Contemplating Chickens

My poor neglected blog. Summer is just too much fun. Well nothing is more inspiring to write about than chickens. That's right we finally defied the landlord and got chickens. They are so sweet and so cute. We named them Peep and Mellow. Peep is a Buff Orpington and Mellow is a Rhode Island Red. Both good layers. They haven't actually started laying yet, but we are hoping they will soon. Getting chickens gave me the opportunity to take on a building project. Something I have never tried before. I have always been kind of girly and afraid of power tools, but I figure since I am working to overcome my fears and hangups it was time to tackle this one. I looked at a bunch of plans and pictures of chicken tractors online and I even checked out a book from the library. But none of it made sense or seemed manageable to me. I was beginning to despair over my lack of carpentry skills when inspiration struck. I couldn't believe it, but a coherent building design was actually coming together in my head, right down to board length and the amount and type of wood I would need to purchase. After a few days of contemplation and refinement my plan was ready. So I drew it all out in a less than skillful sketch that brought up memories of 9th grade shop class(which I barely passed, by the way) and headed out to the hardware store. Everyone at the hardware store was very helpful and interested in my project, none of them had ever heard of a chicken tractor before. Oh and just a heads up for any newbies looking to take on this kind of project, most of the big hardware stores will cut your lumber for you, so you don't have to make a big investment in equipment to get started. I didn't get all of my lumber cut at the hardware store though. With some encouragement from my dharma teacher I decided to overcome my fear of the table saw. My teacher agreed to help me get started and learn how to use the table saw safely. It might sound silly, but I was actually really scared. I know everyone says it's good to have a healthy fear of power tools, but when that fear paralyzes you it's not so helpful. Anyway, I overcame my fear and ripped some 2-by-4's! It was actually kind of fun. With a few more pointers from the priest I was off and running. It took three days with my sister's help to put the thing together. When it was finally finished I could hardly believe my eyes. It was awesome! And the chickens loved it. One thing I have noticed is that chickens are fun to watch. They have a calming effect, kind of like watching fish swimming in a fish bowl. Well it's time to put the chickens to bed.