- Apr 26, 2011
- 21
- 0
- 22
So, my wife and I decided we wanted to get some chickens. We ordered 25 of the little darlings from a mail order company. They arrived the third week of March and as none of my out buildings have electricity, I built a brooder to keep in our little home office.
Week 1 - My wife and I enjoyed watching them interact with each other and the cats (3) seemed to enjoy watching them as well.
Week 2 - The cats are really interested in these new creatures and keep wanting to get a closer look. My wife and I have started to notice some personalities developing with various chickens.
Week 3 - It was a little colder one day and the heat was on and we wanted to keep the cats away so we shut the office door and went our merry ways. When I arrived home later that day and entered the office to check on the little darlings, something had changed! The stench just about knocked me on my arse! Just like that, they went from little darlings to major poop manufacturers! The weather isn't warm enough for them to go out. Heavy sigh!, We have to put up with this for a couple of more weeks. Daily brooder cleanings had now become a neccessity.
Week 4 - Something happened I just had never considered. They went from little darlings to major poop manufacturers and now the industious creatures had become a global dust creating conglomerate! It's everywhere. My printer won't work, my computer sounds funny, my wife, who has many allergies starts sneezing and coughing. The worst part is that evil-eyed glare she gives me every time she needs to go into the office. If these things don't go out soon, I fear for my life!
Week 5 - GET THEM OUT OF MY HOUSE!! was becoming my wife's daily conversation starter. But alas, alack it's always raining and their new home isn't quite ready. I don't hunt in the rain, I don't fish in the rain and I sure as heck don't work in the rain but I may have to break that cardinal rule for the sake of my marriage. The little darlings have turned into ANIMALS!! They screech and yell, jump all over, fight over the food and water, poop like crazy and all this activity just creates a volcanic - like dust cloud that is now amounting to a steady layer on every single surface of the office! It's even seeping out the door and settling on the living room furniture, much to my wife's displeasure.
Week 6 - At last, a sunny day. Their coop is ready. I bring in a small transport cage and again the cats seem very interested as they follow me and the screeching creatures through the house. I just know they were hoping to play with one, but they were deemed to disappointment. Finally, they're all gone and I look at the office floor covered with wood chips and I've vacuumed more in these past few weeks than I ever have in my life. I gaze upon the dust covered book cases, office equipment, desks, etc. It's about a 1/4 inch deep now as I had given up trying to keep up several days ago. You never realize how many things you can have in a room until the daunting task of cleaning every little thing is suddenly before you. I look beseechingly at my wife but alas, no help at all is coming from that quarter. All of a sudden they have become MY chickens and MY responsibility to clean up after them! Life just isn't fair! So will I ever do this again? Absolutely not! My lesson has been learned and I now generously pass on this new found wisdom to all of you.
Week 1 - My wife and I enjoyed watching them interact with each other and the cats (3) seemed to enjoy watching them as well.
Week 2 - The cats are really interested in these new creatures and keep wanting to get a closer look. My wife and I have started to notice some personalities developing with various chickens.
Week 3 - It was a little colder one day and the heat was on and we wanted to keep the cats away so we shut the office door and went our merry ways. When I arrived home later that day and entered the office to check on the little darlings, something had changed! The stench just about knocked me on my arse! Just like that, they went from little darlings to major poop manufacturers! The weather isn't warm enough for them to go out. Heavy sigh!, We have to put up with this for a couple of more weeks. Daily brooder cleanings had now become a neccessity.
Week 4 - Something happened I just had never considered. They went from little darlings to major poop manufacturers and now the industious creatures had become a global dust creating conglomerate! It's everywhere. My printer won't work, my computer sounds funny, my wife, who has many allergies starts sneezing and coughing. The worst part is that evil-eyed glare she gives me every time she needs to go into the office. If these things don't go out soon, I fear for my life!
Week 5 - GET THEM OUT OF MY HOUSE!! was becoming my wife's daily conversation starter. But alas, alack it's always raining and their new home isn't quite ready. I don't hunt in the rain, I don't fish in the rain and I sure as heck don't work in the rain but I may have to break that cardinal rule for the sake of my marriage. The little darlings have turned into ANIMALS!! They screech and yell, jump all over, fight over the food and water, poop like crazy and all this activity just creates a volcanic - like dust cloud that is now amounting to a steady layer on every single surface of the office! It's even seeping out the door and settling on the living room furniture, much to my wife's displeasure.
Week 6 - At last, a sunny day. Their coop is ready. I bring in a small transport cage and again the cats seem very interested as they follow me and the screeching creatures through the house. I just know they were hoping to play with one, but they were deemed to disappointment. Finally, they're all gone and I look at the office floor covered with wood chips and I've vacuumed more in these past few weeks than I ever have in my life. I gaze upon the dust covered book cases, office equipment, desks, etc. It's about a 1/4 inch deep now as I had given up trying to keep up several days ago. You never realize how many things you can have in a room until the daunting task of cleaning every little thing is suddenly before you. I look beseechingly at my wife but alas, no help at all is coming from that quarter. All of a sudden they have become MY chickens and MY responsibility to clean up after them! Life just isn't fair! So will I ever do this again? Absolutely not! My lesson has been learned and I now generously pass on this new found wisdom to all of you.
