egg-citing news

This is me and my chicken.

We have thought about keeping chickens in the past, but only briefly.  The idea sounded daunting and something reserved for a country home, maybe in the future, because chickens don't live in the city.  Or at least they wouldn't be happy living in the city.  A few months back I started to hear a distant cluck cluck bakaaaaawk!  Someone in our hood has a few hens.  I can't tell where these friendly sounds are coming from, but knowing they are out there has given the air around here more of a relaxed and rural vibe.  And they sound pretty happy to me.  

While we were in Santa Fe, Greta asked me for a chicken.  I didn't want to dismiss the idea so I told her it would take a lot of research and time to see if keeping a hen or two or three would fit happily into our life.  

A good friend of the family, Cecily who lives in Albuquerque has four hens of her own.  We had planned to visit her home and her girls, but bad weather kept getting in our way and we never made it.  So she happily answered a list of questions that Greta came up with regarding chickens.  I think one of them was, " Do chickens like to eat cheese?"

She gave us some very helpful answers and she and Gramma Peg even made a video for the kids with a tour of the henhouse.  As you can imagine this got us very excited and thinking seriously about this venture.

Since we have been home I have discovered that there is a huge urban chicken keeping movement out there and an abundance of helpful information. I am now a proud member of the Los Angeles Urban Chicken Enthusiasts.  I have brought it up to the neighbors and they seem to be on board.  I offered them a hen of their own.  Bribery is always good.  And no roosters!  No way.  

We would have the freshest and healthiest eggs, some new pets, and would be a step closer to living a more sustainable life here in the city.  

Here's a load of books from the library.

Right now I'm looking into coop designs.  Do we build it ourselves or buy one?

There are some modern looking coops that look straight off of a space ship but I tend to like the more traditional looking ones, like we had when I was a kid. 

I do love these.

So there you have it.  One of our current obsessions. 

Bakaaaawk!

Isn't she a beauty?

 

We watched The Natural History of the Chicken.  Greta loved it. 

Watch a few minutes.  I promise you will love it too.

Have a happy Monday.