Chicken Scratch Fever
A first attempt at urban farming.
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A new beginning
In many cultures around the world, eggs and — in particular — chicks are symbolic of new life and rebirth. So picking up two new chicks today couldn’t have happened at a better time. In recent days, I have faced…
Read MoreLosing Loretta
I’ve been losing Loretta almost from the beginning. In her first year, she had a short but spectacular laying season. Her rich, deep brown eggs did not disappoint. But midway through the winter break I saw things had gone awry….
Read MoreLittle Siouxsie Sioux
On the sixth day, I found little Siouxsie Sioux crumpled near the front of the brooder. Not knowing how long she had been out of the heater, I worried about her body temperature. I held her close to me, and…
Read MoreAn egg???
Every day when I trek up to the chicken coop to collect eggs, I chuckle and remind myself that it’s singular. Egg. My Olive Egger, Gigi, provides a green egg almost every day. But Loretta, our Black Copper Marans, hasn’t…
Read MoreMore chicks? Yes, please
Chicken math is a funny thing. The punch line is that we always want more, right? Where I live, I am constrained by an ordinance that limits my chicken numbers to four. Oh how I wish I could have six….
Read MoreDifficult decision
Nellie was my favorite chick from day one. I loved cradling her in my palm, and as she grew, she seemed to enjoy snuggling in my lap. Right around the time she started to lay eggs, all of that changed….
Read MoreWeek 16: Crazy chickens!
Editor’s note: This is a blog from last year that I never published. It was just the beginning of what became very aggressive and destructive behavior. Tonight for the first time I felt something other than absolute adoring love for my…
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