yesterday, in all of its hecticness, adah and i dropped by linnton feed and seed. though not so local, it's our favorite place to get chicken food and a few starts, like heirloom tomatoes and onion bulbs. the people there are knowledgeable and down to earth, and let us roam around their private yard as we yearn for additional chickens and watch the ducks. before we left, anne reminded me that i am not allowed to bring home any more chickens, even an americauna, my current sought-after breed. while we were there i talked to dan about our current chicken dilemma, which i'm sure everyone is sick of hearing me talk about: after a year of free-ranging it in our backyard, the girls have figured out how to escape, and now they can frequently be seen wandering down our busy street where they have full access to edible cigarette butts and traffic. several times a week we get a loud knock at the door: "hey-- are those your chickens? they're walking down the street" or "um... i just saw some kids throwing a basketball at one of your chicken's heads..." no kidding, this actually happened 2 days ago.
the problem is, i feel terrible keeping them in their pen, and i can't decide which is worse: them getting physically assaulted by sports equipment or the threat of a hit and run or being locked up all day, where they have limited access to worms and dry dirt to take baths in? i'd ask for advice, but no one on earth knows i'm writing this blog except for anne, and we all know what her opinion is on the subject.
so, dan at linnton recommended that i get a small pair of plyers and cut their primary flight feathers. i'm not very good at this sort of thing, because i'm very afraid of hurting things, so i immediately began thinking who else i could get to do this for me. he said, "it's just like cutting finger nails!" so, folks, i decided i should maybe give this thing a try, in a small effort to become more self sufficient. if there really is a farmer in me, i'm sure i can find a way... if someone holds the cute little fuckers.
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