Homesteading

Throughout most of May and June I spied this chicken coop for sale at the general store in Carlow.  It was originally a dresser/wardrobe and it was converted into most of what it is today.  I had to rip off its doors and fix them, and I also ripped off the back of the unit and reconfigured it into a nesting area for the ladies to lay.  By and by it turned into a fine area for 3 or 4 birds during the first of July with my brother's help.  However being on the road and traveling, there wasn't a great time to get the birds until now.

We were passing through Elmira the other day.  There is a store that sells all things Pullets.  They are serious enough that the electronic message on the sales receipt says, "Eggs for the body, Jesus for the soul."  They must be New Order Mennonite, not that such a message would only come from them, but they are popular in the area and quite religous.  Nevertheless these chickens aren't too fancy, but they'll lay an egg a day.  They were about $12 each, which I think is probably pricey.  We stopped at a Mennonite farm earlier and inquired about their poultry for sale and the ladies were $5 each.  But they looked all skinny and disgusting; like they had gone to war and back.  These $12 hens definitely look like they have lived the life of luxury, if that is even possible for a chicken.

So the high school aged New Order Mennonite kid went into the barn and grabbed 3 chickens like he had done it many times before, and some.  The hens surprisingly weren't flapping their wings or fighting back.  They certainly weren't jittery, or squawking away like this is it.  They were pretty calm and seemed reserved that a new journey was coming.  Albeit a new journey crammed in the back of an empty Pamper's box.

I bet Pamper's gets hundreds of notes about the creative ways their boxes have been reused.  Add chicken transport....  Fittingly too the chickens defecated all over the box - I thought that was a bit ironic as they could have used a diaper to catch the waist.  2 chickens were in the Pamper's box and the third was in a cat carrier.

So far they seem settled in and enjoying their new surroundings.  They have plenty of room to roam, lots of food, and a roof over their head.  They will be laying brown eggs.