I wish I could have some chickens.
I think.
At least in my mind I dream about a little house in the country with a few chickens running around my grassy yard full of crazy growing zinnias and other colorful flowers.
So I've gotten some chickens.
Sort of.
I met a gentleman at the farmer's market last time who came up with (what I think) is a brilliant concept.
Adopt-A-Chicken.
No, I'm not kidding.
For $5 a week, you adopt 4 chickens. Chip (the farmer) takes care of them, making sure they have plenty of grass, grain and bugs and space so they'll be happy chickens. Then he brings you the eggs for free.
Yes, I know it's ridiculous, but doesn't it sound better than $5 for a dozen organic eggs? I think it is a brilliant marketing concept that focuses the consumer on the care of the hen rather than the product. It doesn't sound like much at all to say $5 a week to care for 4 chickens now, does it?
So off I headed yesterday to Adcote Acres with my girl and "Mrs. Greensleeves", one of my clients. (She's in it for the chicken poop for her garden more than the eggs.) We took some photos of "our" chickens.
Coincidentally, we were encouraged to name our chickens and Mrs. Greensleeves proposed some biblical names:
Faith
Hope
Charity
and
Jezebel
Love it.
7 comments:
What a wonderful idea! Seriously...you get to have all the fun and rewards without cleaning up chicken poop and running after coyotes all day long.
I love it!!
My mom used to raise chickens when I was a kid (in suburban southern california...I think she was a wanna-be hippy too). We had fresh brown chicken eggs all the time, at least when the raccoons were not breaking in and eating the chickens.
I think this is a WONDERFUL idea. I'm going to ask the local farms in my area if they would consider doing this!
That sounds like fun!
Chickens grow quick!
Jen
So, basically you get a pet for $20 per month. Oh, yeah, and at some point you my get 20 or 30 eggs per month. You take baby girl out there 1-2x per week. So, you get the pleasure of owning the chicken for less than the price of the gas it takes to drive out and keep tabs on it! Not too shabby a deal, in my book. And the memories...priceless!
Incidentally, my oldest boy "won" a goldfish at Michael's Arts & Crafts. Since we don't have fish, we've left "Whiskers" (who doesn't have any, which of course was the irony) in my parents' pond. Unfortunately, after 3 years and meteoric growth for Whiskers, a massive bird (egret, blue heron, whatever), planted itself inside the pond last month and started picking the fish off, one-by-one. Mom & Dad caught "big bird" and scared it off, leaving Whiskers and a few of their gorgeous pedigreed (just kidding) 6-12" Japanese koi. But apparently "big bird" arrived the next day and finished off the leftovers. Ahhh, the trauma for the 9-year-old who's lost his first pet...Mom & Dad ripped out the pond in frustration.
So the moral of the story is...stop your $5 weekly payment before the chicken is likely to "give up the feathers"!
;-)
Um,......hmhmh, I can understand having your own chickens so you can yield your own eggs and blah, blah, but paying 5bucks of your hard earned money a week? I get organic eggs for 2.69 a dozen every two-three weeks or so. Farm raised, free roaming hens, and I don't need to name them. When they become my whole frying hens down the other aisle in the meat section! Yummy! :) love you!
I love chickens!! I keep begging Brent-Boy to build me a coop in the back yard, but I think the city would not be to happy about it. I to dream of a country farm house in the middle of nowhere with chickens and ducks and all sorts of barn animals.
Oh and organic eggs are the best!!
I love your chickens!!
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