Not for the Faint at Heart

      Well, well, well.  Alot going on here at 6024 Chicken Lane, and this summer in general, I might add.    What with the kid being in Alaska and all, I had ample opportunity to embark on a few more coop projects, like building that base screening and door.  Brilliant, we thought.  The girls could get up and cluck about without requiring any interference from a human for an hour or so.  What could possibly go wrong?
       Quite a bit, as it turns out.  No predators to speak of, which is encouraging.  But those of you who are diligent readers might recall the possibility that we had, ahem, a few roosters in the hen house.  Let us say that they began to display more of their rooster tendencies around this time.  That would include crowing.  It started as some benign croaking from Yaki and Soba.  But their attention to practice and time itself turned a little croaking into bona fide crowing.  The day it started at 5:30 AM was when it became clear that action was necessary.
      It wasn't just audible to Brandis, Robb and me.  The neighbors all the way down the street could here these pipes a-piping.  I was afraid of getting hate mail after a while.  And I had to increase from 1 to 2 and finally 3 pillows to block out the racket.  You see, when one would crow, the other would feel compelled to chime in.  It was a veritable rooster chorus out there.  At 10AM it's one thing, at 5:30 it's another.  Oh, then Jean-Claude, the artist formerly known as Scarlet started in, too.
      Our thinking is that if we have ONE boy, it might work.  Besides, Jean-Claude is gorgeous.  A Black Copper Maran, he has almost gaudy feathers, in these luscious black, teal and amber shades.   So Yaki and Soba would go.
      We embarked on this for several reasons.  We both want to benefit from the food portion of the deal.  Or broth at least.  Also, we believe that we can't just find a 'good home' for the boys.  WE are a good home.  So we need to own the whole process of being a chicken owner.   That would mean raising, maintaining and also finding a final resting place for our birds.
      So I cleaned out my sink, and washed my counters.  Heated some water.  We took some final photos.   We consulted our chicken book.  Robb sharpened his knives.

 Yaki having his final good morning

     We wound string around his legs, grasped him firmly, tipped him upside down and Robb cut his throat.  That was the hardest part.  Then we had to bleed, dip in hot water and pluck pluck pluck.  Then I got to hone my evisceration skills, as well as off with the head and feet.  

 Yaki and Soba's last dance

 Last view before the big chill

      So what's the craziest part of all of this?  I swear I never noticed before, but Brandis said she was starting to wonder.  The next morning, there were 2 birds crowing again!!!!  Turns out Jean-Claude has ANOTHER brother.  Unbelievable as it might be, Robert is the artist formerly known as Ruby, soon to also experience the big chill.  There were 4 boys among our 7 chicks from Oregon.  We will be down to our 4 brown birds (Hazel, Dottie, Patty and Peanut), Calamity Jane and Jean-Claude. 

      Well, for now.  I am already planning for our babies for next year.  We will be experts by then.  And besides, we haven't gotten to the egg-laying phase yet.  What could possibly happen next?