the keep

I spent all day Sunday on my knees, replacing the wire on the roost, the chickens' inner sanctum.  I was thankful that I discovered how rust had set it free from it’s earthly bonds (staples) before raccoons swung down in a chariot of fire and not-so-sweetly carried the hens away.

I’ve struggled with my chicken-architecture terminology.  I thought I had settled on coop, roost & yard to describe the homey trinity we have cobbled together with our humble carpentry skills, but as I labored in the unseen light of the waning paschal full moon, I realized I was fortifying the hens’ keep, employing a medieval strategy dating back 1000 years.

Mary & I entered the ancient keep of Marvao as we honeymooned in Portugal 25 years ago, though we thought naught of chickens at the time.  The perfectly-preserved castle rises from one end of a fortified mountaintop village, unprotected by ticket-takers or docents.  We walked through a manicured garden, entering through a narrow slit optimized for defending with lances, and mounted the walls on a narrow stone staircase.  It was a sunny weekday morning, the castle was unoccupied, all we could hear was the wind.  We followed the parapet along the perimeter to a squat tower with a dark doorway.  Through the doorway was a square windowless room, perfect for storing wine, or a desperate last stand.

The hens' keep sits next to a lovely garden. You access it through a gate, though without fear of being lanced.  So it’s a lot like Marvao, except for the medieval village, stone stairway, underground cistern, mountaintop ringed by castle wall, and 360˚ view.

Coo, coo, ca choo.

what almost happened

Our flock started twelve years ago with 8 chicks.  We named each hen, and surprisingly, they all lived long lives, except for Joe, Rex’s favorite, a white crested black polish, who was killed by a hawk one Saturday morning.

Now we have a secure roost, a big, fenced enclosure, and the experience to know that we’re doing well if half the new chicks in any one year live out their natural lives.  We added 6 chicks who would develop into sturdy hens last spring, and just two remain.

We’re getting lots of eggs this year, and with 14 hens, the flock is about average.  Unfortunately, we recently learned about marans, a breed that lays dark brown (“chocolate" eggs), so, of course, we wanted some.  Marans are a new breed, or a breed that’s new in the U.S., so they’re not easy to find.  After sorting through search results that started with Oklahoma, Kansas & Dhangadhi, we located some nearby in Brownsville.

Murray McMurray Hatchery Egg Photo Contest 3rd Place

The farm had a lot of chicks available, so we had a lively discussion about how many to buy.  Somehow, we decided that if we wanted a few chocolate egg layers, we needed a dozen new chicks, despite Rex wanting more chickens like Joe, and 8 being the most chicks we had ever added in one year.  We called, emailed & texted the sellers to let them know we were moderately interested in stopping by and quickly had an appointment for the next morning.

Luckily, our giddy buyers’ high wore off after a good night’s sleep.  Doubling the size of the flock no longer seemed like the great idea it had been 24 hours earlier.  We decided against the drive to Brownsville & texted our regrets.

So there are no chocolate eggs in your future yet, but stay posted.  There will be chicks for sale in the feed stores until June...

Coo, coo, ca choo.