Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Coop De Grace


When I say that Mr. Moon worked like a dog all weekend, I mean to say that he worked like a lone Australian shepherd personally responsible for a herd of thousands.

And what he worked on was the chicken run. The coop itself is done except for the fine detail of the nesting boxes and now he's working on the outside part where the chickens will be able to strut around all day in the fresh air and sunshine, pecking at anything which looks like a bug and doing whatever it is that chickens do. Pooping. Eating. Things we all do.

One part of the run, as you can see in the picture above, will be covered. Well, it is covered. And it is approximately fifteen feet tall because...well, I don't know. Are we going to raise giant man-eating chickens? Maybe. Maybe we are. And perhaps Suzie is one of them.
I am fairly certain that we have a boy named Sue here.

Anyway, there's the coop itself, the little hallway-run, then the covered run-room and then the plain, no-roof-but-fenced-in part.

My chickens will have more rooms than I had when I lived in a ten-by-fifty foot trailer with a husband and two kids. And take my word for this- the chicken's home is more well-built than that trailer was.

But I am not begrudging these chickens their fancy domicile. Nah. I love my chickens. Here they are today:


Well, some of them.

Although you can't really tell from the picture, Suzie is the biggest now and has a definite red comb thing going on. Mr. Moon calls it the Testostercomb. And it turns out that Mabel/Maynard is now the SMALLEST chicken after having ruled the kindergarten roost and I'm thinking that yes, she is a hen. And I could have SWORN she was going to be the alpha male. Just goes to show.

They're so funny, these chicks. They have personalities and some of them are far more aggro than the others. They do this thing now where they fly at each other for perceived injustices and bow up at the breast and maybe get in a totemic head-peck and then settle back down to bug hunting.
It reminds me of a mosh pit.

Besides bugs, the chickens' favorite thing to eat is collard greens and I bring them new ones every day. Some days the greens have bugs ON them and this is the ultimate treat. They peck and hunt and cluster up and then breast-bump and then cluster up again, friendly as old women on a bus tour of pie diners.

I've almost completely forgotten that they might actually provide us with eggs some day. That hardly seems the point at this point. They're just my funny birds. The ones I realize I've always wanted because instead of having to feel guilty about them being in a cage and not flying around in their native jungles, they're right where domesticated birds belong- in my back yard- and they're about to have access to the Coop Mahal with fresh greens, access to bugs, and even cozy nesting boxes should they ever choose to lay an egg.

Kathleen and Herb have added on to their coop and they're calling it Chickingham Palace.
Kathleen is the one who showed me how lovely chickens can be and I'm mighty grateful to her for that.

Such nice birds, soft and fluffy, funny and curious.

And none of this would have been possible without Mr. Moon working like an Australian Shepherd in the crazy heat with mosquitoes biting his ass through his jeans, his nail bag wrapped around his waist, his hands shredded from working with the wire.

I love those chickens. But not as much as I love Mr. Moon.
He makes all my dreams come true. Even the ones I didn't know I had. Like having chickens in the backyard, hunting for bugs and learning to cluck.

It's a good life here in Lloyd. With such interesting characters.

Happy Tuesday, y'all.

25 comments:

  1. WOW, said my daugher, that is a big gerbil cage!

    I think I'm ready for the bus tour of pie diners. Oh yes.

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  2. Chickens do have a strange, but definite societal structure. (The pecking order...) I understand that they are fascinating to watch go through their little rituals and problem solving, etc...

    I can't wait for fresh eggies! We are digging on the Carolyn eggs you gave us. I'm sure part of it is psychological, but they feel healthier somehow. Like I know how they are taken care of and fed and etc... so I trust that the eggs don't have a bunch of junk in them via some weird chicken feed which has ground up chickens in it or something!

    Sorry, too much caffeine today.
    xo

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  3. BTW.. The Coop Mahal is looks fabulous! If I were a chicken, that is where I'd want to live.

    That Mr. Moon, he sets that bar pretty high doesn't he?

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  4. Ms. Jo- Me too, actually. Pie sounds good.

    Petit Fleur- Isn't it fun to watch them grow? And yes, Mr. Moon is a high-bar setter.

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  5. Mosh pit? Do you do much moshing, Ms. Moon?

    We are fencing our place in to ward off deer and attack dogs as we speak. Once the commune becomes the compound, we will begin to think of chickens. I think it's at least a year out. Must build our arbor first.

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  6. Steph- I know. It's like a work of art.

    Ms. Trouble- Okay. Not much moshing. But I've been there. I've done that. Long, long ago. And we do not have an arbor. I long for one. My friend Kathleen has a grape AND kiwi arbor. She is the boss of me.

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  7. I can't believe what a little shrimpy thing Mabel is! He/she fooled us, huh?!

    Excellent cage work by Mr Moon. I really am sooo jealous you have a handy man for a husband.

    And I love the Australian Shepherd reference. I have a mixed breed Aussie. That dog can go and GO!

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  8. Lady Lemon- It's all a learning experience.

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  9. Mr. Moon fucking rocks!

    Your coop is excellent. If I reincarnate I should be so lucky to be one of your damn cluckers.

    Love,

    SB

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  10. Ms. Bastard- You are right about Mr. Moon.

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  11. It amazing me how Dad just gets that shit done. I mean really, I wouldn't have any idea where to begin, but he just looks a few things up and then starts building. It's inspiring and a little scary how he can do it all. I love you too!

    Thanks for housing and feeding me, and thank you for letting me tag along on you and Kathleen's day out- I had so much fun!

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  12. Poor Xbox, he just doesn't get it.

    FOrgot to say, coop de grace was really funny :)

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  13. that thing's got room for some ostriches or maybe an art student or two.

    Also, missed the coffee date obviously, BabyMama was wantin' dinner and a margarita after work somthin' fierce and there's no denying her Friday Margarita.

    oh, and yeah, no beer at Black Dog, but they do still have whine. bah dump tink!

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  14. Honey- Yes. You have one hell of an amazing papa. I am so glad you were here. It always feels so GOOD to have you in the house.

    XBox- Hmmm. Thanks for the menu suggestion. I was stumped for tonight's supper. But I'll be a big old hypocrite and buy some of those chickens which have suffered mightily for my sin of eating meat.

    Jo- Thanks for noticing.

    Magnum- You could have brought Baby Mama with you and then gone off and gotten a drink. Just saying...
    We missed you.

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  15. next time, definitely

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  16. It looks like a great chicken coop.
    But what about TV shows like Lassie and Bonanza that showed chickens just hanging out outside the ranch house? Are you telling me that those chickens weren't free range chickens? Maybe they were acting chickens...
    BTW - I had a Big Ben alarm clock when I was in high school and it ticked so loud I could hardly sleep! I don't miss it at all.

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  17. Magnum- Okay.

    Ms. Hope- We have so many predators around here. Coyotes, hawks, owls. The fences are to protect the chicks. Although, when they get bigger, we'd love to let them run. But before we do that, we have to fence in the garden. They just love to eat vegetables.
    And really? Your Baby Ben kept you awake? It soothed me.

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  18. Happy Tuesday to you too, and that Mr. Moon is one swell dude. Enjoy those chickens Mrs. Moon. Also, thank you for your comments about my baby boy. I think he is pretty darn cute too.

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  19. Mmmm, pie...
    Anyway, sounds like you have the makings of quite the reality show in your back yard: fighting, eating bugs, a mosh pit and ambiguous gender. All the elements are there. Time to get FOX tv on the phone.

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  20. I love love love these chicken posts. My family laughs at me, because I swear we had chickens when I was a young child, but they say we didn't. How did I make these memories?? Where are those white chickens and why did I create them in my mind? Anyway, I would love to have chickens someday, for real this time. It's fun to watch yours grow. Mr. Moon did a fantastic job on the run!

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  21. Mr. Shife- Well, your baby is just way too cute. I always appreciate your comments, you know.

    Rachel- And frogs, too!

    Lora- Do you think it could be possible that your neighbors had chickens? Or an aunt? I seriously doubt you made this up.

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  22. that is a pretty fine coop...my mama has an organic chicken farm with allsorts of crazy chickens and peacocks and geese and emus and she would be impressed....happy chicks lay happy eggs :)

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  23. Ms. Bliss- I am impressed with your mama.

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.