As I grow older I find it quite difficult to find things to do that I’ve not done before. That is to say, to do something I would find interesting and - dare I say it – stimulating. I have never kept chickens myself. I’ve looked after them for others, I have killed and plucked one or two and I have eaten many, as well as their eggs. But the owning and maintenance of chickens is something I have not had the opportunity to do, but have aspired towards for some time.
Gone are the days when buying something excites me, those times when I thought that spending my money on the latest DVD or CD would cheer me up or provide some interest in a busy, or tiring week. In fact, the opposite is true – I find it more delightful to not spend money. This is born somewhat of necessity, but it does add a frisson of challenge to try to do things cheaply, or better still, for no cost whatsoever. I am by no means a miser, but fun is fun, after all.
That was the requirement I set for myself when I first considered keeping chickens – it’s not as if eggs are the most expensive item in the shopping trolley, yet, at any rate – but if you add up the cost of feed, bedding, housing and all the protection, it could easily become an uneconomical enterprise and one that I would have trouble justifying. So the plan is to create a hen run and provide three or four chickens for minimum cost and maximum educational, culinary and entertainment value.
So, as a smallish coop had come my way, almost new and for a fifth of its original price, I considered that the time had come to commence the project. I have some old fencing posts lying around, and whilst these will not be tall enough when concreted in, they will at least be a base upon which to build. That is an additional requirement, I suppose; a coop and a run which can be extended. The other idea I have in mind is an extra portable run into which we can place the hens in various areas around the cottage in order to give them a varied feeding area as often as possible, whilst still sustaining maximum protection from the marauding rural foxes.
So, it has started. I don’t know when part two will appear and I cannot put a timescale to the overall operation because it will largely depend upon the availability of low cost materials. But I will keep this blog updated and Tweet and Facebook details as and when they change. @SnowdogMikey is my Twitter address if you want to follow me….My Facebook page should be HERE.
