The Coop.

I was just looking through old emails to see if anything inspired me. So happy to come across these. Ever since that book showed up, I am kind of obsessed with the whole chicken thing all over again.

Three things are troubling me:

1. The life span. That means this is looking to be about a __ year commitment. Not so bad, if they are laying eggs all the time. But –

2. They supposedly have a rapid decline in egg production after the first 18 months*. What does this mean? Before that if you're getting, like, 80 eggs a week, it tapers down to 4? Or, are you getting a dozen a week and tapering to 1-2 every four months? I'm going to need to figure this out, and how I feel about the answers.

3. What's the deal with health care? I need to find out if any of my local vets care for these animals, and also how often they will need to visit. Well, and I guess I also need to find out if it's even an option keep them in my town, but I just have this strange feeling it is. Or could be.

Regardless of the answers, why do I still think having them would be so much fun? I can't even imagine the level of excitement I'd experience the day I brought them home. Joy. Glee. Delight.

Image from The Habit of Being.

These guys just got two chickens. They named them Ira and Clementine. How fun would it be to pick the breeds? And name them!? Get this: If you want to start with chicks, you can order them and they show up through the mail, just 2 days old, in a box cut with air holes, chirping away. Can you imagine? Then you have to teach them how to drink and lead them to their food. And keep them inside and under a heat lamp for about 8 weeks. You're thinking, What a pain in the ass, right? Me too kinda. But kinda not and maybe worth it?

I mean, get a load of this coop. Could it be any cuter? This one was from a Craig's List ad Kyle sent me months ago (he likes to torture me). How awesome is this!? It would fit in my backyard perfectly! (I'd make the run quite a bit larger).

What if... ?

*I read this in the last issue of Conscious Choice magazine, an article called "Yes, We Chicken".