After several years of consideration ... and the wearing down of one reluctant spouse ... the chicks are in the mail. Or they will be, in three to five weeks! I have envisioned the little buggers running around my yard for a while now, but every time I brought it up, Peter would say absolutely not. You can buy eggs.
True. And I didn't really push it, because any animal means more work, and do I really want to shovel chicken poop? Maybe not so much.
But I love fresh eggs. I can really tell, and one thing you never know for sure is if you are buying a free range egg. Not so much for the egg's sake, but I have been to a chicken place and it is horrible. I mean, terrible. I think everyone should visit one -- and to think that I did it on a 4-H visit -- and the people who owned the place were proud to show it! It was horrible. Yes, I know I've already said that, but it was years and years ago and I can still see it, smell it and hear it. More chickens than you can imagine are in cages, but they don't have bottoms. They sort of perch on a small area, and when they lay their eggs, the egg goes on to a conveyor belt and off it goes to where it is weighed and whatever else. I was too traumatized by the chickens to see the rest of the deal.
I can't find a picture that show exactly what the factory I went to visit was like, but this is pretty darn close. The smell and the noise are beyond words, really, and free range just means they are not in a cage but smashed together, wandering around, almost always inside. In other words, a free range egg is fairly meaningless. And because of that, I spend a LOT of money on free range eggs that are from supposedly reputable farms; or get local when I can.
When I was in 4-H as a kid, a friend and I shared a flock of chickens, so I am well aware of what it entails. But I have never raised chicks, and I wonder if you get closer to them? The ones I dealt with were not all that friendly, but they were kept in a large stall in a barn, and they weren't free range really, either. To me, that means they are outside, wandering around, eating bugs and rolling in the dirt. The good chicken life! I am aiming to provide the good life to my chickens in exchange for eggs that come from happy chickens.
There are no other farm animals that I would be interested in. I don't drink milk, so there is no need for a cow; and while I do enjoy a rasher of bacon (whatever that is!!!) from time to time, I don't really eat pig. I grew up with horses, and haven't really had the desire to return to that, in all these years. Back then there was a purpose; you rode to get better so that when you were in horse shows you could potentially win. Horse people really have no other life if they are really into it. I knew as a kid that that wasn't going to be my lot in life!
As for food sources, I would ultimately like to eat as little meat as possible. I won't have any issues eating my happy chickens when the time comes; if that is a route we choose to go. But I am not sure I can throw a chicken on a log and whack its head off. So I guess if I can't do that, then I shouldn't be eating my friends! But I don't want to raise my own meat, ultimately, even if to know where it comes from. I'd rather not eat it, I guess!
So now the playhouse needs to be converted into a chicken coop and the dogs need to be lectured on how to get along with furry creatures!
No comments:
Post a Comment