Friday, August 23, 2013

Why Chickens???

Ok.  So I admit it.  We got The Ladies because I thought it would be fun (it is!).  That's not to say it was not well thought out.  But the primary reason was that taking care of our friends chickens while they were on vacation was FUN!  And easy.  And eventually they contribute to the household by giving us eggs.  I love my cat and dog but they don't give me eggs!  Little did I know there are so many better reasons to support us having chickens. 

Right from the start this has been a family project.  Now that I think about it, I'm not sure we have every really had a family project.  I highly recommend it.  We started with actually sitting down and writing a list of pros and cons of having chickens.  A very good lesson for the girls.  Then came the writing the budget which included a trip to Tractor Supply to actually price the food, shavings, feeders, waterers, etc.  Good lesson number 2 for the girls.  Then came the planning of coop modifications and the selecting of cold hardy, friendly, good laying breeds of chickens.  For two kids who are not really planners but "jump up and doers" this was another great exercise.  We've had lots of talk about why we need to plan and learn.  And this was all before The Ladies even hatched!  There were other lessons - how to come to agreement about names even if you have to give up your favorite name, how to measure twice and cut once when building, how to brush with the grain of the wood when painting,  what foods are ok to give chickens, how warm new baby chicks need to be....  And so much more.  In addition to fun this has been all about LEARNING!  Not bad for a summer!

And then The Ladies arrived.  And we were all immediately smitten.  But also new lessons came at us fast.  Right away I was struck by the fragility of these tiny things and reminded of our immense responsibility to care for the creatures we take into our lives.  We had some tough talks at home at first about how careful we needed to be with the chicks and how they can't just eat whatever you want to give them.  I'm not sure but I think the girls learned some about that we are ultimately responsible for The Ladies' lives.  They are just chicks but it was a good reminder of the awesome responsibility we humans hold in this world.  The loss of little Rosey was a sad emphasis of that lesson. 

And chores - that has been a timely lesson for Emma and Meghan.  And somehow I get less flack about getting them to help out.  Not just the "Chickie Chores" as we call, them but there is definitely more helping around the house.  Who knew that would happen - but I won't complain!

Singularly the biggest joy that has come from having The Ladies is the new family time we are enjoying.  There is less tv being watched!   And more conversations being held.  Sometimes about chickens and sometimes just regular old conversations.  It's amazing what topics come up when you sit watching chicks.  And there is so much more laughter in our house!  Again sometimes about the antics of the chicks, sometimes, good natured ribbing of how Mom has turned into a "Crazy Chicken Lady" and sometimes just other random things.

If these faces don't say it all.....


 

Even if The Ladies never lay eggs for us - they have already repaid us ten times over.

The Chicken Chick

2 comments:

  1. This is so cool Jen! It definitely makes me want chickens. I think our town is not particularly chick friendly though, and we have a smaller backyard than you can probably imagine.

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  2. What's better than that?! Chickens are a blast! Thank you for sharing with the Clever Chicks Blog Hop!

    Cheers,
    Kathy Shea Mormino
    The Chicken Chick
    http://www.The-Chicken-Chick.com

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