Way back at the end of February, I had a hunch that I was going to get furloughed or laid off and that would mean an end to a whole lot of summer plans we had in the works. I thought it might be a good idea to start prepping for those changes and me being me decided a nice little Intex pool would be a good idea. If we weren’t going to travel all summer, might as well stay home and relax in a pool with some gin, right?
I told TW about my plan and she did not think this was a good idea. Those aren’t big enough to swim in and she only likes pools that are big enough to swim in. Also, she was worried about filling a big Intex pool because of a problem we had with our well a few years ago when I hired some guys to pressure wash the house.
Shrug. I kept pondering the idea as we entered March and it became even more clear that our summer plans were absolutely going to change because of the furlough and the pandemic. I kept quietly looking at pools but with TW being so strongly opposed to the idea, I gave it up and moved on.
To livestock.
I have wanted chickens for a very long time and TW has wanted goats and cows and chickens. I’ve put it off because we travel a lot and the more animals you have, the more you have to figure out who is going to take care of them when you go to Disney World a dozen times a year.
If we were cancelling a trip to Tennessee, a trip to Oregon, and three trips to Disney World AND I was going to be furloughed, (because by then I was 99.9% sure I was absolutely going to be furloughed), then this was the perfect time to give livestock a try. Chickens seemed the easiest.
So when we started seeing signs that chick days were coming to the local hardware stores, instead of laughing it off or saying NO… I told TW to figure out what kind of coop and supplies we needed and… the rest is history.
We started with 14 chicks, when we thought we’d start with four. We’ve built three coops, though one is currently empty, and we’re down to nine chickens.
Since the chicks came home with us on April 1, I’ve entered 25 stores or offices. 20 of those times have been chicken related. (Thank goodness for online order and curbside pickup!)
I cannot tell you the number of times I’ve been to Ace, Lowes, Tractor Supply, and Rural King or the number of chicken-related deliveries that have arrived on our doorstep. (I also don’t even want to guess at what our mailman says about us NOW.) We have a chicken wish list on Amazon that’s far longer than any other wish lists we’ve ever had.
We have four coop cameras, we’re growing sprouts to feed chickens, (which they, so far, do not appreciate), we have bags of produce bits that normal people would be saving for soup (yuk) and the rinds of melons lurking in our freezer.
We’ve had chicken emergencies (dog-related), we’ve both traipsed around in the dark looking for predators seen on those coop cams, and we’ve found a snake on its way to or from a chicken run.
We also must figure out how to build a chicken tractor and some compost bins when it’s hotter than heck outside.
It’s been interesting, to say the least. It’s also been a lot of work and a very expensive pandemic and furlough. But it was also the right time to get chickens. Trying to figure all of this out while living our “normal” lives would have been horrible.
It’s also been a good thing to keep our minds on rather than obsessing too much over what’s going on in the world.
Neighbor Frank also loves these chickens, which is important. Very important. (You should have heard him laugh the day I hung an old cd-rom disc in the girls’ coop for interest and because some people think it discourages prey. He laughed and laughed. I really need to get the disco ball hung up out there. He’s going to really love that.) He doesn’t like it when we get up too early and let the roosters out of their coop – he likes to sit out on the deck with his breakfast and listen to Big Bird crow. Unfortunately for him, Big Bird doesn’t crow much once he is freed from the coop. So, I try to sleep in a bit – just for Mr. Frank.
Bug guess what?
On Friday, TW told me to order a pool because it’s hotter than heck and because of course she did. (Unfortunately, pools are sold out due to the pandemic so I’m going to build some cooling tubs for chickens and sigh longingly every time I see my daughter post photos of the grandchildren in their shiny new Intex pool.)
