My Chicken is a Drag Queen
Hear that Whitney Houston ballad she’s lip-syncing to?
Ok, that part is just my imagination. Take it from this city boy who's recently adopted five though, these zany birds are not all their clucked up to be. Had I known it would be all puffed chests and hen-pecking, I’d have reminisced over the old high school year book instead of welcoming these squabbling egg-bearers into my world.
Backstory
We’d been given two chickens from a friend who was moving and after a few nights of marathoning Chicken 101 videos on YouTube, we felt sure we were ready to become parents. Bonus points to us for supporting permaculture best practices (you remember that veggie garden I built from last time, right?)
If not, then you’re behind on your reading. No worries. Here’s the link again to learn about How I Cultivated Inspiration During Lockdown.
Every Day is Easter
The best part of having chickens is that every morning you get to look for an egg. Usually, they’re in the nesting box so you don’t have to waste time running around the house to find them like you did when you were younger. It’s just as fun without the chase, I promise. Although, I can’t remember the ones Mom hid having any fecal matter on them.
More is More
As an egg a day is hardly enough to keep the doctor away for two growing (read middle-aged) boys, it took us less than two weeks to determine we needed more. And between us chickens, nobody in this house will confess to how the eggs had nothing to do with it.
Apparently, it's common for new chicken owners to want to diversify, and I can see why. We were sitting ducks from the start and all too glad to expand our collection of these fabulous accessories. There are so many types of chickens out there and some are super quirky. Take ours for example. Every morning, I get up at the crack of dawn to let them out of the coop and they come begging for handouts. Chickens will basically eat whatever it is you toss at them and make you feel like it’s you they care about and not the food. Sound familiar, cat people?
Happy to accept oatmeal handouts and fistfuls of corn, our resident drag queens expect back rubs too. Of course, I’m more than happy to comply because they’ve worked very hard on that hair and makeup and looking that good that early deserves more than just a round of applause and a few dollars tossed on stage.
Here are some photos of our (growing) family. Four of them are named after our grandmothers (none of whom were drag queens, I’ll add).
Meet the Flockers
OG’s (Dolly & Celia)
New Kids in the Flock (Genya, Harriet, & Lady Voldemort)
Share your thoughts
If you’ve got chicken stories to share or any advice for this new poultry owner, I’d love to hear from you. Add a comment below or click/tap here to send me a message through the Contact Form on my website.