A local family was offering fresh organic eggs from their backyard chickens; a dozen each week for a year. We were the lucky winners of the auction which surprisingly few people had bid on.

Our first batch eggs were different than even the organic grocery store ones which were our usual fare. A range of colors from light brown to dark brown with speckles to light blue greeted us when we opened the carton. We were told to leave them as they were, 'fresh from the farm', and not wash off the bits of dirt and chicken waste that was smeared on a few of them. A quick rinse under the tap would clean them right up just before they were ready to be used. Were the eggs really that different than the store bought ones? When cracked, the whites sat right up in the pan rather than spreading wide out. Also, the yolks were a deep yellow-orange. When whipping up a few for a scramble, the perfectly creamy froth turned into deliciously fluffy eggs. I was pleased with myself for learning the subtleties between what I thought was just an ordinary egg.

Each week either a dozen were dropped off at our doorstep or we would pick them up. My husband was the first to go and see the chickens for himself. He was amazed that the eight multi-colored birds were right there walking amongst the children's play equipment and the two energetic dogs, a Vizsla and a Weimaraner, prancing about nearby on the lawn. He encouraged me to go and pick up our next dozen the following week and see them for myself.

This spring, a year after that first dozen, not only are we still enthralled with the fresh eggs we have grown used to, we are building our own coop for a May delivery of chicks.

cooping-it

Sunday, May 11, 2008

6. Standing Tall!

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