Being an old lover of Mother Earth News, but finding myself inextricably stuck in the wilds of suburbia, I have always dreamed of "blowin' up the T.V." and "movin' to the country", (with all apologies to John Prine). Since my wife had grown up with a few chickens, and a crazy rooster that liked to steal beer cans at picnics, when the topic came up over dinner one evening I thought "great"..."what could be simpler".
Having now spent the last several weeks reading 'How To' books and blogs, scouring on-line purveyors' lists of breeds and supplies, consulting with possibly affected neighbors, county officials, a forest ranger and various sundry other nitwits I have come to the conclusion that once again...nothing is ever half as simple as it first seems.
How are we gonna train our decidedly under stimulated Aussie Shepherds to respect the chicken and not attempt to constantly herd, or adopt them as chew toys, as they do everyone and everything else (children, squirrels, rabbits and the occasional passing automobile)? To what extreme of hubris will I succumb in a vain attempt to whip Mother Nature into submission while attempting to nature proof my chickens' suburban digs, (even though we aren't 'country' we still have numerous hawks, fox, coyote - this was news to me, feral cats, possum, coons and all manner of small mammals)?
My family and I love animals (to a fault...we already have way too many) and desire to provide them with the best environment possible. Unfortunately my wife and I both appear to suffer from some strange morphing of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and the pursuit of "good enough is never Good Enough". These things generally do not meld well with the random designs of nature. Maybe our chickens will help unwind that tendency?
...now if I can just figure out how to circulate the solar hot water through the perches and keep the geothermal coop cooler running...
Having now spent the last several weeks reading 'How To' books and blogs, scouring on-line purveyors' lists of breeds and supplies, consulting with possibly affected neighbors, county officials, a forest ranger and various sundry other nitwits I have come to the conclusion that once again...nothing is ever half as simple as it first seems.
How are we gonna train our decidedly under stimulated Aussie Shepherds to respect the chicken and not attempt to constantly herd, or adopt them as chew toys, as they do everyone and everything else (children, squirrels, rabbits and the occasional passing automobile)? To what extreme of hubris will I succumb in a vain attempt to whip Mother Nature into submission while attempting to nature proof my chickens' suburban digs, (even though we aren't 'country' we still have numerous hawks, fox, coyote - this was news to me, feral cats, possum, coons and all manner of small mammals)?
My family and I love animals (to a fault...we already have way too many) and desire to provide them with the best environment possible. Unfortunately my wife and I both appear to suffer from some strange morphing of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and the pursuit of "good enough is never Good Enough". These things generally do not meld well with the random designs of nature. Maybe our chickens will help unwind that tendency?
...now if I can just figure out how to circulate the solar hot water through the perches and keep the geothermal coop cooler running...
