Chicken House

For a long time, I’ve suggested we get some chickens for our yard.  Holly always kind of dismissed the idea.  I never really pursued it very strongly.  Mainly because we had a dog who would love to eat those tasty roving yard meals (Rusty).  So we did not have chickens.  But Rusty died in 2017, and then…inexplicably…one day in early 2018, Holly suddenly said, “I want to get some chickens!”  

Whaaaat???  

Something bit her and infected her with the chicken bug, and suddenly she was exploring all the different varieties of chickens that were out there.  Typical of her, she delved deep into all of the thousands of variations, textures, style, behaviors and possibilities…way beyond anything that even remotely interesting to me…and settled on a few detailed breeds that seemed to fit out lifestyle.  It wasn’t hard to twist my arm and say “YES” to getting some chickens and even building a chicken hut of some sort. 

After some deliberation, we finally decided to destroy our current storage shed, and build a new storage shed slash/chicken house.  It is two things combined into one.  Our current storage shed was showing signs of decay, so it seemed a good time to replace it with something better. 

But therein, began a whole soap opera that I never expected…never saw coming… 

I assumed Jose, our live-in Honduran helper, would be eager to help build the chicken house.  He is usually eager to help with pretty much anything around the house.  But I was very wrong.  He was inexplicably irritated with the whole notion of building a chicken house.  So much so that it was a problem right from the very start.  It would be a couple of months before I finally discovered the reason why.  He was mad that we were building a house for chickens and not for him!  Whaaaaat??  I also discovered about that same time that he had a new relationship with a woman and was planning to get married. So he had one foot out of the door, and building a chicken house was not really conducive to any of his plans.   So we were totally NOT in the same mind, and therefore we clashed from day one on constructing this house for chickens. 

But, to back up to the start….

On May 15th, Holly bought the schematics, and we began working the next day.  I hired a friend of Jose to help us get started.   Luis is skilled at carpentry (well, more than Jose and I) and had lots of cool equipment such as a nail gun.  So the 3 of us were able to get MUCH work done in one day.  Still, it was super hot outside and by 2 o’clock and we were all exhausted.  So we called it a day.  

Over the next couple of weeks, Jose and I continued to work on the chicken house, but it wasn’t a pleasant experience.    One day we clashed so hard that we both just dropped our tools and walked away.   We didn’t talk again for a few days.  We managed to work together again one more time….but this time when we clashed, there was yelling and arguing…and I finally found out what he was ACTUALLY irritated about.  He was mad that we were spending money on a chicken house, instead of spending that money to build a better shelter for him.    Then I also learned that he had a relationship growing on the side with an American (nationalized) woman who was going to marry him.  Luis was actually his future son-in-law (his girlfriend’s daughter’s husband).  

So, in short, this whole project went sideways.  A whole other issue was in play. 

One day, after a nasty conflict with Jose, I told him to just pack his junk up and move out.  He actually agreed.  So on July 28th (day after my birthday) he began moving into a new apartment with his girlfriend.  Even THAT went sideways as there was a guy who pulled out a gun ….and police came …and a person arrested.  The 29th was spent mostly dealing with the emotional aftermath of that contentious night.  But, Sunday the 30th, we completed the move.  He was moved out.  Honestly, it was weird to me.  Having someone live with us for 3 years, and then suddenly he is gone… it was unpleasant.  Not a happy ending.  It would take some adjusting.  

Meanwhile, I finished the chicken house enough so that the hens could walk around in it.  It has been slow and boring.  And unbearably hot (temps in the upper 90’s, sometimes 107 heat index).  Honestly, I didn’t have any motivation or desire to complete it.   But, I finally pushed through and got the chicken house done enough that chickens could actually live, eat, and roost.  Soon, hopefully, lay eggs, too.  

Success!  The chickens seem to be happy and flourishing.  But, honestly, this whole chicken house construction has been a bad experience.  And it still isn’t quite done.  But I will admit it is very pleasant sitting and watching the chickens peck about in the yard.   

As of Saturday the 11th, we discovered that one of our hens is actually a rooster!  I heard it crowing that morning.  This was not supposed to happen.  We’ve heard it crowing every morning since.  Oh my, what do we do now??    Omg, this project is never ending…

Update: Holly took the rooster back to the chicken-gittin’ place and exchanged it.  LOL.  Didn’t know you could do that.  She got 2 more hens.