image from here
So. The first Adultitis Challenge is to immerse yourself for at least 15 minutes in something you know nothing about. What did I choose to immerse myself in?? CHICKENS of course! ("of course"?! O_O;) I grabbed Keep Chickens - which I'd bought on a whim in an adorable little Ely bookstore awhile ago - and started reading.
I learned about how small flocks of chickens are actually pretty easy to take care of once you've got the system down. they don't need to be bathed or walked like dogs do, and all they need is chicken feed, a coop with places to perch and lay eggs, and a chicken run for them to strut around in. It's also important to make sure you don't have just one solo chicken though, because chickens are social and wil get lonely. About three chickens is enough for a minimum.
Chickens will lay about an egg a day, with or without a rooster; the difference is that when there is a rooster, there will be a little chick inside the egg, and if there is no rooster, it'll be an egg for eating. Roosters are not typically allowed to be kept in cities because they cockadoodledoo ALL THE TIME, not just in the morning!!
One difficulty with keeping chickens is not a problem with the chickens themselves, but with another animal: rats. Rats love to eat chicken feed and will constantly try to dig tunnels up into the chicken coop to get into it. Pretty much the only solution is to make a box with poison inside and a rat-sized hole, and leave that in the coop for the rat to die in. I find this kind of unsettling - I know people might think rats are "creepy" or "gross", but I think they deserve to live! If I ever have chickens I'll find some other way to remove the rats without killing them :)
On a final note, I think keeping chickens sounds fun and would like to try it! I hope to have experience with keeping all sorts of animals near me in the future~
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2 comments:
Interesting topic! Chickens are a very interesting animal.
Lol I never thought I would see someone post about chickens xD you have no idea how much I respect you right now! I actually used to have chickens back in the Philippines. They were cute when they were just chicks :)
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