Flying the Coop

Finally! Our chicken coop as arrived!

I say “finally” because we have been co-habitating with the chickens (yes, in our house–our dining room to be more specific) for the past week and a half. The first day, it was actually incredibly fun. We let them walk around our living room, and we held them in our laps. We invited our neighbors over to do the same thing.

And the sunny weekends were nice, too. When it’s nice outside, we carry the chickens out two-by-two and watch them peck around on the grass. It’s endlessly entertaining (oddly enough).

But the rest of the time, our four chickens have been cooped up in a box (luckily, it’s a really big box). As they’ve grown bigger (and more courageous), they have started flying the coop. Since the box has an open top, they first fly up and perch on the edge of the box. Next, they fly from the top of the coop to our dining room table a couple feet away.

Free-range chickens are actually a great thing, except they are little poop factories. Seriously. They poop All-The-Time.

Needless to say, I am relieved they will be moving outside soon. It will be better for all parties involved. Matt and I had to drive to the Greyhound Station in downtown Houston to pick up our eglu. It arrived in two huge boxes that we unsuccessfully tried to cram into my Honda Fit. Plan B was to take everything out of the boxes and then stuff it in the car. Worked much better.

So far, we are enamored with our little coop that looks like a first generation computer that Mac produced for consumers (even though I had to take on an extra consulting job so we could pay for it). It honestly makes chicken raising seem like something we can seamlessly integrate into our quasi-urban lives. Since we won’t spend a ton of time cleaning out the coop (just a rinse once a week and a more thorough clean once a month), we’ll have more time to just bask with them in the sun (and cook omelets).

Now, if only it would stop raining and being generally icky around these parts!