Yesterday afternoon Bobby and I took a tour of some of the beltline's chicken coops. I think there were actually 20 on the map, but we got a late start and only had time for about 7. And I forgot my camera! I was so aggravated. But here's some of the cool things I learned:
- chicken coops are designed for either the owner's convenience or the chicken's convenience (and one had both)
- everyone has their own way of doing things (and their own reasons)
- other than daily egg-gathering, they're not that high maintenance
- the pecking order is a problem
- a chicken "run" is just a penned in space where the chickens can literally run around
- chickens lay eggs whenever they want to, not just in the morning
- there's a slaughter house in Orange County for small flock owners that will kill and clean the chickens for you
- there's actually a listserve for Triangle chicken owners
I don't know whether or not we'll get chickens, but it doesn't seem like as huge an undertaking like cows or horses. I do know if it ever does happen, it won't be this summer. I'm still adamant about not having a rooster. The dogs wake me up enough during the night without having some idiotic cock-a-doodle-do going off all night long. Plus I've heard too many stories about roosters being aggressive. Has anyone out there ever had chickens?
Comments
I remember one time when the meanest rooster spurred my little brother. In two winks my Daddy had him strung up and we tried to eat him for dinner that night. I remember my brother scolding him in the pot, telling him he shouldn't have done what he did, and he wouldn't be in such a fix. That bird was so tough and leathery we couldn't even chew it or hardly cut it. It's still a story we laugh about!