fyr.io

It has been nearly one year since our first egg was laid by our three chickens. It's been a really nice experience!

There's something... almost cozy about having chickens roaming the garden, pecking and digging away as you glance out the window, or running up to you when you open the door hoping for a treat, or when they follow you around as you put the clothes on the line, curiously pondering wtf that hooman is doing. It's really nice having chickens as pets.

...well, mostly. Here's a quick list of the downsides:

• They think your toes are food and will try to eat them. This hurts.
• They think your hairs (head, eyebrow, arm, leg, toe) are food and will try to eat them. This hurts.
• They think your ears are food and will try to eat them. This hurts.
• They think your damn eyeballs are food and will try to eat them. I don't know if this hurts, because I thankfully dodged just in time. She got my skin on my cheekbone and I learned a lesson - she was not staring lovingly into my eyes. She was hungry.
• They think your food is their food and will try to eat it. They will not give up.
• They drop turds like it's going out of fashion
• They will rarely drop a wet turd that stinks something fierce - do not be downwind, do not step in it, do not 'pop' the sun-dried outer layer releasing the inner well-cooked stank
• They are obsessed with coming into the house. It's a battle trying to keep the cats in and the chickens out. We don't want the two to meet right now, it would not end well for the cats, because...
• Chickens can be extremely violent and ruthless. We've seen them find a mouse, and they rampaged after it

Despite the above list written in jest - though all true - they are a delight. Plus, eggs! Lookit:

We've had huge success with eggs. Our three birds have - with literally four or five exceptions - each laid an egg every single day since they laid their first. That's over 1000 eggs we haven't had to buy, instead we've been eating them, baking with them or giving them away! They've been exceptionally consistent in all aspects. The size, the texture, the taste. Even the laying location - we've got two nestboxes on the coop but they've only ever used one. Fair enough, they like what they like!

Chicken poop, though, I need to revisit this topic as the bullet point above does not do it justice.

Listen, it's a really magical thing, but... well, it's really stinky. Chickens will defecate frequently and most of the time it's pretty standard (though it's kinda annoying when you're walking around the garden with a chicken on your shoulder like some kind of farm pirate and the little clucker stealthily drops a fat turd down your back) BUT sometimes they'll drop one of the aforementioned wet plops and oh boy does that stink. You'd better hope you notice it before you step in it and walk it into the house...

But we put up with it because chicken crap is a pretty great fertiliser. Our soil here is pretty unhealthy so they're going to be helping out in that department significantly. We should find some nitrogen-loving plants to take advantage.

Poop aside, they're fun, curious creatures with distinct personalities. They do require upkeep, primarily keeping their coop and run clean and free of pests. We've had a bunch of bird flu sporadically here over the last 12 months which has resulted in us keeping them locked away some of the time. They really would benefit from a larger run for when this scenario emerges again.

One of the birds will occasionally remember I'm not food (or a toilet) and will shuffle up alongside me as I sit outside and settle in, nuzzled against my hip. Buddies!

We'll get a few more years of eggs out of them yet, though they will inevitably reduce their laying frequency, certainly a welcome relief for them when the time comes. The size of the egg relative to their body makes anyone wince. Until then, we'll continue to enjoy their company and their eggs and their antics.